Field Operations Handbook — Chapter 36

Chapter 36
FIELD SANITATION AND TEMPORARY LABOR CAMP STANDARDS IN AGRICULTURE
UNDER THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT OF 1970
Source: FOH Revision 772, published 01/19/2021. Substantive revisions made after 01/19/2021
are noted at t he end of affected provisions below.
Table of Contents
36a OVERVIEW
36a00 History.
36a01 Purpose.
36a02 Geographical scope.
36a03 Glossary.
36b STATUTORY AND REGULATORY COVERAGE
36b00 Introduction.
36b01 Statutory coverage.
36b02 Employment test and joint employment.
36c (RESERVED)
36d FIELD SANITATION STANDARDS
36d00 Generally.
36d01 Definition of “a gricultural employer” and “agricultural establishment.”
36d02 Regulatory coverage.
36d03 Requirement to furnish at no cost to employees.
36d04 Potable drinking water.
36d05 Toilets and handwashing facilities.
36d06 Maintenance.
36d07 Disclosure and reasonable use.
36d08 Reforestation.
36d09 Christmas tree farms.
36d10 Pine straw.
36e TEMPORARY LABOR CAMPS IN AGRICULTURE
36e00 Generally.
36e01 Date of construction.
36e02 Housing must be related to employment.
36e03 No minimum number of employees required.
36e04 Rent charged for housing.
36e05 Substantive housing requirements.
36f (RESERVED)

36a OVERVIEW
36a00 History.
(a) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSH Act) was enacted to ensure safe and
healthy working conditions. The OSH Act is enforced by DOL’s Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) either directly or by individual states through an OSHA-
approved State Plan.
References:
29 U.S.C. 651, et seq.
29 U.S.C. 655
29 U.S.C. 657
29 CFR 1903.3(a)

FOH 36a02
(b) OSHA issued standards establishing minimum standards for field sanitation and temporary
labor camps in agricultural employment settings covered by the OSH Act. A detailed
discussion of the field sanitation requirements appears in FOH 36d, and the temporary labor
camp requirements appear in FOH 36e.
References:
29 U.S.C. 655
29 CFR 1928.110

(c) WHD generally has authority under sections 8, 9, and 10 of the OSH Act to conduct
inspections, issue citations, assess penalties, and develop and issue compliance interpretations
regarding field sanitation and temporary labor camp standards in the agricultural industry.
OSHA retained rulemaking authority for field sanitation and temporary labor camp standards
under section 6 of the OSH Act.
References:
29 U.S.C. 655
29 U.S.C. 657–659
Secretary’s Order 5-96

Secretary’s Order 6-96
Secretary’s Order 8-2020
85 FR 58393 (Sept. 18, 2020)
62 FR 107
36a01 Purpose.
Absent or inadequate sanitation and hygiene are principal factors in transmitting disease.
Access to potable water and toilet and handwashing facilities help prevent heat-related
illnesses and the transmission of many communicable diseases. WHD is therefore entrusted
with ensuring that workers have access to these facilities as part of a safe and healthy
working environment.
References:
29 U.S.C. 651
52 FR 16050 (May 1, 1987)

29 CFR 1910.142
36a02 Geographical scope.
(a) WHD has nationwide authority to enforce the OSH Act’s field sanitation and temporary-labor
camp standards, with two exceptions. First, WHD does not have enforcement authority in the
14 states that have retained enforcement authority under an approved State Plan. Second,
WHD does not have authority over temporary labor camps where workers are engaged in
egg, poultry, or red meat production or in post-harvest processing of agricultural or
horticultural commodities. Standards in those camps are enforced by Federal OSHA or states
with a State Plan.
Region States with WHD Enforcement
Authority
OSHA-Approved State Plan
States
Northeast
Region
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Maryland
Puerto Rico
Virginia
Vermont
Southeast
Region

Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Mississippi
South Carolina
Virgin Islands
North Carolina
Tennessee

Region States with WHD Enforcement
Authority
OSHA-Approved State Plan
States
Midwest
Region
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Ohio
Wisconsin
Michigan
Southwest
Region
Arkansas
Colorado
Louisiana
Montana
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Wyoming
New Mexico
Western
Region
Alaska
Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands
Guam
American Samoa
Idaho
Arizona
California
Hawaii
Nevada
Oregon
Washington

