| (a) Development of training program. The department,
in conjunction with the service, shall develop an ongoing training
program for agricultural laborers.
(b) Training provided by the department.
(1) The department shall provide the training program
in counties with a hired farm labor work force of 2,000 or more, according
to the most recent United States Census of Agriculture.
(2) The department shall provide training in the following
additional counties which it has determined as having a significant
farm labor work force: Bexar, Cameron, Castro, Dawson, Deaf Smith,
Erath, Floyd, Fort Bend, Frio, Gonzales, Hale, Hockley, Lamb, Lubbock,
McLennan, Matagorda, Milam, Pecos, Starr, Terry, Uvalde, Van Zandt,
Waller, Willacy, and Zavala.
(3) As part of the training program, and when possible,
the department shall provide agricultural laborers with appropriate
crop sheets and reentry information.
(c) Training provided by the Service. The Service shall
provide training in all remaining counties.
(d) Notification of training. The department or the
Service shall notify agricultural laborers on a regular basis of the
availability of training programs.
(e) Training provided by others. For purposes of these
regulations and the Act, §125.009(e), covered employers and their
managers or their labor contractors may train employees if the covered
employers and their managers or labor contractors are certified applicators
or trained trainers.
(1) Agricultural laborers trained in a state other
than Texas, and possessing a current EPA WPS training verification
card, will be considered trained for purposes of the Act and these
regulations.
(2) Worker training programs which meet the minimum
requirements of the WPS worker training are approved for workers who
work under conditions specified under WPS, 40 CFR Part 170.130. Workers
having completed this training are considered trained under the Act
and these regulations.
(3) Handler training programs which meet the minimum
requirements of the WPS handler training are approved for handlers
who work under conditions specified under WPS 40 CFR Part 170.230.
Handlers having completed this training are considered trained under
the Act and these regulations.
(f) Certification of completion of training.
(1) When an agricultural laborer completes a training
program, the trainer shall provide the agricultural laborer with an
EPA training verification card for WPS training.
(2) The training agency and the training individual
shall comply with the following requirements:
(A) maintain a record for five years of all agricultural
laborers who complete the training program and are given a department-issued
EPA WPS training verification card. These records must include at
least a copy of each dated class roster signed by the trainer and
each trainee, showing the verification card number issued to the trainee,
and the city or county and state where the training occurred;
(B) issue EPA WPS training verification cards only
to trainees who have been trained in accordance with the requirements
of the WPS, including the correct use of training materials developed
or approved by EPA;
(C) record trainee information on the verification
cards, in ink or other indelible form;
(D) issue EPA WPS training verification cards that
match EPA specifications or that comply with state variations from
such specifications that have prior approval from EPA; and
(E) promptly respond to requests from EPA, state or
tribal agencies or covered employers for information concerning issued
EPA WPS training verification cards.
(3) A covered employer shall not refuse to hire an
agricultural laborer solely because the laborer has not completed
a training program or cannot produce a card.
(g) Access to training materials by covered employers.
(1) The department shall prepare appropriate training
materials for covered employers, their managers, and their labor contractors
to be used for training purposes. For the purposes of compliance with
these regulations, the department has determined that the EPA WPS
training program for agricultural workers and pesticide handlers meets
or in some instances exceeds training requirements of the Act and
these regulations.
(2) These training materials may be obtained from sources
identified and approved by EPA for use in WPS trainings.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §8.11 adopted to be effective February 14, 1989, 14 TexReg 617; amended to be effective July 5, 1994, 19 TexReg 4814; amended to be effective May 15, 2008, 33 TexReg 3733; amended to be effective February 13, 2023, 48 TexReg 655 |
