(1) Purpose. This part is adopted by the Washington state department
of labor and industries to implement the provisions of chapter 49.17 RCW
and establish minimum health and safety requirements for temporary worker
housing.
(2) Applicability.
(a) This part applies only to operators of temporary worker
housing. Operators using tents within the cherry harvest season
must refer to WAC 296-307-163,
Part L-1, or chapter 246-361
WAC.
(b) Operators with ten or more occupants are required to be licensed
under this part. Operators with nine or less employees are not required
to be licensed, but must comply with these standards.
For department of health licensing, on-site survey, water test fees,
etc., see WAC
246-358-990.
For the purposes of this part, the following words and phrases will
have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
“Agricultural employee” means any person who renders personal
services to, or under the direction of, an agricultural employer in connection
with the employer's agricultural activity.
“Agricultural employer” means any person engaged in agricultural
activity, including the growing, producing, or harvesting of farm or nursery
products, or engaged in the forestation or reforestation of lands, which
includes but is not limited to the planting, transplanting, tubing, precommercial
thinning, and thinning of trees and seedlings, the clearing, piling, and
disposal of brush and slash, the harvest of Christmas trees, and other
related activities.
“Building” means any structure used or intended to be used for
supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy that may include cooking,
eating, sleeping, and sanitation facilities.
“Common food-handling facility” means an area designated by the
operator for occupants to store, prepare, cook, and eat their own food
supplies.
“Current certificate (first aid)” means a first-aid training certificate
that has not expired.
“Department” means the Washington state department of health and/or
the department of labor and industries.
“Dining hall” means a cafeteria-type eating place with food furnished
by and prepared under the direction of the operator for consumption, with
or without charge, by occupants.
“Drinking fountain” means a fixture equal to a nationally recognized
standard or a designed-to-drain faucet, which provides potable drinking
water under pressure. “Drinking fountain” does not mean a bubble-type
water dispenser.
“Dwelling unit” means a shelter, building, or portion of a building,
that may include cooking and eating facilities, which is:
Provided and designated by the operator as either a sleeping area,
living area, or both, for occupants; and
Physically separated from other sleeping and common-use areas.
“First-aid qualified” means that the person holds a current certificate
of first-aid training from the American Red Cross or another course with
equivalent content or hours.
“Food-handling facility” means a designated, enclosed area for
preparation of food.
“Group A water system” means a public water system and includes
community and noncommunity water systems.
(a) A community water system means any Group A water system providing
service to fifteen or more service connections used by year-round residents
for one hundred eighty or more days within a calendar year, regardless
of the number of people, or regularly serving at least twenty-five year-round
(i.e., more than one hundred eighty days per year) residents.
(b) A noncommunity water system means a Group A water system that is
not a community water system. Noncommunity water systems are further
defined as:
(i) Nontransient (NTNC) water system that provides service opportunity
to twenty-five or more of the same nonresidential people for one hundred
eighty or more days within a calendar year.
(ii) Transient (TNC) water system that serves:
Twenty-five or more of the same people each day for sixty or more
days within a calendar year;
Twenty-five or more of the same people each day for sixty or more
days, but less than one hundred eighty days within a calendar year;
or
One thousand or more people for two or more consecutive days within
a calendar year.
“Group B water system” means a public water system:
(a) Constructed to serve less than fifteen residential services regardless
of the number of people; or
(b) Constructed to serve an average nonresidential population of less
than twenty-five per day for sixty or more days within a calendar year;
or
(c) Any number of people for less than sixty days within a calendar
year.
“Habitable room” means a room or space in a structure with a minimum
seven-foot ceiling used for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking. Bathrooms,
toilet compartments, closets, halls, storage or utility space, and similar
areas are not considered habitable space.
“Health officer” means the individual appointed as such for a
local health department under chapter 70.05 RCW or appointed as the director
of public health of a combined city-county health department under chapter
70.08 RCW.
“Livestock” means horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, etc.
“Livestock operation” means any place, establishment, or facility
consisting of pens or other enclosures in which livestock is kept for
purposes including, but not limited to, feeding, milking, slaughter, watering,
weighing, sorting, receiving, and shipping. Livestock operations include,
among other things, dairy farms, corrals, slaughterhouses, feedlots, and
stockyards. Operations where livestock can roam on a pasture over a distance
may be treated as outside the definition.
