13A ONC § 5-104 Worker health and safety

§ 5-104. Worker health and safety.

A. The requirements set forth in this section apply to all agricultural operations on all Osage Nation land. Employers are responsible for furnishing employees a place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.

B. All employees are required to follow the employer’s safety plan.

1. Employers shall conduct an assessment of the entire agricultural operation to determine all potential sources of accident or injury.

2. After assessing all potential sources of injury, employers shall create a safety plan and post it in an area that is visible to all employees and supervisors.

3. The safety plan must list all rules and requirements that employees must follow while on the farm.

1. All employees who use agricultural chemicals shall complete training on the proper use of the chemicals before use.

2. All employers must provide the proper protective equipment to any employee who uses agricultural chemicals.

3. All employees that use agricultural chemicals must follow all directions and guidance provided on the label.

1. All farm equipment shall be kept in good working order and periodically maintained.

2. The power shall be turned off before any maintenance is performed on machinery or equipment.

3. Machinery or equipment guards and shields shall always be kept in place when machinery is in use.

4. Extra riders shall not be allowed on farm equipment.

5. Seatbelts installed on machinery and equipment shall be worn while using equipment.

6. Farm equipment shall have operators’/users’ manuals available for employees and all employees who operate the equipment must be trained on the proper use of the equipment.

1. Protective equipment and clothing will be provided by the employer wherever the employee may be exposed to any condition that could cause injury or impairment in the function of any part of the body through absorption, inhalation or physical contact, including but not limited to chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical hazards.

2. All employees requiring protective equipment shall be fitted with and shall properly utilize the required protective equipment to minimize/eliminate exposure to safety hazards and health risks.

3. Employers will provide employees appropriate eye or face protection when the employee will be exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation. Protective eye and face equipment must be of sufficient quality to protect the eyes and face. All employees are required to wear the prescribed eye and face protection at any time the employee will be exposed to potential hazards.

1. A properly stocked emergency first aid kit and medical equipment shall be made available to employees in the farm office, farmyard, and wherever employees are working.

2. The employer shall designate an employee and provide training in first aid and CPR or have the employee certified as a medical first responder.

a. All employees involved in farm operations must be trained on farm safety, including farm safety policies and procedures.

b. The training shall include emphasis on safety and health hazards, emergency operations including severe weather and fire, and safe work programs applicable to the employee’s job task.

a. Refresher training shall be provided at least annually, and more often if necessary, to each employee involved in agricultural operations to ensure that the employee understands and adheres to current operating/work procedures.

a. A farmer that uses child labor must conduct a farm child safety audit. The audit must list at a minimum all potential child safety risks, including but not limited to toxic chemical exposure, power tools and equipment, livestock, and heavy machinery.

b. The child safety audit must include the names and ages of all child agricultural workers and a record of the hours each child worked and the duties the child performed.

c. The child safety audit should be revised regularly.

d. The child safety audit and associated records must be kept on site and readily available for inspection by Osage Nation Inspection Authority.

a. Children who are under twelve (12) years of age shall not be employed as an agricultural worker.

b. Children who are between the ages of thirteen (13) and fifteen (15):

i. Shall not be employed as an agricultural worker at any time during local school hours;

ii. Shall not work more than four hours a day, for more than six days a week; and

iii. Shall not perform any task that is particularly hazardous for persons under the age of sixteen (16), or detrimental to their health and well-being.

c. Children who are sixteen (16) years or older:

i. Shall not be employed as an agricultural worker at any time during local school hours;

ii. Shall not work more than six hours a day, for more than six days a week; and

iii. Shall not perform any task that is particularly hazardous for persons sixteen (16) years of age or older, or detrimental to their health and well-being without proper training and safety equipment, if appropriate.

a. The following tasks are determined to be particularly hazardous for persons under the age of sixteen (16), or detrimental to their health and well-being:

i. Operating a tractor of over twenty (20) power take-off (PTO) horsepower or connecting or disconnecting an implement or any of its parts to or from such a tractor;

ii. Operating or assisting to operate (including starting, stopping, adjusting, feeding or any other activity involving physical contact associated with the operation) any of the following machines: corn picker, cotton picker, grain combine, hay mower, forage harvester, hay baler, potato digger, mobile pea viner; feed grinder, crop dryer, forage blower, auger conveyer, or the unloading mechanism of a nongravity-type self-unloading wagon or trailer; or power post hole diggers, power post driver, or nonwalking type rotary tiller;

iii. Operating or assisting to operate (including starting, stopping, adjusting, feeding, or any other activity involving physical contact associated with the operation) any of the following machines: trencher or earthmoving equipment; forklift; potato combine; or power-driven circular, band, or chain saw;

iv. Working on a farm in a yard, pen, or stall occupied by a: bull, boar, or stud horse maintained for breeding purposes; a sow with suckling pigs; or a cow with a newborn calf (with umbilical cord present);

v. Felling, bucking, skidding, loading, or unloading timber with butt diameter of more than six inches;

vi. Working from a ladder or scaffold (painting, repairing, or building structures, pruning trees, picking fruit, etc.) at a height of over twenty (20) feet;

vii. Driving a bus, truck, or automobile when transporting passengers or riding on a tractor as a passenger or helper;

viii. Working inside: a fruit, forage, or grain storage designed to retain an oxygen deficient or toxic atmosphere; an upright silo within two weeks after silage has been added or when a top unloading device is in operating position; a manure pit; or a horizontal silo while operating a tractor for packing purposes;

ix. Handling or applying toxic agricultural chemicals (including cleaning or decontaminating equipment, disposal or return of empty containers, or serving as a flagman for aircraft applying such chemicals). Such toxic chemicals are identified by the word “poison,” or “warning,” or are identified by a skull and crossbones on the label;

x. Handling or using a blasting agent, including, but not limited to, dynamite, black powder, sensitized ammonium nitrate, blasting caps, and primer cord; or

xi. Transporting, transferring, or applying anhydrous ammonia.

a. The provisions in this section do not apply to:

i. A child who is employed on a farm owned by the child’s parent or guardian; or

ii. A child who is engaged in traditional hunting or gathering activities for subsistence and not sale. ONCA 21-40, eff. Apr. 28, 2021.