2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 8 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-88-207) › LABOR I - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT (§§ 8-1-101 — 8-20.5-401) › LABOR CONDITIONS (§§ 8-11-100.1 — 8-14.4-109) › Article 13.5 - WORKPLACE ACCOMMODATIONS AND PROTECTIONS (§§ 8-13.5-101 — 8-13.5-205) › Part 2 - LABOR CONDITIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL WORKERS (§§ 8-13.5-201 — 8-13.5-205) › Section 8-13.5-203 - Extreme overwork protections - heat stress training - short-handled hoe prohibited - rules

(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.
Added by 2021 Ch. 337,§ 5, eff. 6/25/2021.