Director’s Decision on Appeal of a County Agricultural Commissioner’s Decision (Raj Kumar Sharma – Docket Number 207)

The Director’s decision on Raj Kumar Sharma’s appeal of the civil penalty of $250 levied by the County Agricultural Commissioner of the County of Yuba (Yuba CAC) is enclosed. The Director affirmed the Yuba CAC’s action and penalty, and his decision became final on February 1, 2017.

The Yuba CAC found Raj Kumar Sharma in violation of Title 3 California Code of Regulations, section 6734(a), Handler Decontamination Facilities, for failing to provide soap and single use towels at the work site. Raj Kumar Sharma appealed the Yuba CAC’s decision stating that towels and soap were available but that the workers did not understand who the inspector was, or what he was asking for.

The Director determined that the Yuba CAC’s decision was supported by substantial evidence and that the Yuba CAC had properly investigated this event. While Raj Kumar Sharma made numerous arguments in his appeal, he did not provide any substantive evidence during the hearing to support these claims.

Please make this information available to your staff as a reference in preparing and processing cases. If you have any questions, please contact the Enforcement Branch Liaison assigned to your county.

Sincerely,