Wisconsin Court Expands Farm Work Regs

November 2, 1999

A Wisconsin Circuit Court ruling expands federal work place regulations to small farms. A jury found that a small dairy farmer in Wisconsin was strictly responsible for the plaintiff's injuries suffered during work on the farm. The judge had applied a federal requirement from which small farms usually are exempt.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation filed a friend of the court brief challenging the circuit court ruling. If upheld, says AFBF, the ruling could set a precedent to apply Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) regulations to small farms. That could cause severe economic hardships for those producers.

Doane Derricks, a small dairy farmer in Pierce County, WI, was sued in 1997. The plaintiff fell through a hay chute despite being warned before entering the hay mow that the chutes had been left open. The plaintiff performed general farm chores for Derricks in exchange for feed for her horses.

The circuit court judge allowed testimony about and then applied OSHA's "general duty clause," says AFBF, that requires employers to furnish each employee a place of employment free from recognized hazards that may cause death of serious physical injury. Small farms with 10 or fewer employees are exempt from federal enforcement of OSHA's general duty clause.

By applying the general duty clause given by the court's instructions, says AFBF, the jury found that Derricks was strictly responsible for the plaintiff's injuries. The verdict was appealed to Wisconsin's Third District court of Appeals.

AFBF and WFBF argue that applying the clause to small family farms unlawfully would impose strict liability on a broad range of inherent farm activities. "It's unreasonable and unfair to require the small family farmer to face automatic liability if he or she does not prevent every imaginable hazard," said AFBF President Dean Kleckner.