“MSPA” means the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection
Act (96 Stat. 2583; 29 U.S.C. Sec. 1801 et seq.).
“Occupant” means a temporary worker or a person who resides with a temporary
worker at the housing site.
“Operating license” means a document issued annually by the department
of health or contracted health officer authorizing the use of temporary
worker housing.
“Operator” means a person holding legal title to the land on which
temporary worker housing is located. However, if the legal title and the
right to possession are in different persons, “operator” means a person
having the lawful control or supervision over the temporary worker housing.
“Recreational park trailers” means a trailer-type unit that is
primarily designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational,
camping, or seasonal use, that meets the following criteria:
Built on a single chassis, mounted on wheels;
Having a gross trailer area not exceeding 400 square feet (37.15 square
meters) in the set-up mode; and
Certified by the manufacturer as complying with ANSI A119.5.
“Recreational vehicle” means a vehicular-type unit primarily designed
as temporary living quarters for recreational camping, travel, or seasonal
use that either has its own motive of power or is mounted on, or towed
by, another vehicle. Recreational vehicles include: Camping trailers,
fifth-wheel trailers, motor homes, travel trailers, and truck campers,
but does not include pickup trucks with camper shells, canopies, or other
similar coverings.
“Refuse” means solid wastes, rubbish, or garbage.
“Temporary worker” means an agricultural employee employed intermittently
and not residing year-round at the same site.
“Temporary worker housing” or “housing” means a place,
area, or piece of land where sleeping places or housing sites are provided
by an agricultural employer for agricultural employees or by another person,
including a temporary worker housing operator, who is providing such accommodations
for employees for temporary, seasonal occupancy.
“WISHA” means the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act,
chapter 49.17 RCW, administered by the Washington state department of
labor and industries.
(1) Must request a license from the department of health or health officer
when:
(a) Housing consists of:
(i) Five or more dwelling units; or
(ii) Any combination of dwelling units, or spaces that house ten
or more occupants.
(b) Compliance with MSPA requires a license; or
(c) Construction of camp buildings requires a license under chapter
246-359
WAC, Temporary worker housing construction standard.
(2) Must apply for an operating license at least forty-five days prior
to either the use of housing or the expiration of an existing operating
license by submitting to the department of health or health officer:
(a) A completed application on a form provided by the department of
health or health officer;
(b) Proof water system is current with all water tests required
by chapters 246-290
or 246-291
WAC; and
(3) Will receive an operating license for the maximum number of occupants
as determined by WAC
246-358-029 when:
(a) The application requirements from subsection (2) of this section
are met;
(b) The housing is in compliance with this part as demonstrated by:
(i) A licensing survey completed by the department of health; or
(ii) A self-survey completed by the operator and approved by the
department of health; and
(c) The operator complies with the corrective action plan established
by the department.
(4) May allow the use of housing without a renewed license when all of
the following conditions exist:
(a) The operator applied for renewal of an operating license in accordance
with subsection (2) of this section at least forty-five days before
occupancy, as evidenced by the post mark;
(b) The department of health or health officer has not inspected the
housing or issued an operating license;
(c) Other local, state, or federal laws, rules, or codes do not prohibit
use of the housing; and
(d) The operator provides and maintains housing in compliance with
this part.
(5) Must post the operating license in a place readily accessible to
occupants of the housing.
(6) Must notify the department of health or health officer of a transfer
of ownership.
(7) Must cooperate with the department or health officer during on-site
inspections.
If a licensed operator meets the requirements provided in this section,
then the operator may participate in the self-survey program. This means
an operator is allowed to conduct a self-survey for two years. On the
third year the department of health will conduct an on-site verification
survey to assure compliance with this chapter and determine if the temporary
worker housing still meets the requirements of the self-survey program.
(1) To be in the self-survey program the operator must:
(c) Have had two consecutive years without any deficiencies or have
had very minor deficiencies (for example one or two screens torn, missing
a few small trash cans, etc.); and
(d) Be recommended by the health surveyor.
