Timber_Fallers_Handout.pdf

Wage and Hour Division Farm Labor Unit 3865 Wolverine Street NE, E-1 Salem OR 97305-1268

Application of Farm/Forest Labor Contractor Law to Timber Fallers

Any person who engages in activities that meet the definition of a farm/forest labor contractor is required to obtain a farm/forest labor contractor license through the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (“BOLI”).

Under Oregon’s Farm and Forest Labor Contractor Law, a “farm labor contractor” includes “any person who, for an agreed remuneration or rate of pay, recruits, solicits, supplies or employs workers to perform labor for another to work in forestation or reforestation of lands, including but not limited to the planting, transplanting, tubing, precommercial thinning and thinning of trees and seedlings, the clearing, piling and disposal of brush and slash and other related activities.”

“Forestation or reforestation of lands” includes but is not limited to:

The planting, transplanting, tubing, pre-commercial thinning, and thinning of trees and seedlings; and

The clearing, piling and disposal of brush and slash; and, Other activities related to the forestation or reforestation of lands including, but not limited to, tree shading, pinning, tagging or staking; fire trail construction and maintenance; slash burning and mop up; mulching of tree seedlings; forest fire suppression by contract crew; application of big game repellent by contract crew; herbicide or pesticide application in the forest by contract crew; gopher baiting; gopher trapping and any activity related to the growth of trees and tree seedlings and the disposal of debris from the land.

(ORS 658.405; OAR 839-015-0004)

It is BOLI’s position that the definition of “forestation or reforestation of lands” includes the work of timber falling performed either in the course of fighting a forest fire or in the aftermath of a fire as part of mop up operations. As a result, any person who recruits, solicits, supplies or employs workers to perform this activity is required under Oregon law to first obtain a farm/forest labor contractor license.

The requirement to obtain a license does not apply to a person who performs work, other than recruiting, supplying, soliciting, or employing workers to perform labor for another, either alone or only with the assistance of the person’s spouse, son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father.

Contractors engaged in forestation or reforestation activities may apply for an “exempt” license if they are sole proprietors, have no more than two employees, and bid only on contracts for less than $25,000. This type of license exempts the contractor from the proof of financial responsibility licensing requirements as well as certified payroll filing requirements. Contractors with an exempt license may have multiple contracts at the same time totaling more than $25,000, but no single contract may exceed $25,000 and the contractor may only employ two or fewer workers at any one time.

Anyone with questions related to obtaining a license with BOLI may contact the agency’s Licensing Unit at (503) 373-1463 for additional information or licensing materials. Information is also available at www.oregon.gov/boli.