(a) An employer is a "covered employer" if the employer annually uses or stores in excess of the threshold amount of any one covered pesticide chemical, and either directly, or through labor agents:      
        (1) hires agricultural laborers to perform seasonal or migrant work and whose gross annual payroll for those laborers is $15,000 or more; or       
        (2) hires agricultural laborers for purposes other than seasonal or migrant work and whose gross annual payroll for those laborers is $50,000 or more.       
      (b) An employer is a covered employer if the employer meets the minimum payroll requirements described in subsection (a)(1) or (2) of this section and causes agricultural laborers to be present in a workplace(s) where the threshold amount of any one covered pesticide chemical is annually used or stored. An example of such an employer may be a packing shed or other entity which makes an agreement with a farmer to furnish agricultural laborers to produce a crop being produced at the farmer's farm. In such instances, the packing shed and the farmer would have the following responsibilities under the Act:      
        (1) If the packing shed meets the minimum payroll requirement and covered pesticides in excess of the threshold amount are used or stored in the workplace(s) where the packing shed's agricultural laborers are present, the packing shed is responsible for complying with the requirements of these regulations for all of its employees that meet the definition of "agricultural laborer."       
        (2) The packing shed's responsibilities extend only to the agricultural laborers furnished by the packing shed and only to the work area(s) where these laborers are present.       
        (3) If the packing shed causes agricultural laborers to be present at more than one farm or work area, the covered chemicals used or stored at all such work areas will be totaled to determine whether more than the threshold amount is stored or used.       
        (4) The packing shed is free to secure the assistance of others in performing particular responsibilities. For instance, it may use crew leaders or foremen to read the crop sheets and it may arrange for farmers to help compile the workplace chemical lists. However, responsibility for compliance rests solely with the packing shed.       
        (5) The farmer in this example has no responsibility under the Act with respect to the packing shed's agricultural laborers.       
        (6) The farmer is responsible for complying with the Act only if the farmer standing alone is a covered employer. In other words, the packing shed's agricultural laborers are not counted in determining whether the farmer meets the minimum payroll test for coverage.       
        (7) Even where the farmer is a covered employer, the farmer's only responsibility under the Act is with respect to those agricultural laborers whom the farmer has hired directly or through a labor agent.       
        (8) The coverage and responsibility described in this example is the same for other entities which furnish agricultural laborers to perform work on a farmer's farm, including seed producers who furnish laborers to rogue or detassel a seed crop, canneries or processors who furnish field laborers, and gins who furnish hoeing or weeding laborers.       
      (c) Hiring "through labor agents" includes an employer who contracts with or utilizes a crew leader or labor contractor to provide harvesters or other agricultural laborers.     
      (d) Amounts paid by an employer to a labor agent, crew leader, or labor contractor are considered part of the employer's gross annual payroll for purposes of subsection (a) of this section.     
      (e) Where an employer uses or stores any covered pesticide chemicals in more than one work area or workplace, the total amount used in all such work areas and workplaces shall be counted to determine whether he or she annually uses in excess of the threshold amount.     
      (f) An employer who purchases in excess of the threshold amount of a covered pesticide chemical at one time or within a period of one calendar year is presumed to have used or stored in excess of the threshold amount of a covered pesticide chemical.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §8.4 adopted to be effective February 14, 1989, 14 TexReg 617; amended to be effective July 5, 1994, 19 TexReg 4814; amended to be effective February 13, 2023, 48 TexReg 655