(2) For a licensed operator to remain in the self-survey program the
licensed operator must:
(a) Continue to comply with subsection (1) of this section;
(b) Continue to not have any deficiencies or very minor deficiencies;
and
(c) Not have a change in ownership.
(3) When licensed temporary worker housing changes ownership, the new
licensed operator must comply with the requirements of subsection (1)
of this section before being eligible to be on the self-survey program.
(1) The maximum occupancy for operator-supplied housing will be based
on:
(a) The square footage of the housing facility; and
(b) The number of bathing, food handling, handwashing, laundry, and
toilet facilities.
(2) The maximum occupancy for worker-supplied housing will be based on:
(a) The number of spaces designated for worker-supplied housing by
the operator; and
(b) The number of bathing, food handling, handwashing, laundry, and
toilet facilities in excess of those facilities required for operator-supplied
housing.
Note: Worker-supplied housing includes recreational
park trailers, recreation vehicles, OSHA compliant tents, or other structures
that meet the requirements of this part.
Conditions may exist in operations that a state standard will
not have practical use. The director of the department of labor
and industries may issue a variance from the requirements of the
standard when another means of providing equal protection is provided.
The substitute means must provide equal protection in accordance
with the requirements of chapter 49.17 RCW and chapter
296-350 WAC, variances.
Applications for variances will be reviewed and may be investigated by
the department of labor and industries and the department of health. Variances
granted will be limited to the specific case or cases covered in the application
and may be revoked for cause. The variance shall remain prominently posted
on the premises while in effect.
Variance application forms may be obtained from the Department of Labor
and Industries, P.O. Box 44625, Olympia, Washington 98504-4625 or the
Department of Health, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, Washington 98504-7852,
upon request. Requests for variances from safety and health standards
shall be made in writing to the director or the assistant director, Department
of Labor and Industries, P.O. Box 44625, Olympia, Washington 98504-4625.
(Reference RCW 49.17.080 and 49.17.090.)
WAC 296-307-16125
Temporary worker housing sites. The operator must:
(1) Locate and operate a site to prevent a health or safety hazard that
is:
(a) Adequately drained and any drainage from and through the housing
must not endanger any domestic or public water supply;
(b) Free from periodic flooding and depressions in which water may
become a nuisance;
(c) At least two hundred feet from a swamp, pool, sink hole, or other
surface collection of water unless there is a mosquito prevention program
for those areas;
(d) Large enough to prevent overcrowding of necessary structures. The
principal housing area for sleeping and for food preparation and eating
must be at least five hundred feet from where livestock are kept; and
(e) The grounds and open areas surrounding the shelters must be in
a clean and sanitary condition.
(2) Must develop and implement a temporary worker housing management
plan and rules for operators with ten or more occupants, to assure that
the housing is operated in a safe and secure manner and is kept within
the approved capacity. Additionally, the licensed operator must:
(a) Inform occupants of the rules, in a language the occupant understands
by providing individual copies of the rules to each occupant or posting
the rules in the housing area;
(b) Restrict the number of occupants in the temporary worker housing
to the capacity as determined by the department.
(3) When closing housing permanently or for the season, complete the
following:
(a) Dispose of all refuse to prevent nuisance;
(b) Fill all abandoned toilet pits with earth; and
(c) Leave the grounds and buildings in a clean and sanitary condition.
(a) Approved as a Group A public water system in compliance with chapter
246-290
WAC if the water system supplies fifteen or more connections
or twenty-five or more people at least sixty days per year or
provide proof the temporary worker housing receives water from
an approved Group A public water system; or
(b) Approved as a Group B water system in compliance with chapter 246-291
WAC if the water system supplies less than fifteen connections
and does not supply twenty-five or more people at least sixty
days per year.
Note: A “same farm exemption” applies to a public
water system with four or fewer connections all of which serve residences
on the same farm. “Same farm” means a parcel of land or series of parcels
that are connected by covenants and devoted to the production of livestock
or agricultural commodities for commercial purposes and does not qualify
as a Group A water system.
