By (Jan. 10, 2014) Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., and 42 other senators from both sides of the aisle recently requested that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) immediately stop what they called its unlawful regulation of family farms.
"OSHA is creating an artificial distinction in an apparent effort to circumvent the congressional prohibition on regulating farms," the senators wrote in a Dec. 20 joint letter to Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, who oversees OSHA.
Since 1976, Congress has exempted small, family run farms from OSHA regulations but in a 2011 memo, OSHA asserted that on-farm grain storage and handling was not part of farm operations.
The 2011 memo essentially expanded OSHA's regulatory scope to nearly every farm in the country without going through the established rulemaking process that allows congressional review and public comment.
In the letter, the senators wrote "worker safety is an important concern for all of us;" however, "if the administration believes that OSHA should be able to enforce its regulations on farms, it should make that case to Congress rather than twisting the law."
The letter asked Perez to direct OSHA to:
- Cease all actions based on the expanded regulatory scope, "which is inconsistent with congressional intent."
- Consult with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and organizations representing farmers for guidance on "correcting this misinterpretation of the law."
- Provide a list and description of "regulatory actions taken against farms with incorrectly categorized non-farming activities (with) 10 or fewer employees since the June 2011 memo."
Senators requested a response to their letter by Feb. 1.
By Jess McCluer, Director of Safety and Regulatory Affairs
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