OSHA-approved state plans for Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, and the
Virgin Islands cover only state and local government workers. In these cases, private sector

workers and employees are subject to WHD’s authority to enforce the field sanitation and
temporary labor camp requirements.
References:
29 U.S.C. 657–659
Secretary’s Order 5-96

Secretary’s Order 8-2020 (Sept. 18, 2020)
www.osha.gov/stateplans
(b) Even in states with State Plans, WHD has authority to enforce the temporary labor camp
standards under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) and
H-2A visa program.
References:
29 U.S.C. 657–659
29 CFR 1910.142

Secretary’s Order 5-9 6
www.osha.gov/stateplans
36a03 Glossary.
(a) Abatement verification refers to regulations that require a cited employer to certify (and in
some instances furnish documents showing) that each cited violation has been abated. WHD
does not enforce the abatement verification requirements but will:
(1) inform employers of the requirements; and
(2) refer allegations of non-compliance with those requirements to OSHA for further
action.
References:
29 CFR 1903.19

(b) Affects commerce, as used in the OSH Act’s definition of “employee” and affecting
commerce, as used in its definition of “employer,” are synonyms. Although not defined in the
OSH Act, both terms describe the breadth of activities relative to commerce that govern
whether the Act applies. Conceptually, the terms include, but are more expansive than, the
FLSA term “engaged in commerce or the production of goods for commerce.”
References:
29 U.S.C. 652
29 U.S.C. 651(b)
29 CFR 1975.3(a)

(c) An agricultural employer under the field sanitation standard is a person, corporation,
association, or other legal entity that:
(1) owns or operates an agricultural establishment;

(2) contracts with the owner or operator of an agricultural establishment in advance of
production for the purchase of a crop and exercises substantial control over
production; or
(3) recruits and supervises employees or is responsible for the management and
condition of an agricultural establishment.
The term is not synonymous with the term as defined in the FLSA or MSPA.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)

(d) An agricultural establishment under the field sanitation standard is a business operation that
uses paid employees in the production of food, fiber, or other materials such as seed,
seedlings, plants, or parts of plants.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)

(e) A citation is the document used to notify an employer that WHD has determined that a
violation of the field sanitation or temporary labor camp standards has occurred. A citation
must be in writing and specify each violation and the abatement period within which the
employer must abate each violation. It is accompanied by a notification of proposed penalties.
References:
29 U.S.C. 658
(f) Commerce means trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among several
states; between a state and any place outside such state or within the District of Columbia or a
territory of the United States; or between points in the same state but through a point outside
that state.
References:
29 U.S.C. 652(3)
(g) Employee means an employee of an employer who is employed in a business that affects
commerce.
References:
29 U.S.C. 652(6)
(h) Employer means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees. It
does not include the federal government or the government of a state or political subdivision
of a state.
References:
29 U.S.C. 652(5)
(i) Hand-labor operations are agricultural activities or agricultural operations performed by
hand or with hand tools and includes other activities or operations performed in conjunction
with hand labor in the field. Hand-cultivation, hand-weeding, hand-planting, and hand-

harvesting of vegetables, nuts, fruits, seedlings, or other crops, including mushrooms, are
examples of these operations. So are hand-packing produce into containers, whether done on
the ground, on a moving machine, or in a temporary packing shed located in the field. The
term does not include activities such as logging operations, the care or feeding of livestock, or
hand-labor operations in permanent structures such as canning facilities or packinghouses.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)

(j) Imminent danger refers to conditions or practices that cause a danger that could reasonably be
expected to cause death or serious physical harm either immediately or before the imminence
of the danger can be eliminated through usual enforcement procedures.
References:
29 U.S.C. 662(a)
(k) Person means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, business
trusts, legal representatives, or any organized group of persons.
References:
29 U.S.C. 652(4)
(l) A serious violation occurs at a place of employment if there is a substantial probability that
death or serious physical harm could result from:
(1) An existing condition or
(2) One or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes that have been
adopted or are in use.
There is no violation if the employer did not, and could not with the exercise of reasonable
diligence, know of the presence of the violation. WHD analyzes the nature and gravity of a
violation when considering whether a penalty for a serious violation is appropriate.
References:
29 U.S.C. 666(k)
36b STATUTORY AND REGULATORY COVERAGE
36b00 Introduction.
Generally, agricultural employees of an agricultural employer are covered by the OSH Act,
and OSHA issued several standards to protect the safety and health of agricultural workers.
These standards include rules for sanitation facilities in the field. A separate OSHA standard
deals with hazards in temporary labor camps. Establishments are subject to WHD’s
jurisdiction only if they are covered by both the OSH Act and one of these two regulations.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110

