Private Applicator Certification and Farm Labor Contractor Employees

This letter confirms existing guidance for private applicator certification (PAC) as it pertains to Farm Labor Contractor (FLC) employees.

Although FLCs may provide contract employees to the operator of the property, to be consistent with the intent of Food and Agricultural Code (FAC) section 14097 a contract employee of an FLC is not eligible to take the PAC examination and/or become a certified private applicator.

FAC section 14097 allows the County Agricultural Commissioner to establish a program to certify employees as certified private applicators. The Legislative intent of FAC section 14097 is to allow certification of “a qualified employee of an owner/operator of a property (farm/ranch), as a private applicator.” Additionally, 3 CCR section 6000 definition of “private applicator” states it means “an individual who uses or supervises the use of a pesticide for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity … on property owned, leased, or rented by him/her or his/her employer”.

Correctly identifying the applicant’s primary employer is critical in determining if the employee is eligible to take the private applicator examination and become a certified private applicator. For dual employment situations, the Compendium volume Guidelines for Interpreting Pesticide Laws and Regulations & Labeling Section 6.7 Employer Identification provides guidance on how to determine whether the primary or general employer (the FLC) or secondary or special employer (the grower or permittee) is responsible for violations of California’s pesticide worker safety laws and regulations. Consistent with the Legislature’s intent when drafting FAC section 14097, the guidance in Section 6.7 does not apply to applicator licensing or certification.

This determination is specific to the PAC exam eligibility of FLC employees and is not affected by whether the property operator would be responsible for any potential pesticide worker safety violations, how long the contract employee has been working for the same property operator, or the scope of the agreement between the FLC and the property operator. Additionally, the guidance in Section 6.7 is not affected by this determination.

For FLC employees who were obtaining a private applicator certificate to train other FLC employees as pesticide handlers or fieldworkers, the individual should instead consider one of the Train-the-Trainer (T2) Programs approved by the Department.

If you have any questions, please contact the Enforcement Branch Liaison assigned to your county.

Sincerely,