The Worker Protection Standard (WPS) is a Federal regulation designed to protect people involved in the production of agricultural plants (on farms, in greenhouses, in nurseries, in forests) from occupational exposure and to protect others from accidental exposure to pesticides.

The WPS requires employers of agricultural workers (conducting hand labor in the production of agricultural plants) and pesticide handlers (people mixing, loading, or applying pesticides or doing other tasks involving direct contact with pesticides) to take a number of prescribed steps to minimize levels of occupational exposure to pesticides. One of the employer's responsibilities is to provide pesticide safety training.

Since the WPS is a federal regulation, training requirements for this program may not be the same as state requirements for similar work. It's possible that a business will have employees needing only state training, only federal training, or perhaps both. For instance, if an employee is hired to apply RUPs and is state certified/licensed, his/her state-issued pesticide applicator license satisfies WPS handler training requirements. If a person is hired to mix, load, or service application equipment, he/she does not need to be licensed by the state, but must complete both state-approved mixer/loader training and WPS handler training. Field scouts must be trained as WPS handlers. Rougers, detasselers, nursery transplanters, greenhouse employees, fruit pickers (including grape pickers), sod workers, and others who perform hand labor in sites where plants are commercially grown and treated with pesticides must be trained as WPS workers. Training for WPS handlers may be conducted by state-certified applicators or trained WPs trainers. Training for WPS workers may be conducted by state-certified applicators, trained trainers or a person trained as a WPS handler.

The WPS also requires pesticide applicators (who make applications to sites where agricultural plants are produced) to keep and provide records and notify others, who may enter treated sites, of product label information including any Restricted Entry Intervals (REIs).

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) provides a number of free materials to assist persons needing to comply with the WPS. NDA also provides Train-the-Trainer sessions upon request. For copies of WPS related materials, call NDA at (402) 471-2394.

Printed Materials:

Brochure: Worker Protection Standard - Duties of Employers
Brochure: Worker Protection Standard - Nurseries and Greenhouses
Brochure: Seed Corn Detasseler Safety and First Aid
Manual: EPA Guide for Agricultural Workers
Manual: EPA Guide for Pesticide Handlers
Manual: Greenhouse Pesticide Safety Training
Manual: Protect Yourself from Pesticides - Guide for Agricultural Workers
Manual: WPS for Agricultural Pesticide - How to Comply (2005 version)
Poster: NDA WPS Safety poster for centralized posting (English)
Poster: NDA WPS Safety poster for centralized posting (Spanish)
Flipchart: Seedcorn Detasseler (worker) Training
Other: EPA Q&A Interpretive Policy document
Booklet: USDA Recordkeeping for Greenhouses

Michigan State, Pesticide Handler Training (English)
Michigan State, Pesticide Handler Training (Spanish)
Greenhouse Pesticide Safety Training (English)
Greenhouse Pesticide Safety Training (Spanish) for loan
The Worker Protection Standard for Nurseries and Greenhouses

Worker Protection Standard for Agricultural Pesticides

WPS Compliance CD - includes new How to Comply manual
WPS Training Provider Agreement form
WPS Training Verification Cards - Handler (green)
WPS Training Verification Cards - Worker (blue)

Files in PDF format can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.