Avg. of less than 25 people
Avg. of 25 or more people
At least 60 days or more
Group B
Group A TNC
59 days or less
Group B
Group B
Note: If a system has fifteen or more connections,
regardless of the population, it is a Group A water system.
(2) Provide an adequate and convenient hot and cold water supply for
drinking, cooking, bathing, and laundry purposes.
Note: An “adequate water supply” means the storage
capacity of the potable water system must meet the requirements of ASHRAE
1999 Applications Handbook, chapter 48, Water Systems.
(3) Ensure that the distribution lines are able to maintain the working
pressure of the water piping system at not less than fifteen pounds per
square inch after allowing for friction and other pressure losses.
(4) When water is not piped to each dwelling unit, provide cold, potable,
running water under pressure within one hundred feet of each dwelling
unit.
(5) When water sources are not available in each individual dwelling
unit, provide one or more drinking fountains for each one hundred occupants
or fraction thereof. Prohibit the use of common drinking cups or containers
from which water is dipped or poured.
(6) When water is unsafe for drinking purposes and accessible to occupants,
post a sign by the source reading “Do not drink. Do not use for washing.
Do not use for preparing food” printed in English and in the native language
of the persons occupying the housing, or marked with easily understood
pictures or symbols.
(1) Provide sewage disposal systems in accordance with local health jurisdictions.
(2) Connect all drain, waste, and vent systems from buildings to:
(a) Public sewers, if available; or
(b) Approved on-site sewage disposal systems that are designed,
constructed, and maintained as required in chapters
246-272 and 173-240
WAC, and local ordinances.
WAC 296-307-16140
Electricity and lighting. The operator must ensure that:
(1) Electricity is supplied to all dwelling units, kitchen facilities,
shower/bathroom facilities, common areas, and laundry facilities;
(2) All electrical wiring, fixtures and electrical equipment must comply
with the electric standards of the department of labor and industries
regulations, chapter 19.28 RCW, and local ordinances, and be maintained
in a safe condition;
(3) Each habitable room must have at least one ceiling-type light fixture
and at least one separate floor-type or wall-type convenience outlet;
(4) Laundry, toilet rooms, shower/bathroom facilities, and rooms where
people congregate have at least one ceiling-type or wall-type fixture;
(5) General lighting and task lighting is adequate to carry on normal
daily activities;
(6) Adequate lighting is provided for safe passage for occupants to handwashing
sinks and toilets. Note: Lighting requirements may be met by natural or
artificial means.
WAC 296-307-16145
Building requirements and maintenance. An operator must:
(1) Construct buildings to provide protection against the elements and
comply with:
(a) The State Building Code, chapter 19.27 RCW, or Temporary worker
housing construction standard, chapter 246-359
WAC;
(b) State and local ordinances, codes, regulations; and
(c) This part. Any shelter meeting these requirements is acceptable.
(2) Identify each dwelling unit and space used for shelter by posting
a number at each site.
(3) Maintain buildings in good repair and sanitary condition.
(4) Provide exits that are unobstructed and remain free of any material
or matter where its presence would obstruct or render the exit hazardous.
(5) Provide a ceiling height of at least seven feet for each habitable
room. If a building has a sloped ceiling, no portion of the room measuring
less than seven feet from the finished floor to the finished ceiling will
be included in any computation of the minimum floor space.
(6) Provide at least seventy square feet of floor space for the first
occupant and at least fifty square feet of floor space for each additional
occupant in each dwelling unit.
(7) Provide each room used for sleeping purposes with at least fifty
square feet of floor space for each occupant.
(8) Provide floors in accordance with the State Building Code, chapter
19.27 RCW, or Temporary worker housing construction standard,
chapter
246-359 WAC, that are tightly constructed and in good repair.
(9) Ensure wooden floors are at least one foot above ground level or
meet the requirements in the State Building Code, chapter 19.27
RCW or Temporary worker housing construction standard, chapter
246-359
WAC.
(10) Provide habitable rooms that have:
(a) Windows covering a total area equal to at least one-tenth of the
total floor area and at least one-half of each window can be opened
to the outside for ventilation; or
(b) Mechanical ventilation in accordance with applicable ASHRAE standards.
