In an effort spearheaded by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb.,
43 senators today sent a letter to
Labor Secretary Thomas Perez alleging
OSHA’s stepped up enforcement of regulations on small farms with grain bins
flies in the face of 35 years of lawmaking. “Congress has included very
specific language in appropriation bills,” Johanns said
yesterday on the Senate floor. The language precludes funds appropriated for
OSHA from being used “for rules or regulations applying to [farms with working]
populations of 10 or fewer,” Johanns said.
According to Johanns, one small farm in Holt County, Neb.,
was fined $132,000 for grain bin-related OSHA violations.
It is true that small businesses performing farming
operations are excluded from OSHA regulations under the Farming Appropriations
Rider. But the agency, in a 2011
memo, told its administrators that producers “engaged in performing
services on crops, subsequent to their harvest, with the intent of preparing
them for market or further processing” would not be exempt from oversight.
The memo further said that farms that fumigate, dry or
process grains and sell that product to market fall under OSHA’s regulatory
system.
But Johanns and his allies say most farms, even small ones,
have grain storage bins – meaning OSHA is overstepping its authority.
“The use of grain bins is an integral part of farming
operations,” the senators wrote. “Without grain bins, farmers must sell corn
and soybeans immediately after harvest, when prices are usually low. Any farm
that employs 10 or fewer employees and used grain bins only for storage prior
to marketing should be exempt, as required by law, from OSHA regulations.”
The senators asked OSHA to halt its regulations of the
relevant farms, “correct its misinterpretation” in conversation with USDA and
other components of the agriculture sector; and “provide a list and description
of the regulatory actions taken since 2011 against farms with incorrectly
categorized non-farming activities and 10 or fewer employees.”
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