Since 1976, Congress has exempted small, family-run farms with 10 or fewer employees from OSHA regulations. However, in a 2011 memo, OSHA asserted that on-farm grain storage and handling was not part of farm operations. By viewing grain storage as distinct from the farming operation, the senators’ request said OSHA is creating an artificial distinction that would subject virtually every farm to OSHA regulations without allowing for congressional review and public comment, and in defiance of the law.
“OSHA is overstepping its bounds here,” said the Iowa Republican. “This is yet another example of Washington bureaucrats meddling in the lives of Americans,” Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said. “OSHA has no business regulating grain storage bins on family farms, and the agency should put a stop to it immediately.”
“The way the administration is going about putting OSHA on family-owned farms is unconscionable. Congress specifically exempts small farming operations from the heavy hand of this bureaucracy. OSHA must stop this overreach and adhere to the law,” said Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.