The bill defines "employer" to ensure that all persons and entities that directly benefit from the labor performed by forestry workers are simultaneously and jointly responsible for the decent treatment of workers. The current practice of using contracting and subcontracting mechanisms can have the effect of causing some business owners and managers to avoid responsibility for the treatment of the workers in their business operations. That lack of responsibility can lead to substandard conditions that harm workers and also result in unfair competition for the businesses that do pay the costs associated with accepting responsibility for complying with labor laws. The definition of "employer" in this bill prevents the shifting of responsibility for fair treatment.

The bill requires the employer to provide and pay for protective clothing and gear and the equipment necessary to perform the work.

The bill also requires employers to provide safe transportation to the work site, at no cost to the worker, and requires that the transportation meet the standards provided in the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. It provides additional standards, including a requirement for seat belts, first aid kits and emergency communication equipment. It limits the amount of time a worker can drive and prohibits use of vehicles, other than buses, that carry more than 10 persons. It requires a certain level of insurance coverage.

The bill also requires employers to offer housing near the work site to any forestry worker whose permanent residence is more than 50 miles from the work site. It prohibits the employer or any other person from selling goods or services to workers in employer-provided housing for an amount that constitutes an unjust or unreasonable profit. The bill requires the employer to ensure that workers residing in employer-provided housing have the right to receive visitors and that visitors have access to roadways used to reach the housing. The decision in State v. DeCoster, 653 A.2d 891 (Me. 1995), makes it clear that farm workers who live in employer- provided housing are considered tenants under Maine law and have the same rights as all other tenants to invite and receive visitors. This bill is not intended to modify or affect the court's decision in State v. DeCoster in any way, but is rather intended to ensure that access is guaranteed even though visitors must utilize private roadways,