(a) The Secretary has determined that the applicable Federal housing
standards are the standards promulgated by the Employment and Training
Administration, at 20 CFR 654.404 et seq. and the standards promulgated
by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, at 29 CFR
1910.142. Except as provided in Sec. 500.131, all migrant housing is
subject to either the ETA standards or the OSHA standards, as follows:
(1) A person who owns or controls a facility or real property to be
used for housing any migrant agricultural worker, the construction of
which was begun on or after April 3, 1980, and which was not under a
contract for construction as of March 4, 1980, shall comply with the
substantive Federal safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA at
29 CFR 1910.142. These OSHA standards are enforceable under MSPA,
irrespective of whether housing is, at any particular point in time,
subject to inspection under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
(2) A person who owns or controls a facility or real property to be
used for housing any migrant agricultural worker which was completed or
under construction prior to April 3, 1980, or which was under a contract
for construction prior to March 4, 1980, may elect to comply with either
the substantive Federal safety and health standards promulgated by OSHA
at 29 CFR 1910.142 or the standards promulgated by ETA at 20 CFR 654.404
et seq. The ETA standards were established to provide housing
requirements for migrant housing used by an employer obtaining migrant
workers through the U.S. Employment Service. The owner or operator of
such housing may continue to rely on those standards, rather than OSHA
standards, even if the housing is not currently being provided pursuant
to a USES job placement program.