29 CFR 1910.142
52 FR 16050

36b01 Statutory coverage.
(a) Definition of employer.
Under the OSH Act:
(1) Employer means a person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has
employees. However, the term does not include state and local governments or
federal agencies (other than the United States Postal Service).
(2) Person means one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations,
business trusts, legal representatives, or any organized group of persons.
(3) Employee means an employee of an employer who is employed in a business of his
employer which affects commerce. Whether a worker is an employee depends on
what the employer does, not by what the employee does.
References:
29 CFR 1910.2(b)

52 FR 16095
(b) Definition of commerce.
Commerce means trade, traffic, commerce, transportation, or communication among several
states (including the District of Columbia and U.S. territories); between a state and any place
outside that state; or between points in the same state but through a point outside that state.
References:
29 U.S.C. 651, et. seq.
29 CFR 1910.2(e)

(c) Affects and affecting commerce.
Conceptually, the terms affects and affecting commerce include, but are more expansive than,
the FLSA term engaged in commerce or the production of goods for commerce. OSHA, the
Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC), and the courts have
consistently interpreted affects and affecting commerce so as to have the broadest possible
application. Under the OSH Act, the commerce element is typically shown when the person
sells goods to out-of-state purchasers, uses materials or equipment from outside the state, or
buys goods from places outside the state.
References:
29 CFR 776.1

29 CFR 1910.2(c)
29 CFR 1910.2(e)
(d) No individual coverage.
(1) Nothing in the OSH Act’s coverage is equivalent to individual coverage under the
FLSA. Unlike the FLSA, the OSH Act applies to employers regardless of their
annual dollar volume of business.

(2) Statutory coverage cannot be presumed: it must be affirmatively established and
documented for every case.
References:
29 CFR 776.1

29 CFR 1910.5
29 CFR 1975.3(a)
FOH 36a03
36b02 Employment test and joint employment.
(a) The primary factor in determining whether a worker is an employee under the OSH Act is the
right to control the worker. Other factors include:
(1) the skill required;
(2) the source of the instrumentalities and tools;
(3) the location of the work;
(4) the duration of the relationship between the parties;
(5) the extent of the hired party’s discretion over when and how long to work;
(6) the method of payment;
(7) the hired party’s role in hiring and paying assistants;
(8) whether the work is part of the regular business of the hiring party;
(9) whether the hiring party is in business;
(10) provision of employee benefits; and
(11) the tax treatment of the hired party.
Migrant farm workers paid and supervised by a farm labor contractor have been regarded as
employees of the farmer because the latter gave instructions about the picking of the crop, set
the wages, and could force the contractor to discipline and fire the workers.
References:
29 U.S.C. 652(5)
29 U.S.C. 651(b)
29 CFR 1975.3(a)

29 CFR 1904.31
Nationwide Mutual Ins. Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318 (1992)
Griffin and Brand of McAllen, Inc., 6 BNA OSHC 1702 (No. 14801, 1978)
(b) Under the joint employer doctrine, more than one employer may be held responsible for
complying with the OSH Act. To establish a joint employer relationship, there must be
evidence that one employer meaningfully affects matters relating to the employment

relationship such as hiring, firing, disciplining, supervising, and directing the other entity’s
employees.
References:
52 FR 16050

52 FR 16086
OSHA Opinion Letter (April 25, 1994)
IRA Holiday Logging Co., 1 BNA OSHC 1200 (No. 237)
36c (RESERVED)
36d FIELD SANITATION STANDARDS
36d00 Generally.
OSHA requires agricultural employers to provide potable drinking water, toilet facilities, and
handwashing facilities to covered employees engaged in hand-labor operations. The
employers must do so at no cost to the employees and give the employees reasonable
opportunities for use.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110

36d01 Definition of “agricultural employer” and “agricultural establishment.”
(a) For purposes of the field sanitation standards, an agricultural employer is a person,
corporation, association, or other legal entity that:
(1) Owns or operates an agricultural establishment;
(2) Contracts with the owner or operator of an agricultural establishment in advance of
production to purchase of a crop and exercises substantial control over production; or
(3) Recruits and supervises employees or is responsible for the management and
condition of an agricultural establishment.
References:
29 CFR 1928.21(a)

