HB 1253 2003
1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to worker safety with respect to
3	agricultural pesticides; creating s. 487.2011, F.S.;
4	providing a short title; creating s. 487.2021, F.S.;
5	declaring legislative intent; creating s. 487.2031, F.S.;
6	defining terms; creating s. 487.2041, F.S.; providing for
7	enforcement of federal worker protection regulations;
8	creating s. 487.2051, F.S.; requiring agricultural
9	employers to make agricultural pesticide information
10	available to workers, designated representatives, and
11	medical personnel; creating s. 487.2061, F.S.; prohibiting
12	agricultural employers from failing to provide required
13	information and from taking retaliatory action against
14	workers for exercising their rights; creating s. 487.2071,
15	F.S.; providing penalties; providing for relief against
16	retaliation; providing for monitoring complaints of
17	retaliation; providing for a report; providing an
18	effective date.
19
20	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22	Section 1. Section 487.2011, Florida Statutes, is created
23	to read:
24	487.2011 Short title.--This part may be cited as the
25	"Florida Agricultural Worker Safety Act" and shall be
26	administered by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer
27	Services.
28	Section 2. Section 487.2021, Florida Statutes, is created
29	to read:
30	487.2021 Legislative intent.--It is the intent of the
31	Legislature, by this part, to ensure that agricultural workers
32	employed in the state receive protection from agricultural
33	pesticides. The Legislature intends to assure that agricultural
34	workers be given information concerning agricultural pesticides.
35	Section 3. Section 487.2031, Florida Statutes, is created
36	to read:
37	487.2031 Definitions.--For purposes of this part, the
38	term:
39	(1) "Agricultural employer" means any person who hires or
40	contracts for the services of workers, for any type of
41	compensation, to perform activities related to the production of
42	agricultural plants, or any person who is an owner of or is
43	responsible for the management or condition of an agricultural
44	establishment that uses such workers.
45	(2) "Agricultural establishment" means any farm, forest,
46	nursery, or greenhouse.
47	(3) "Agricultural plant" means any plant grown or
48	maintained for commercial or research purposes and includes, but
49	is not limited to, food, feed, and fiber plants, trees,
50	turfgrass, flowers, shrubs, ornamentals, and seedlings.
51	(4) "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and
52	Consumer Services or its authorized representative.
53	(5) "Designated representative" means any person or
54	organization to whom a worker gives written authorization to
55	exercise the right to request the agricultural pesticide
56	information pursuant to this part.
57	(6) "Fact sheet" means any state or federally approved
58	fact sheet.
59	(7) "Material safety data sheet" means written or printed
60	material concerning an agricultural pesticide which sets forth
61	the following information:
62	(a) The chemical name and the common name of the
63	agricultural pesticide.
64	(b) The hazards or other risks in the use of the
65	agricultural pesticide, including:
66	1. The potential for fire, explosions, corrosivity, and
67	reactivity.
68	2. The known acute health effects and chronic health
69	effects of risks from exposure to the agricultural pesticide,
70	including those medical conditions which are generally
71	recognized as being aggravated by exposure to the agricultural
72	pesticide.
73	3. The primary routes of entry and symptoms of
74	overexposure.
75	(c) The proper precautions, handling practices, necessary
76	personal protective equipment, and other safety precautions in
77	the use of or exposure to the agricultural pesticide, including
78	appropriate emergency treatment in case of overexposure.
79	(d) The emergency procedures for spills, fire, disposal,
80	and first aid.
81	(e) A description of the known specific potential health
82	risks posed by the agricultural pesticide, which description is
83	written in lay terms and is intended to alert any person who
84	reads the information.
85	(f) The year and the month, if available, that the
86	information was compiled and the name, address, and emergency
87	telephone number of the manufacturer responsible for preparing
88	the information.
89	(8) "Retaliation" means actions, such as dismissal,
90	demotion, harassment, blacklisting with other employers,
91	reducing pay or work hours, or taking away company housing, by
92	any agricultural employer against any worker who exercises any
93	right under the United States Environmental Protection Agency
94	Worker Protection Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 170.7(b) (August 21,
95	1992) or this part.
96	(9) "Trainer" means any person who qualifies to train
97	workers under the pesticide safety training requirements of the
98	United States Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection
99	Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 170.130 (August 21, 1992).
100	(10) "Worker" means any person, including a farmworker or
101	a self-employed person, who is employed for any type of
102	compensation and who is performing activities relating to the
103	production of agricultural plants on an agricultural
104	establishment. The term "worker" does not include any person
105	employed by a commercial pesticide handling establishment to
106	perform tasks as a crop advisor.
