Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a) Development of
training program. The department, in conjunction with the service, shall
develop an ongoing training program for agricultural laborers.
(b) Training provided by the department.
(1) The department shall provide the training
program in counties with a hired farm labor work force of 2,000 or more,
according to the most recent United States Census of Agriculture.
(2) The department shall provide training in
the following additional counties which it has determined as having a
significant farm labor work force: Bexar, Cameron, Castro, Dawson, Deaf Smith,
Erath, Floyd, Fort Bend, Frio, Gonzales, Hale, Hockley, Lamb, Lubbock,
McLennan, Matagorda, Milam, Pecos, Starr, Terry, Uvalde, Van Zandt, Waller,
Willacy, and Zavala.
(3) As part of
the training program, and when possible, the department shall provide
agricultural laborers with appropriate crop sheets and reentry
information.
(c) Training
provided by the Service. The Service shall provide training in all remaining
counties.
(d) Notification of
training. The department or the Service shall notify agricultural laborers on a
regular basis of the availability of training programs.
(e) Training provided by others. For purposes
of these regulations and the Act, §125.009(e), covered employers and their
managers or their labor contractors may train employees if the covered
employers and their managers or labor contractors are certified applicators or
trained trainers.
(1) Agricultural laborers
trained in a state other than Texas, and possessing a current EPA WPS training
verification card, will be considered trained for purposes of the Act and these
regulations.
(2) Worker training
programs which meet the minimum requirements of the WPS worker training are
approved for workers who work under conditions specified under WPS, 40 CFR Part
170.130. Workers having completed this training are considered trained under
the Act and these regulations.
(3)
Handler training programs which meet the minimum requirements of the WPS
handler training are approved for handlers who work under conditions specified
under WPS 40 CFR Part 170.230. Handlers having completed this training are
considered trained under the Act and these regulations.
(f) Certification of completion of training.
(1) When an agricultural laborer completes a
training program, the trainer shall provide the agricultural laborer with an
EPA training verification card for WPS training.
(2) The training agency and the training
individual shall comply with the following requirements:
(A) maintain a record for five years of all
agricultural laborers who complete the training program and are given a
department-issued EPA WPS training verification card. These records must
include at least a copy of each dated class roster signed by the trainer and
each trainee, showing the verification card number issued to the trainee, and
the city or county and state where the training occurred;
(B) issue EPA WPS training verification cards
only to trainees who have been trained in accordance with the requirements of
the WPS, including the correct use of training materials developed or approved
by EPA;
(C) record trainee
information on the verification cards, in ink or other indelible
form;
(D) issue EPA WPS training
verification cards that match EPA specifications or that comply with state
variations from such specifications that have prior approval from EPA;
and
(E) promptly respond to
requests from EPA, state or tribal agencies or covered employers for
information concerning issued EPA WPS training verification cards.
(3) A covered employer shall not
refuse to hire an agricultural laborer solely because the laborer has not
completed a training program or cannot produce a card.
(g) Access to training materials by covered
employers.
(1) The department shall prepare
appropriate training materials for covered employers, their managers, and their
labor contractors to be used for training purposes. For the purposes of
compliance with these regulations, the department has determined that the EPA
WPS training program for agricultural workers and pesticide handlers meets or
in some instances exceeds training requirements of the Act and these
regulations.
(2) These training
materials may be obtained from sources identified and approved by EPA for use
in WPS trainings.