1. Worker Protection Standards and Employer Legal Responsibilities
March 13, 2019
Sarah Everhart, Esq.
Managing Director
Agriculture Law Education Initiative
Maryland Carey Law
Neith Little UMD Extension Agent, Urban Agriculture

2. Agriculture Law Education Initiative
The Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) is a partnership of the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB); the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources at the University of Maryland (UMCP); and the School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. ALEI is an initiative of the University of Maryland: MPowering the State, a strategic alliance between UMB and UMCP created in 2012 to significantly expand research collaboration, business development, and student opportunities at both universities. Website: Facebook:
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3. Disclaimer
This presentation is intended to provide general information and should not be construed as providing legal advice.
It should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority.
For advice about how these issues might apply to your individual situation, consult an attorney.
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4. Worker Protection Standards (WPS)
The Worker Protection Standard (“WPS”) is a federal law issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to protect farmworkers from the effects of exposure to pesticides.
Communication breakdowns
Landowners’ lack of knowledge of farming and conservation practices
Lack of a written lease
Indefinite or short lease term
Financial uncertainties surrounding conservation practices
Risk aversion
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5. Why should I care about the WPS?
Not only is complying with the WPS a legal requirement for farmers who use a WPS-labeled pesticide, but research has shown that the practices required by the WPS benefit the health of farmers, farmworkers, and their families.
Photo credit: © University of Maryland--AGNR Image Library
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6. Why should I care about the WPS?
Even organic pesticides, such as the kaolin clay pictured on cucumbers, require safety precautions and compliance with the Worker Protection Standards.
Photo credit: Neith Little, UMD Extension
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7. WPS
It is a violation of federal law to use a pesticide product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.
When you use a pesticide product with labeling that refers to the WPS, you must comply with the requirements of the WPS.
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8. Employers and the WPS
The WPS requires employers to take protective measures to reduce the risk of illness or injury to workers and handlers resulting from exposures to pesticides.
Recently revised (2015) and in effect by January, 2018.
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9. Workers/Handlers
Workers- those performing hand-labor tasks in pesticide-treated crops, such as harvesting, thinning, and pruning.
Handlers-those in direct contact with pesticides such as mixing, loading, or applying pesticides.
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10. Employers and the WPS
Employers must ensure that workers and handlers receive pesticide safety training annually.
Workers- trained before entering a pesticide treated area.
Handlers- trained before engaging in any handler activity.
Workers need to be trained before entering a pesticide treated area. (A treated area is one in which an REI from a pesticide application has been in effect within the last 30 days.) This often means workers will need to be trained their first day on the job.
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11. WPS WPS training must be delivered by:
Someone who holds a current pesticide applicator's license or
Someone who has completed an EPA-approved WPS Train-the-Trainer program for workers, or
Someone who has been designated as a trainer of workers by a state, federal, or tribal agency having jurisdiction.
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12. Training
Free, approved training materials are available online:
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13. Training records Employers must keep training records for 2 years:
Trainee's name (printed & signature),
Trainer’s name,
Date of training,
Evidence of the trainer's qualification to train,
pesticide applicator's license number, or
EPA approval number for a Train-the-Trainer course, and the date it was completed by the trainer, or
evidence of state/tribal designation as a WPS trainer
Employer’s name, and
EPA approval number for the training materials.
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14. Exemptions
Certified pesticide applicators and certified crop advisors are exempt from WPS worker and handler training.
Do the farmer and landowner walk that land annually and talk about their goals and concerns? Is there an understanding of what a conservation plan is and a nutrient management plan--can the farmer talk about why he may not go as far on this land as he might on his home farm. Will the farmer share information about the field with the landowner? Is there a level of trust that he won’t lose the lease after spending years improving the soil?
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15. Partial Exemption for Immediate Family
Farm owners and their immediate family are exempt from some WPS training requirements, including:
Pesticide safety training for workers and handlers.
Providing information on where to find the EPA WPS Safety Poster, hazard communication information, safety data sheets and decontamination supplies (water, soap, single-use towels).
Training for equipment used in pesticide handling activities
parents, stepparents, foster parents, father-in-law, mother-in-law, children, stepchildren, foster children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, grandparents, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins. If a majority of the establishment (more that 50% of the equity) is owned by one or more members of the same immediate family, then a smaller set of WPS requirements apply to all of the owners and their immediate family members.
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16. Partial Exemption for Immediate Family
No agricultural establishments that uses WPS-covered pesticides are completely exempt from WPS requirements;
Even owners and their immediate family members that qualify for the exemption must comply with certain WPS requirements;
Owners of agricultural establishments must still provide ALL of the required WPS protections for anyone on the establishment that is not an immediate family member.

17. Inform, Protect & Mitigate
The WPS requires employers to inform and protect workers and handlers about pesticide safety, and to mitigate exposures which occur.
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18. Inform Training workers and handlers
Provide access to specific information for workers and handlers, including:
pesticide applications on the establishment;
safety data sheets for pesticides applied on the establishment; and
pesticide safety information (updated poster) which includes emergency information.
Provide access to labeling information for pesticide handlers and workers.
Notify workers about pesticide-treated areas so they can avoid inadvertent exposures.
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19. Protect
Keep workers and other people out of areas being treated with pesticides.
Keep workers and other people away from pesticide application equipment (out of the application exclusion zones) during applications.
Require handlers to suspend applications if workers or people are near pesticide application equipment (in the application exclusion zone).
Keep workers out of areas under a REI, with a few narrow exceptions.
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20. Protect
Protect workers who are doing permitted tasks in pesticide-treated areas during an restricted-entry interval (REI), including special instructions and duties related to correct use of personal protective equipment.
Monitor handlers using highly toxic pesticides.
Provide and maintain required personal protective equipment to handlers.
If a respirator is required by a pesticide label, provide the handler with a medical evaluation, fit test and respirator training.
Image credit: USDA-ARS
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21. Mitigate
Provide decontamination supplies: water, soap, and towels for routine washing and emergency decontamination and eyewash systems for certain handlers.
Provide emergency assistance by making transportation available to a medical care facility in case of a pesticide injury or poisoning, and providing information about the applicable pesticide(s).
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22. Employer Responsibilities
Employers must ensure that early-entry workers and handlers are at least 18 years old.
Employers may not retaliate against a worker or handler who attempts to:
comply with the WPS,
file a complaint, or
provide information in an investigation of alleged WPS noncompliance
Early entry is defined as entry by a worker into a treated area on the agricultural establishment after a pesticide application is complete, but before any restricted-entry interval for the pesticide has expired.
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23. More Information Farm employers seeking more information on the WPS:
EPA’s Pesticide Worker Safety
Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative, pesticideresources.org
Call MDA’s Pesticide Regulation Section,
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24. Questions? Sarah Everhart severhart@law.umaryland.edu 410-458-2475
Neith Little
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