107	Section 4. Section 487.2041, Florida Statutes, is created
108	to read:
109	487.2041 Enforcement of federal worker protection
110	regulations.--The department shall adopt by rule the regulations
111	established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
112	Labeling Requirement for Pesticides and Devices, 40 C.F.R. part
113	156, and the Worker Protection Standard, 40 C.F.R. part 170,
114	adopted August 21, 1992. If the provisions of this part are
115	preempted in part by federal law, those provisions not preempted
116	shall apply.
117	Section 5. Section 487.2051, Florida Statutes, is created
118	to read:
119	487.2051 Availability of agricultural pesticide
120	information to workers and physicians.--
121	(1)(a) The agricultural employer shall make available
122	agricultural pesticide information concerning any agricultural
123	pesticide to any worker who enters an agricultural pesticide
124	treated area on an agricultural establishment where, within the
125	last 30 days, an agricultural pesticide has been applied or a
126	restricted-entry interval has been in effect or to any worker
127	who may be exposed to the agricultural pesticide during normal
128	conditions of use or in a foreseeable emergency.
129	(b) The agricultural pesticide information shall be in the
130	form of a material safety data sheet or a state or federally
131	approved fact sheet. The agricultural employer shall provide a
132	written copy of the information specified in this section within
133	2 working days of a request for the information by a worker, a
134	designated representative of the worker, or medical personnel
135	treating the worker.
136	(c) The distributor, manufacturer, or importer of
137	agricultural pesticides shall prepare and provide each direct
138	purchaser of agricultural pesticides with a material safety data
139	sheet. If the material safety data sheet or fact sheet for the
140	agricultural pesticide is not available at the time the
141	agricultural pesticide is purchased, the agricultural employer
142	shall take appropriate and timely steps to obtain the material
143	safety data sheet or fact sheet from the distributor, the
144	manufacturer, the department, a federal agency, or another
145	distribution source.
146	(2) The department shall design and make available to the
147	trainer a one-page general agricultural pesticide safety sheet,
148	hereafter referred to as "safety sheet." This safety sheet must
149	be in a language understood by the worker and must include, but
150	is not limited to, illustrated instructions on prevention of
151	agricultural pesticide exposure and toll-free numbers to the
152	Florida Poison Control Centers so that workers may call for
153	additional agricultural pesticide exposure information. The
154	trainer shall provide to the worker the safety sheet at the time
155	of training pursuant to the United States Environmental
156	Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard, 40 C.F.R. s.
157	170.130 (August 21, 1992).
158	Section 6. Section 487.2061, Florida Statutes, is created
159	to read:
160	487.2061 Prohibited acts.--It is unlawful for any
161	agricultural employer to:
162	(1) Fail to provide agricultural pesticide information as
163	provided for in this part.
164	(2) Take any retaliatory action against any worker for
165	exercising any right under the provisions of the United States
166	Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard, 40
167	C.F.R. s. 170.7(b) (August 21, 1992), or this part.
168	Section 7. Section 487.2071, Florida Statutes, is created
169	to read:
170	487.2071 Penalties against agricultural employer
171	violators; worker relief; monitoring complaints of
172	retaliation.--
173	(1) Penalties set forth in part I of this chapter shall be
174	applied to any agricultural employer who violates any provision
175	in this part. Agricultural employers who violate the provisions
176	of this part also shall be subject to the federal penalties in
177	the United States Environmental Protection Agency Worker
178	Protection Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 170.9(b).
179	(2)(a) Any worker who has been retaliated against by any
180	agricultural employer for exercising any right under the United
181	States Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection
182	Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 170.7(b) (August 21, 1992), or this part
183	may seek relief under ss. 448.102-448.104.
184	(b) Any worker who has been retaliated against by any
185	agricultural employer for exercising any right under the United
186	States Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection
187	Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 170.7(b) (August 21, 1992), or this part
188	and seeks relief pursuant to this section, or the worker's
189	designated representative, shall file a complaint with the
190	department of such retaliation.
191	(c) In any action brought pursuant to this section where
192	the retaliatory personnel action is predicated upon the
193	disclosure of an illegal activity, policy, or practice to an
194	appropriate governmental agency, the worker shall not be
195	required to show that the disclosure to the governmental agency
196	was under oath or in writing or that the notification to the
197	employer concerning the illegal activity, policy, or practice
198	was in writing as provided in s. 448.102(1).
199	(3) The department shall monitor all complaints of
200	retaliation which it receives and report its findings to the
201	President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
202	Representatives on October 1, 2006. The report shall include the
203	number of such complaints received, the circumstances
204	surrounding the complaints, and the action taken concerning the
205	complaints.
206	Section 8. The Division of Statutory Revision is requested
207	to designate sections 487.011-487.175, Florida Statutes, as part
208	I of that chapter and sections 487.2011-487.2071, Florida
209	Statutes, as created by this act, as part II of that chapter.
210	The division is further requested to name part II the "Florida
211	Agricultural Worker Safety Act."
212	Section 9. This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.