(a) An employer is a "covered employer" if the employer
annually uses or stores in excess of the threshold amount of any one
covered pesticide chemical, and either directly, or through labor
agents:
(1) hires agricultural laborers to perform seasonal
or migrant work and whose gross annual payroll for those laborers
is $15,000 or more; or
(2) hires agricultural laborers for purposes other
than seasonal or migrant work and whose gross annual payroll for those
laborers is $50,000 or more.
(b) An employer is a covered employer if the employer
meets the minimum payroll requirements described in subsection (a)(1)
or (2) of this section and causes agricultural laborers to be present
in a workplace(s) where the threshold amount of any one covered pesticide
chemical is annually used or stored. An example of such an employer
may be a packing shed or other entity which makes an agreement with
a farmer to furnish agricultural laborers to produce a crop being
produced at the farmer's farm. In such instances, the packing shed
and the farmer would have the following responsibilities under the
Act:
(1) If the packing shed meets the minimum payroll requirement
and covered pesticides in excess of the threshold amount are used
or stored in the workplace(s) where the packing shed's agricultural
laborers are present, the packing shed is responsible for complying
with the requirements of these regulations for all of its employees
that meet the definition of "agricultural laborer."
(2) The packing shed's responsibilities extend only
to the agricultural laborers furnished by the packing shed and only
to the work area(s) where these laborers are present.
(3) If the packing shed causes agricultural laborers
to be present at more than one farm or work area, the covered chemicals
used or stored at all such work areas will be totaled to determine
whether more than the threshold amount is stored or used.
(4) The packing shed is free to secure the assistance
of others in performing particular responsibilities. For instance,
it may use crew leaders or foremen to read the crop sheets and it
may arrange for farmers to help compile the workplace chemical lists.
However, responsibility for compliance rests solely with the packing
shed.
(5) The farmer in this example has no responsibility
under the Act with respect to the packing shed's agricultural laborers.
(6) The farmer is responsible for complying with the
Act only if the farmer standing alone is a covered employer. In other
words, the packing shed's agricultural laborers are not counted in
determining whether the farmer meets the minimum payroll test for
coverage.
(7) Even where the farmer is a covered employer, the
farmer's only responsibility under the Act is with respect to those
agricultural laborers whom the farmer has hired directly or through
a labor agent.
(8) The coverage and responsibility described in this
example is the same for other entities which furnish agricultural
laborers to perform work on a farmer's farm, including seed producers
who furnish laborers to rogue or detassel a seed crop, canneries or
processors who furnish field laborers, and gins who furnish hoeing
or weeding laborers.
(c) Hiring "through labor agents" includes an employer
who contracts with or utilizes a crew leader or labor contractor to
provide harvesters or other agricultural laborers.
(d) Amounts paid by an employer to a labor agent, crew
leader, or labor contractor are considered part of the employer's
gross annual payroll for purposes of subsection (a) of this section.
(e) Where an employer uses or stores any covered pesticide
chemicals in more than one work area or workplace, the total amount
used in all such work areas and workplaces shall be counted to determine
whether he or she annually uses in excess of the threshold amount.
(f) An employer who purchases in excess of the threshold
amount of a covered pesticide chemical at one time or within a period
of one calendar year is presumed to have used or stored in excess
of the threshold amount of a covered pesticide chemical.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §8.4 adopted to be effective February 14, 1989, 14 TexReg 617; amended to be effective July 5, 1994, 19 TexReg 4814; amended to be effective February 13, 2023, 48 TexReg 655 |