29 CFR 1928.110(b)
(b) Employers for field sanitation standards may include farm labor contractors and harvest
companies. Additionally, an advance purchaser of a crop or a substantial part of a crop who
exercises substantial control over production is specified to be an employer. DOL will hold
those who are best able to assure that adequate potable water and sanitation facilities are
provided to agricultural workers in the fields jointly and severally responsible for compliance.
References:
OSHA Standards Interpretation, Standard Number 1928.110 (April 25, 1994)

(c) An agricultural establishment is a business operation that uses paid employees in the
production of food, fiber, or other materials such as seed, seedlings, plants, or parts of plants.

References:
29 CFR 1928.21(a)

29 CFR 1928.110(b)
36d02 Regulatory coverage.
(a) 11-employee requirement.
(1) Under OSHA’s regulations, employers are subject to the field sanitation standards
only if they, in the preceding 12 months, employed 11 or more workers on any given
day in hand-labor operations in the field.
(2) The only employees who count toward the 11-employee requirement are those who
fall within the definition of “hand-labor operations.” Employees engaged in certain
excluded field or field-related activities do not count toward the 11-employee
requirement, nor do family members of the employer. Finally, the 11 or more
workers may have worked in separate fields for the same agricultural employer, and
the number of employees is day-specific (that is, not a collective or cumulative
count). The number of employees employed on the date of the investigation does not
determine coverage unless that number equals 11 or more workers.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(a)–(b)
52 FR 16084
OSHA Memorandum “Interpretation of 29 CFR 1928.110(a)” (February 6, 1989)
(b) Hand-labor operations.
Hand-labor operations are those agricultural activities or agricultural operations performed by
hand or with hand tools. With exception of accessibility to toilet and handwashing facilities
the term generally also includes other activities or operations performed in conjunction with
hand labor in the field. Activities such as hand-cultivation, hand-weeding, hand-planting, and
hand-harvesting of vegetables, nuts, fruits, seedlings, or other crops, and the hand-packing of
produce into containers, whether done on the ground, on a moving machine or in a temporary
packing shed located in the field, are all examples of hand labor operations.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c)(2)(iii)

(c) Machine operators.
Workers who operate machines in conjunction with hand laborers, such as tractor drivers
pulling the platform from which the hand-labor occurs, are themselves engaged in hand labor
operations. For example, if an employer has a tractor effectively working as part of a crew in
a field, the tractor operator is a hand-laborer for the purpose of calculating the number of
hand-laborers working in the field.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)
52 FR 16087

(d) Mushroom farms.
Hand-labor operations in growing mushrooms, whether inside permanent structures or not,
are subject to the field sanitation standard.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)
52 FR 16087

(e) Activities that are not hand labor.
Hand-labor does not include such activities as:
(1) working in permanent greenhouse structures;
(2) packing or canning in permanent structures;
(3) engaging in logging or livestock operations; and
(4) working on agricultural machinery not in conjunction with hand labor.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)
52 FR 16087
36d03 Requirement to furnish at no cost to employees.
(a) Generally.
Covered employers must provide field sanitation facilities to covered employees at no cost to
the employees.
(b) OSH Act violations.
Employers who charge for field sanitation facilities are subject to citations and penalties
under the OSH Act. Employees who are charged for those facilities are entitled to restitution
of the amount they were charged.
(c) FLSA violations.
Employers that charge for field sanitation facilities violate the FLSA in workweeks when
those charges bring an employee’s wages below the FLSA’s minimum wage or overtime pay
requirements.
(d) Violations of other laws.
Employers that charge for field sanitation facilities may also violate the requirement to pay
the required wage to an H-2A worker or a worker in corresponding employment, the
requirement to pay wages owed and to disclose all terms and conditions of employment under
MSPA, or other laws such as the H-2B program under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
References:

