Bill Text: NY A04588 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Establishes standards for farm worker protection at any agricultural site where pesticides have been or will be applied; requires mandatory testing for pesticides; requires personal protective equipment to be provided to workers; provides education to workers and their families about the hazards of pesticides; requires additional on-site protective measures; requires the department of health to issue an annual report of all farm inspections on or before March first to the governor and legislature.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to health [A04588 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04588-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4588
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 4, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. ENGLEBRIGHT, GOTTFRIED, ORTIZ -- Multi-Sponsored
          by -- M. of A.  COLTON, COOK, PERRY -- read once and referred  to  the
          Committee on Health
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  health  law, in relation to farm worker
          protection
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  The  public health law is amended by adding a new section
     2  1331 to read as follows:
     3    § 1331. Farm worker protection. 1. The following requirements shall be
     4  met at any agricultural  site  to  which  pesticides  have  or  will  be
     5  applied. Farm owners or operators shall:
     6    a.  Conduct or cause to have conducted mandatory testing for the pres-
     7  ence of organophosphate  pesticides  for  all  handlers  of  pesticides,
     8  including  applicators  and  mixers of pesticides. This testing shall be
     9  conducted within one week of the arrival of such workers at the agricul-
    10  tural site and within one week of the departure of such workers from the
    11  site;
    12    b. Provide personal protection equipment which has been fit-tested  to
    13  all  individuals who are required or may be required to wear such equip-
    14  ment in the course of their work, and which is readily available to  any
    15  worker needing to wear or use such equipment;
    16    c.  Provide  education and information to farm workers and their fami-
    17  lies about the hazards of exposure to  pesticides,  how  to  avoid  such
    18  exposures to children, personal clothing and possessions, and what to do
    19  if pesticide exposure or contamination occurs;
    20    d.  Report  to  the department every incident of pesticide exposure to
    21  farm workers or their families, whether by direct exposure to  pesticide
    22  applications or from drift of pesticides from the application site. Such
    23  reporting  shall  occur within twenty-four hours of such pesticide expo-
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09058-01-9
        A. 4588                             2
     1  sure and shall include the day and time of day the exposure occurred and
     2  the pesticides to which the individuals were exposed;
     3    e.  Provide  on-site  washing machines for workers to clean pesticide-
     4  contaminated clothing, which are separate from clothes  washing  facili-
     5  ties  used  by families. The farm owner or operator shall be responsible
     6  to provide instruction in the proper care of clothing contaminated  with
     7  or exposed to pesticides;
     8    f.  Provide  one shower facility for every five workers, with separate
     9  facilities for males and females, for the removal of pesticides residues
    10  and other contaminants;
    11    g. Provide one or more public telephones for workers to report medical
    12  emergencies, including pesticide exposures or contamination; and
    13    h. Ensure that all new housing for farm workers is  located  at  least
    14  fifty  feet  from any field or site, except for enclosed facilities such
    15  as greenhouses, which may be treated with pesticides.  Existing  housing
    16  which  does not comply with this paragraph shall be replaced within five
    17  years or cease to be used after that time.
    18    2. The department shall issue an annual report of all farm inspections
    19  on or before March first to the governor and  the  legislature  for  the
    20  previous  calendar  year,  including  compliance  with  the requirements
    21  contained in this section; enforcement actions, fines and penalties  for
    22  non-compliance  resulting  from such inspections; and pesticide exposure
    23  or contamination reports submitted to the department.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
    25  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.