I’ve heard that agricultural producers on farms and ranches are not regulated by OSHA. Is that true?
There are many federal worker safety and health standards that directly apply to agriculture. For the 24 states that maintain their own state-run OSHA program, there may be additional state requirements that are more stringent. Federally, the U.S. Congress limits OSHA’s ability to enforce these standards on farms with fewer than 11 non-family employees unless those smaller farms have temporary labor camps. State programs have the authority to operate differently and may have more strict requirements. However, in agriculture, any extra enforcement efforts such as inspections and complaint investigations by states must be done with non-federal funds.