(11) Provide sixteen-mesh screening on all exterior openings and screen
doors with self-closing devices.
(12) Install all heating, cooking, and water heating equipment according
to state and local ordinances, codes, and regulations and maintain in
a safe condition.
(13) Provide adequate heating equipment if habitable rooms, including
bathrooms, are used during cold weather.
(14) Ensure that all recreational vehicles and park trailers meet the
requirements of chapters 296-150P and 296-150R WAC.
WAC 296-307-16155
Handwashing and bathing facilities. An operator must:
(1) Provide one handwash sink for each family dwelling unit or for every
six persons in centralized facilities. Handwash sinks must be adjacent
to toilets;
(2) Provide one showerhead for each family dwelling unit or for every
ten persons in centralized facilities;
(3) Provide one “service sink” in each building used for centralized
laundry, handwashing, or bathing;
(4) Provide sloped, coved floors of nonslip impervious materials with
floor drains;
(5) Ensure shower room walls are smooth and nonabsorbent to the height
of four feet. If used, partitions must be smooth and nonabsorbent to the
height of four feet;
(6) Provide all showers, baths, or shower rooms with floor drains to
remove wastewater;
(7) Provide cleanable, nonabsorbent waste containers;
(8) Maintain centralized bathing and handwashing facilities in a clean
and sanitary condition, cleaned at least daily;
(9) Request occupants of family dwelling units to maintain bathing and
handwashing facilities in a clean and sanitary condition;
(10) Ensure shower facilities provide privacy from the opposite sex and
the public; and
(11) Make showers and bathing facilities available when needed.
(1) General toilet requirements. Operators must provide flush toilets
unless chemical toilets or pit privies are specifically approved
by the department of health or health officer according to requirements
in chapter 246-272
WAC and ensure the following:
(a) Flush toilets, chemical toilets, and urinals must not be located
in any sleeping room, dining room, cooking or food-handling facility.
(b) When chemical toilets are approved, they must be:
(i) Located at least fifty feet from any dwelling unit or food-handling
facility;
(ii) Maintained by a licensed waste disposal company; and
(iii) Comply with local ordinances;
(c) When urinals are provided:
(i) There must be one urinal or two linear feet of urinal trough
for each twenty-five men;
(ii) The floors and the walls surrounding a urinal and extending
out at least fifteen inches on all sides must be constructed of materials
which will not be adversely affected by moisture;
(iii) The urinal must have an adequate water flush where water under
pressure is available; and
(iv) Urinal troughs are prohibited in pit privies.
(d) When pit privies are approved they must be:
(i) At least one hundred feet away from any sleeping room, dining
room, cooking, or food-handling facilities; and
(ii) Constructed to exclude insects and rodents from the pit.
(2) Centralized toilet facilities. The operator must meet the following
requirements when centralized toilet facilities are provided:
(a) Provide toilet rooms with:
(i) One toilet for every fifteen persons;
(ii) One handwashing sink for every six persons;
(iii) Either a window of at least six square feet opening directly
to the outside, or be satisfactorily ventilated; and
(iv) All outside openings screened with sixteen-mesh material;
(b) Locate toilet rooms so that:
(i) Toilets are within two hundred feet of the door of each sleeping
room; and
(ii) No person has to pass through a sleeping room to reach a toilet
room.
(c) Maintain toilets in a clean and sanitary condition, cleaned at
least daily;
(d) Provide each toilet compartment with an adequate supply of toilet
paper;
(e) When shared facilities will be used for both men and women:
(i) Provide separate toilet rooms for each sex with a minimum of
one toilet room for each sex and meet the required ratio as defined
in (a) of this subsection;
(ii) Identify each room for “men” and “women” with signs printed
in English and in the native language of the persons occupying the
camp, or identified with easily understood pictures or symbols; and
(iii) Separate facilities by solid walls or partitions extending
from the floor to the roof or ceiling when facilities for each sex
are located in the same building.
