Mitigating Chemical Risks in the Hospitality Industry

Quick Hits

• Hospitality employers routinely use pesticides and other chemicals at the workplace.
• Under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act, employers may be liable if they fail to address serious hazards at the workplace.  
• Employee training on chemical hazards can help to prevent injuries.

Many hotels, resorts, spas, and campgrounds use fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides to beautify the property and eliminate weeds, insects, rodents, and plant diseases.

To ensure safety and effectiveness, pesticides and other chemicals have label requirements for proper use, handling, and application, including guidelines for temperature and humidity levels and length of time for re-entry following proper application. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), such as googles, waterproof gloves, rubber boots, and respirators, should be worn based on the type of chemical being handled.

The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act’s General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1)) requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This rule applies to chemical hazards just as it does for other hazards in the workplace.

Proper employee training can help to prevent work-related injuries connected to pesticides and chemicals. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard, employers must provide hazard training before employees work with or handle any pesticide. This includes providing employees with a safety data sheet,which provides detailed information about a hazardous chemical, including health hazards, safe handling practices, and emergency response procedures.

Employers must report any work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye to OSHA within twenty-four hours. They must report fatalities to OSHA within eight hours.

Many hospitality employers hire teenagers to work during the summer. However, some state laws impose age restrictions on who may apply or come into contact with pesticides and other chemicals at the workplace. State laws vary on the age limits and types of chemicals included. Other child labor laws may apply as well, depending on the state.

Under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, an employee generally must be at least eighteen years old to obtain certification for and legally apply restricted use pesticides, a category of pesticides that can only be bought and used by people who are certified to do so. Those rules would not apply to general use pesticides or unclassified pesticides. Some states have their own set of licensing protocols and regulations for purchasing, application, and use of these chemicals with specific application information regarding temperature, humidity, reentry restriction, and employee training.

Next Steps

Employers may wish to assess whether their employee safety training and safety protocols are consistently implemented by supervisors. They may wish to carefully track workplace injuries in order to proactively address hazards and better understand the source of workplace injuries, such as chemical exposure. Using locked cabinets or sheds can help to keep unauthorized employees from accessing pesticides or other chemicals.  

Public awareness about chemical exposure has increased significantly in the last decade. Employers can take steps to incorporate environmental strategy as an overarching piece of their larger corporate vision.

Ogletree Deakins’ Hospitality Industry Group and Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Hospitality and Workplace Safety and Health blogs as additional information becomes available.

Kathryn N. Taylor is Of Counsel in Ogletree Deakins’ Oklahoma City office.

This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.

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