Emergency farmworker housing rules announced
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | May 13, 2020 11:41 PM
OLYMPIA — Washington Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Industries have announced new emergency rules for farms with worker housing. The rules were introduced to combat the spread of the coronavirus and will go into effect May 18.
Farmers must submit housing plans to DOH to show how they will comply. Employees must be supplied with face coverings and living quarters — including kitchens, bathrooms and dormitories — must allow for physical distancing. There are rules for setting up beds in dormitories. Housing units must be cleaned frequently.
Workers must be tested, and any worker with coronavirus, or suspected of having it, must be isolated.
A copy of the rules is available on the DOH website.
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