(3) Individual family/unit dwelling toilet requirements. If providing
flush toilets in individual cabins, apartments, or houses, the operator
must:
(a) Provide one toilet for each individual family dwelling unit or
fifteen persons;
(b) Provide one handwashing sink for each six persons. The sink must
be located in the toilet room or immediately adjacent;
(c) Provide a window of at least six square feet opening directly to
the outside, or be satisfactorily ventilated;
(d) Ensure all outside openings screened with sixteen-mesh material;
(e) Ensure toilet facilities are cleaned prior to occupancy and request
occupants to maintain the facilities in a clean and sanitary condition.
The operator must provide enclosed or screened cooking and food-handling
facilities for all occupants. The operator must provide adequate tables
and seating for occupants.
(1) If cooking facilities are located in dwelling units, the operator
must provide:
(a) An operable cook stove or hot plate with at least one cooking surface
for every two occupants;
(b) A sink with hot and cold running potable water under pressure;
(c) At least two (2) cubic feet of dry food storage space per occupant;
(d) Nonabsorbent, easily cleanable food preparation counters situated
off the floor;
(e) Mechanical refrigeration conveniently located and able to maintain
a temperature of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or below, with at least
two (2) cubic feet of storage space per occupant;
(f) Fire-resistant, nonabsorbent, nonasbestos, and easily cleanable
wall coverings adjacent to cooking areas;
(g) Nonabsorbent, easily cleanable floors; and
(h) Adequate ventilation for cooking facilities.
(2) In common food-handling facilities, the operator must provide:
(a) A room or building, adequate in size, separate from any sleeping
quarters;
(b) No direct openings to living or sleeping areas from the common
food-handling facility;
(c) An operable cook stove or hot plate with at least one cooking surface
for every four occupants, or four cooking surfaces for every two families;
(d) Sinks with hot and cold running potable water under pressure;
(e) At least two (2) cubic feet of dry food storage space per occupant;
(f) Nonabsorbent, easily cleanable food preparation counters situated
off the floor;
(g) Mechanical refrigeration conveniently located and able to maintain
a temperature of forty-five degrees Fahrenheit or below, with at least
two (2) cubic feet of storage space per occupant;
(h) Fire-resistant, nonabsorbent, nonasbestos, and easily cleanable
wall coverings adjacent to cooking areas;
(i) Nonabsorbent, easily cleanable floors; and
(j) Adequate ventilation for cooking facilities.
(3) The operator must ensure that centralized dining hall facilities
comply with chapter 246-215
WAC, Food service.
(1) Provide beds, cots, or bunks furnished with clean mattresses in good
condition for the maximum occupancy approved by the department of health
or health officer for operator-supplied housing;
(2) Maintain bedding, if provided by the operator, in a clean and sanitary
condition;
(3) Provide sufficient clearance between each cot, bed or bunk and the
floor or a commercially available cot, bed, or bunk;
(4) Allow space to separate beds laterally and end-to-end by at least
thirty-six inches when single beds are used;
(5) Meet the following requirements when bunk beds are used:
(a) Allow space to separate beds laterally and end-to-end by at least
forty-eight inches;
(b) Maintain a minimum space of twenty-seven inches between the upper
and lower bunks; and
(c) Prohibit triple bunks; and
(6) Provide storage facilities for clothing and personal articles in
each room used for sleeping.
(1) Comply with chapters 15.58 and 17.21 RCW and chapters 16-228
and 296-307
WAC, Parts I and
J, and pesticide label instructions when using pesticides
in and around the housing;
(2) Prohibit, in the housing area, the use, storage, and mixing of flammable,
volatile, or toxic substances other than those intended for household
use;
(3) Provide readily accessible first-aid equipment;
(4) Ensure that a first-aid qualified person is readily accessible to
administer first aid at all times;
(5) Store or remove unused refrigerator units to prevent access by children.
(1) Report immediately to the local health officer the name and address
of any individual in the camp known to have or suspected of having a communicable
disease;
(2) Report immediately to the local health officer:
(a) Suspected food poisoning;
(b) An unusual prevalence of fever, diarrhea, sore throat, vomiting,
or jaundice; or
(c) Productive cough, or when weight loss is a prominent symptom among
occupants;
(3) Prohibit any individual with a communicable disease from preparing,
cooking, serving, or handling food, foodstuffs, or materials in dining
halls.
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