New Agriculture Industry Guidance Spells Out Safety and Health Requirements During Pandemic

Related Practices: Agriculture and Employment

Category: Covid-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Prevention in Agriculture and Related Industries

Food Processing-Warehouse Coronavirus (COVID-19) Fact Sheet

The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has issued guidelines and the above Fact Sheets outlining how agricultural-based businesses located in Washington state (including both orchard/field and warehouse/processing operations) are required to operate in connection with the present COVID-19 circumstances. The information outlined in the attached Fact Sheets is generally in-line with prior guidelines and advice provided by the Stokes Lawrence Velikanje Moore & Shore Agriculture practice and various government agencies. The main difference is that these guidelines are now required by law and are subject to L&I enforcement.

The state will be issuing additional guidelines/requirements in connection with temporary agricultural worker housing. We’ll share that additional guidance once it is issued.

If you have any questions regarding the attached Fact Sheets or any related topics, please feel free to reach out to Dustin Yeager, Brendan Monahan, Sarah Wixson, Morrie Shore, Charissa Johnston, Krista Slosburg, or any other contact you have at our firm.

You can also find various other employment based and COVID-19-related recommendations and legal commentary on our website at https://www.stokeslaw.com/covid19-resources.