29 U.S.C. 655
29 U.S.C. 8
29 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.
29 CFR 1928.110(c)

FOH 32j08
36d04 Potable drinking water.
(a) Agricultural employers must provide suitably cool, potable drinking water in sufficient
amounts to meet the needs of all employees, dispensed in single-use drinking cups or by
drinking fountains, and placed in locations readily accessible to all employees. Common
drinking cups and dippers do not qualify. The water must be available in amounts needed for
satisfying thirst, cooling, waste elimination, and metabolism. The temperature must be low
enough to encourage employees to drink and to cool the core body temperature. At least two
to three gallons of drinking water must be provided per worker on a hot day. The water
temperature should be between 55–60 degrees Fahrenheit to facilitate absorption into the
blood and encourage use. Drinking water containers must be constructed of materials that
maintain water quality, are covered, and are regularly cleaned.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c)(1)(i)-(iii)

52 FR 16087
(b) Potable drinking water means water that meets the water quality standards for drinking
purposes of either (1) the state or local authority having jurisdiction over supplies of drinking
water or (2) the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Primary Drinking Water
Regulations.
References:
40 CFR Part 141

29 CFR 1928.110(b)
(c) Drinking water must be provided to all covered workers regardless of time in the field,
whereas toilets and handwashing facilities must be provided to workers who are in the field 3
hours or more per day, including travel time to and from the field. Drinking water is not
provided and readily accessible if it is not available for all hours of hand-labor operations.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c)(2)(v)

36d05 Toilets and handwashing facilities.
(a) Requirement to provide.
An employer must provide toilet and handwashing facilities (filled with potable water) within
one-quarter mile of the work site. There must be at least one set of facilities for each 20
workers. Toilet and handwashing facilities must be accessibly located and in close proximity
to each other. Employers are not required to provide separate toilet facilities for men and
women.
References:

29 CFR 1928.110(c)(2)(i), (iii), and (iv)
(b) Requirements for toilets.
Toilets must be ventilated to reduce heat and noxious odors inside the facility, be adequately
screened, and have self-closing doors that can be closed and latched from the inside. They
must be constructed to afford privacy to the user.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c)(2)(ii)

(c) Requirements for handwashing.
The handwashing facilities must include soap, potable water, and single-use towels in
amounts to satisfy needs. Pre-moistened towelettes, hand-sanitizers, and waterless hand
cleaning systems do not qualify.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)

52 FR 16091–16092
OSHA Opinion Letter (July 20, 2005)
OSHA Opinion Letter (June 5, 1998)
(d) Accessibility.
(1) Agricultural employers do not need to provide toilet and handwashing facilities
within a quarter-mile walk of where the employees are working if terrain makes it
infeasible to do so. In such an instance, the facilities must be located at the point of
closest motor-vehicle access.
(2) Facilities are accessibly located if they can be easily reached without crossing an
unbridged stream, a super highway, or any natural or man-made barrier. Some fields,
for example, may be located on steep mountain sides, river deltas, or wetlands and
the like, into or on which portable facilities cannot be placed. The size of a field, in
and of itself, is not a factor in determining whether the terrain exception applies.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110

52 FR 16090
(e) Exception for fewer than 3 hours of work.
Agricultural employers do not need to provide toilet and handwashing facilities for
employees who perform field work for 3 or fewer consecutive hours, which includes
transportation to and from fields. This exception is limited to toilets and handwashing
facilities and does not extend to other field sanitation requirements.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c)(2)(v)

52 FR 16090

36d06 Maintenance.
Toilet and handwashing facilities must be maintained in accordance with appropriate public
health sanitation practices. The drinking water containers must be constructed of materials
that maintain water quality, refilled with potable water daily or as often as necessary to
ensure an adequate supply, and kept covered and regularly cleaned.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c) (3) (iii)

36d07 Disclosure and reasonable use.
Employers must inform the workers of the location of the facilities, provide reasonable
opportunities during the workday to use them, and inform the workers of the importance of
good hygienic practices to reduce harmful exposure to heat, communicable diseases, retention
of urine, and agrichemical residues.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(c)(4)

36d08 Reforestation.
Reforestation activities, though not considered agriculture under the FLSA, are similar to
other agricultural field operations because the most common method of performing
reforestation activities is by hand-labor operations. They are therefore subject to the field
sanitation standards.
References:
OSHA Memorandum (July 30, 1990)

36d09 Christmas tree farms.
Christmas tree farms that meet the 11-employee requirement are generally subject to the field
sanitation standards. They generally meet the definition of agricultural employer, agricultural
establishment, and hand labor operations.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)

52 FR 16087
36d10 Pine straw.
Pine straw is the fresh, undecomposed pine needles that have fallen from pine trees. It is
produced commercially and collected for use as a mulch and groundcover. Raking, gathering,
baling, and loading pine straw for commercial purposes is usually performed by hand labor in
pine stands or on pine plantations, from pine trees being grown for forestry and lumbering
operations. Though not considered as such under the FLSA, owners and operators of pine
stands or pine plantations are agricultural employers under the OSH Act because those are
agricultural establishments under the OSH Act. They are thus subject to the field sanitation
standards when they meet the 11-employee requirement. Pine straw workers are generally
covered by those standards because their work is generally performed through hand labor.

