EPA Agricultural Worker Protection Standard

The EPA Agricultural Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is aimed at reducing the risk of pesticide poisoning and injury among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The WPS offers occupational protections to over two million agricultural workers and pesticide handlers who work at over 600,000 farms, forests, nurseries, and greenhouses in the United States. The WPS requires that owners and employers on agricultural establishments provide protections to workers and handlers from potential pesticide exposure, train them about pesticide safety, and mitigate the dangers of any pesticide exposures that may occur. Though the WPS covers both agricultural workers and pesticide handlers, the content of this course focuses on WPS requirements that apply to agricultural workers and their employers.

The EPA issued the original WPS in 1992. In February 2014, the EPA proposed significant changes to the rulemaking. The 2015 revised rulemaking is the result of input from stakeholders on the most effective ways to protect workers from pesticide exposure in an agricultural setting. This final rule became effective January 1, 2016. Employers must comply with most of the new requirements on January 2, 2017. Employers will be required to comply with certain new requirements on January 1, 2018 or later.

Worker and handler employers can be subject to civil and criminal penalties if found in violation of the WPS, including all of the applicable revisions. Failure to comply with the WPS constitutes use of a pesticide in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

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