The Florida Senate

487.2031  Definitions.--For the purposes of this part, the term:

(1)  "Agricultural employer" means any person who hires or contracts for the services of workers to perform activities related to the production of agricultural plants or any person who is an owner of, or responsible for, the management or condition of an agricultural establishment that uses such workers.

(2)  "Agricultural establishment" means any farm, forest, nursery, or greenhouse.

(3)  "Agricultural plant" means any plant grown or maintained for commercial or research purposes and includes, but is not limited to, food, feed, fiber plants, trees, turfgrass, flowers, shrubs, ornamentals, and seedlings.

(4)  "Department" means the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

(5)  "Designated representative" means any organization or person to whom a worker gives written authorization to exercise the right to request the agricultural pesticide information pursuant to this part.

(6)  "Fact sheet" means an agricultural pesticide fact sheet approved by the state or Federal Government that provides information about the impacts of the use of an agricultural pesticide.

(7)  "Material safety data sheet" means written or printed material concerning an agricultural pesticide that sets forth the following information:

(a)  The chemical name and the common name of the agricultural pesticide.

(b)  The hazards or other risks in the use of the agricultural pesticide, including:

1.  The potential for fire, explosions, corrosivity, and reactivity.

2.  The known acute health effects and chronic health effects of exposure to the agricultural pesticide, including those medical conditions that are generally recognized as being aggravated by exposure to the agricultural pesticide.

3.  The primary routes of entry and symptoms of overexposure.

(c)  The proper handling practices, necessary personal protective equipment, and other proper or necessary safety precautions in circumstances that involve the use of or exposure to the agricultural pesticide, including appropriate emergency treatment in case of overexposure.

(d)  The emergency procedures for spills, fire, disposal, and first aid.

(e)  A description of the known specific potential health risks posed by the agricultural pesticide, which is written in lay terms and is intended to alert any person who reads the information.

(f)  The year and month, if available, that the information was compiled and the name, address, and emergency telephone number of the manufacturer responsible for preparing the information.

(8)  "Retaliatory action" means an action, such as dismissal, demotion, harassment, blacklisting with other employers, reducing pay or work hours, or taking away company housing, that is taken by any agricultural employer against a worker who exercises any right under the provisions of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 1707(b), or this part.

(9)  "Trainer" means any person who is qualified to train workers under the pesticide safety training requirements of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Worker Protection Standard, 40 C.F.R. s. 170.130.

(10)  "Worker" means any person, including a farmworker or a self-employed person, who receives any type of compensation for employment that involves tasks relating to the production of agricultural plants on an agricultural establishment. The term "worker" does not include any person employed by a commercial pesticide-handling establishment to perform tasks as a crop advisor.

History.--s. 49, ch. 2004-64.