Workers performing the same work in different fields for the same establishment should be
included in the total employee count for determining coverage.
References:
29 CFR 1928.110(b)
52 FR 16087
Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2012-1 (December 12, 2012)
36e TEMPORARY LABOR CAMPS IN AGRICULTURE
36e00 Generally.
(a) Generally, temporary housing for migrant agricultural workers is subject to standards
imposed under MSPA or the H-2A program of the Immigration and Nationality Act, both of
which WHD enforces. However, WHD may also apply OSH Act standards to such housing
if:
(1) the violations involve risks to health and safety that warrant the application of the
remedies available under the OSH Act; or
(2) MSPA coverage is unverifiable, or the provider of the housing can claim an
exemption from MSPA; and
(3) the housing is in a state where WHD has authority to enforce the OSH Act.
(b) WHD’s authority under the OSH Act to enforce housing standards at temporary labor camps
is limited to agricultural establishments where employees are engaged in agricultural
employment under the MSPA. This authority applies regardless of the number of employees
engaged in agriculture, including employees engaged in hand packing of produce into
containers, whether done on the ground, on a moving machine, or in a temporary packing
shed. OSHA retains enforcement authority over agricultural temporary labor camps for
employees engaged in egg, poultry, or red meat production, or post-harvest processing of
agricultural or horticultural commodities.
References:
29 U.S.C. 1802
26 U.S.C. 3121(g)
29 CFR 500.20(e)

29 CFR 500.132
Secretary’s Order 5-96
Secretary’s Order 8-2020
36e01 Date of construction.
Employers providing temporary housing to workers must comply with applicable OSHA
health and safety standards. WHD enforces these standards under the OSH Act, MSPA, or the
H-2A program for housing that was built on or after April 3, 1980. For camps built before
April 3, 1980, see OSHA Field Operations Manual, Chapter 12, ¶ II.D.
References:
29 CFR 1910.142

36e02 Housing must be related to employment.
(a) Housing is related to employment under the OSH Act if:
(1) the employer requires employees to live in the housing, and
(2) the isolated location of the work or the lack of economically comparable alternative
housing makes it a practical necessity to use employer-provided housing.
(b) Each of the following factors is evidence that the operation of the camp is directly related to
the employment of those persons using the housing:
(1) The housing is provided free or at low cost.
(2) The housing is owned, controlled, or provided by the employer.
(3) No other alternative housing is reasonably accessible to the employees considering
the distance from the alternative housing to the worksite, the absence of
transportation from the alternative housing to the worksite, or the cost of the
alternative housing.
(4) The housing is made available to ensure that the business has an adequate supply of
labor.
(5) The employees living in the housing are required to work for the employer upon
demand.
References:
OSHA Revised Field Operations Manual, Chapter XII

36e03 No minimum number of employees required.
OSH Act housing standards apply for all covered agricultural employment without regard to
the number of employees housed. The 11-employee requirement for field sanitation does not
apply to temporary labor camp housing.
References:
29 U.S.C. 652(5)
36e04 Rent charged for housing.
If the MSPA applies, rent charged for housing must meet the MSPA’s requirements for fully
disclosed deductions. If the FLSA applies, the rent must meet the FLSA’s requirement to
credit only reasonable costs for facilities provided. In either case, housing must meet all
applicable safety and health requirements to be considered a permissible deduction from the
worker’s wages.
References:
29 U.S.C. 203(m)(1)
29 CFR 500.75(b)(5), (f)(5)

29 CFR 500.76(b)(5)
29 CFR 531.3

29 CFR 531.29–531.31
Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2015-1
36e05 Substantive housing requirements.
The substantive OSH Act housing requirements are found at 29 CFR 1910.142.
References:
29 CFR 1910.142

36f (RESERVED)