(1)The director of the division shall promulgate
rules that require agricultural employers to protect agricultural workers from heat-related stress illnesses and injuries when the outside temperatures reach eighty
degrees or higher, with discretion to adjust requirements based on environmental
factors, exposure time, acclimatization, and metabolic demands of the job as set
forth in the federal department of health and human services centers for disease
control and prevention national institute for occupational safety and health 2016
revised publication: Criteria for a Recommended Standard, Occupational Exposure
to Heat and Hot Environments. The rules must be proposed on or before October 31,
2021, and adopted on or before January 31, 2022.
(2)(a) Using a short-handled hoe is pro
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(1) The director of the division shall promulgate
rules that require agricultural employers to protect agricultural workers from heat-related stress illnesses and injuries when the outside temperatures reach eighty
degrees or higher, with discretion to adjust requirements based on environmental
factors, exposure time, acclimatization, and metabolic demands of the job as set
forth in the federal department of health and human services centers for disease
control and prevention national institute for occupational safety and health 2016
revised publication: Criteria for a Recommended Standard, Occupational Exposure
to Heat and Hot Environments. The rules must be proposed on or before October 31,
2021, and adopted on or before January 31, 2022.
(2) (a) Using a short-handled hoe is prohibited in agricultural employment for
weeding and thinning in a stooped, kneeling, or squatting position.
(b) The performance of weeding and thinning by hand or with a short-handled tool, other than a short-handled hoe, in a stooped, kneeling, or squatting
position is strongly disfavored unless there is no suitable long-handled tool or other
alternative means of performing the work that is suitable and appropriate to both
the production of the agricultural or horticultural commodity and the scale of the
operation. Nothing in this subsection (2) is construed to allow the use of the short-handled hoe.
(c) Beginning January 1, 2022, this subsection (2) does not prohibit:
(I) Occasional or intermittent hand weeding or hand thinning in a stooped,
kneeling, or squatting position that is incidental to a non-hand-weeding operation;
(II) Hand thinning of high density plants spaced less than two inches apart
when planted;
(III) Hand weeding or thinning of any agricultural or horticultural commodity
grown in fields or greenhouses for which the employer maintains a current
certification from the Colorado department of agriculture or an authorized
certifying body as meeting the standards of the United States department of
agriculture's national organic program;
(IV) Hand weeding, thinning, or tending any agricultural or horticultural
commodities when they are seedlings;
(V) Hand weeding, thinning, or tending agricultural or horticultural
commodities grown in tubs or planter containers with an opening that does not
exceed fifteen inches in width;
(VI) Seeding, planting, transplanting, or harvesting by hand or with a hand
tool; or
(VII) Hand weeding, thinning, or tending the soil-exposed area immediately
surrounding agricultural or horticultural commodities grown using polyethylene
film or plastic mulch. This exemption does not permit the hand weeding of the
spaces between rows of plants grown using polyethylene film or plastic mulch.
(d) The commissioner of the department of agriculture shall promulgate
rules regarding allowances for and limitations to hand weeding and hand thinning
for agricultural employers actively engaged in the transition to certified organic
agriculture for a period of no more than three years while ensuring that agricultural
workers are not at risk of acute, chronic, or debilitating injuries. The rules must be
proposed on or before October 31, 2021, and adopted on or before January 31, 2022.
(e) On or before January 31, 2022, the commissioner of the department of
agriculture shall promulgate rules that establish a procedure for agricultural
employers to seek a certificate of variance from the Colorado department of
agriculture that allows for more than occasional or intermittent hand weeding of
agricultural or horticultural products if the agricultural employer establishes that:
(I) The hand weeding does not involve prolonged and unnecessary stooping,
kneeling, or squatting, and does not create a risk of acute, chronic, or debilitating
injuries for agricultural workers;
(II) There is no suitable long-handled tool or other alternative means of
performing the work that is suitable and appropriate to both the production of the
agricultural or horticultural commodity and the scale of the operation; and
(III) The hand weeding cannot be performed pursuant to an existing
exemption pursuant to this subsection (2).
(3) An agricultural employer shall provide agricultural workers engaged in
hand weeding and hand thinning an additional five-minute rest period, which,
insofar as is practicable, must be in the middle of each work period. The authorized
rest period must be based on the total hours worked daily at the rate of fifteen
minutes net rest time per four hours of work, or a major fraction thereof. The
agricultural employer shall count the authorized rest period as hours worked and
not deduct the rest period from the agricultural worker's wages.
(4) An agricultural employer shall provide gloves and knee pads, as
necessary, to each agricultural worker engaging in hand weeding, hand thinning, or
hand hot-capping.
(5) If any provision of this section or its application to any person or
circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, such provision or application does
not affect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given effect
without the invalid or unconstitutional provision or application, and the provisions of
this section are severable.