New Bill Seeks to Improve Safety for Washington State Dairy Workers

When you think of jobs with a high risk of occupational injury, dairy probably isn't the first to come to mind. Nonetheless, Washington lawmakers have proposed a new bill that's intended to improve the safety of state dairy workers. The bill, HB2824, would guide the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries to implement new rules regarding the training for dairy farm workers.

So, what new rules are being proposed in HB2824? You can click here to read the bill in its entirely, but one of its main points is the requirement of at least trained supervisor on site at all times. Up until now, there's been no such requirement -- state or federal -- for dairy workers. Occupational safety officials, however, believe this is placing workers at risk for injury or even death, as lack of supervision increases the risk of incidents.

"Provide that the employer must have at least one supervisor present on site who has completed the agriculture safety training, and that for every ten dairy farm employees working on site, theremust be at least one supervisor who has completed the agriculture safety training," wrote lawmakers in HB2824.

In addition, the newly proposed bill would also ban discrimination and/or retaliation against workers who report safety violations to OSHA or other occupational safety enforcement entities. This has been a growing concern in recent years, as many workers are believed to have withheld vital information about dairy safety violations, fearing they would lose their jobs. This bill seeks to end retaliation against whistleblowers in the diary industry, encouraging them to step forward and report violations regarding worker safety and health.

Assuming HB2824 passes, it would require every dairy farm in Washington to be inspected at least once every three years. That may sound excessive, but there's currently no such requirement, and officials believe this has allowed employers to ignore many safety rules.

HB2824 is being supported by a number of different organizations, one of which is the United Farm Workers of America. Studies have shown that a dairy worker is killed roughly once every 16 months, attesting to the need for enhanced safety. Just recently, a 27-year-old worker from Washington died after being submerged in a lagoon on a front loader. Officials determined that there were no fencing present around the lagoon..