2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 26: LABOR AND INDUSTRY › Chapter 7: EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES › Subchapter 2-A: EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS IN THE FORESTRY INDUSTRY AND FARMING › 26 §643. Transportation of workers

§643. Transportation of workers
1.  Requirement.
An employer shall provide safe transportation for workers between the workers' lodgings and work sites each day at no cost to the workers.
A. A vehicle used to transport workers must meet the standards set forth in 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 500.105, regardless of the number of miles traveled or the type of vehicle used, and must include a working seat belt for each worker being transported. Any vehicle used to transport workers may not have any apparatus attached to the rear of the vehicle that interferes with the operation of the rear door. Equipment or any other materials that interfere with the operation of any doors or windows may not be attached to or stored in the vehicle. The number of occupants in any vehicle, other than a bus, may not exceed the manufacturer's design specifications except in no instance may it exceed 12 at any time. In the case of a 15-passenger van, compliance with this standard must be achieved by removal of the seating immediately behind the rear axle, resulting in the number of passengers in the vehicle at any one time not exceeding 11. Attachments are not allowed on the roofs of vans for the purpose of carrying gear.   [PL 2009, c. 201, §3 (AMD).]
B. Any person driving a vehicle used to transport workers must meet the driver qualifications and must follow the standards for driving set forth in 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 500.105.   [PL 2003, c. 616, §1 (NEW).]
C. Each vehicle used to transport workers must be equipped with a first aid kit consistent with 29 Code of Federal Regulations, section 1910.266, Appendix A and communications equipment capable of providing the most immediate access to emergency medical services. A vehicle equipped with such equipment and a driver must be available at or near the work site at all times during the work day. Emergency action plans, written in easily understandable English and in the language of the worker crews, must be developed and maintained for each job site. Plans must include information on how to transport injured workers to the nearest emergency facility and how to direct emergency workers to the location of an injured worker who can not be moved.   [PL 2009, c. 201, §3 (AMD).]
D. An employer must make reasonable efforts to limit the driving hours of any one driver in a day and to reduce driver fatigue generally. Hours of operation must also comply with the limitations set forth in 29 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 500.105. Except in an emergency, a worker who engages in reforestation or agricultural labor activities may not operate a vehicle more than 2 hours per day.
For purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural labor" has the same meaning as in section 1043, subsection 1.   [PL 2009, c. 201, §3 (AMD).]
E. A vehicle used to transport workers must be insured for at least the same minimum liability insurance as is required by the State.   [PL 2003, c. 616, §1 (NEW).]
F. Each employer shall provide to each worker and to the Department of Labor a copy of off-road driving safety standards consistent with those promoted in relevant safe driver training courses.   [PL 2003, c. 616, §1 (NEW).]
G. Each contract regarding or resulting in the employment of any worker must include a provision requiring the contractor who employs such workers to abide by this subchapter.   [PL 2009, c. 201, §3 (AMD).]
[PL 2009, c. 201, §3 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2003, c. 616, §1 (NEW). PL 2009, c. 201, §3 (AMD).