Pesticide Safety Training

Employers must ensure that handlers are trained about general pesticide safety and the correct ways to handle pesticides. The training requirement is met for an employee if one of the following conditions is true:

• The worker or handler has received WPS-required training in the past five years, even if he or she has changed employers.
• The worker or handler is currently a certified applicator of restricted-use pesticides.
• The worker or handler is currently trained, as specified in the EPA certification and training regulations, as a handler who works under the supervision of a certified pesticide applicator.

Handlers must be trained before they do any pesticide-handling task. Employers must ensure that safety information is presented in a manner and language that the audience can understand, and use a translator, if necessary. The trainers should use written or audiovisual materials, or both; present the training orally or audio-visually; and respond to trainees' questions. Even if an employer does not normally provide pesticide safety training in the language of a particular job applicant, the employer is not exempted from training responsibilities under the WPS. Refusing to hire a qualified applicant because he or she cannot understand the language in which the training is usually provided may constitute discrimination on the basis of national origin.

To learn more about Pesticide Handler Safety visit our Pesticide Handler Safety Online Training web page.