The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries is creating a new team aimed at improving farmworker safety.
When fully staffed, the agriculture compliance unit will create 16 new positions, the Yakima Herald reported. Thirteen of those posts will focus on agriculture worksite inspection and safety complaints. Three will work on education and outreach to farm operators and employees, according to a news release.
The agency formed the new team in response to “an unprecedented” 433 agriculture inspections in 2020. Those inspections led to employer citations for more than 500 violations.
Worker fatalities in agriculture also increased from 10 in 2019 to 14 in 2020. Three deaths were from COVID-19, with the remaining deaths from preventable workforce hazards, such as tractor rollovers and machinery-related incidents.
The new agriculture unit is expected to be in place before the end of the upcoming growing and harvest seasons. Funding for the new team was approved in the new state budget signed by Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this week.
Topics Agribusiness Washington
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Dei Primus Holdings Launches LUCY, a Fully Autonomous Insurance Carrier 
Risk Strategies Claims Ex-Employees’ Talent and Customer Raid Has Cost It $900K 
GAO: Wind Risk Linked to Larger Insurance Premium Jumps Than Wildfire 
Maryland Reaches Settlement With Ship Owner, Operator Over Bridge Collapse 
