Now that trade show season is behind us, the busyness of spring has begun! At the VNLA, we have been working diligently on our legislative efforts, preparing for Field Day 2025, and streamlining our dayto-day operations. As I write this, the General Assembly Session has yet to begin, but we will keep you updated
through emails and social media on important legislation that will affect our industry. If there is an issue important to you, please let us know!
Although Field Day is several months away, we have already begun to work on logistics. Right now, we have the event planned for July 31st though
August 1st with the host TBD but mark your calendars! Field Day 2024 was a success this year and we want to continue building on that momentum in 2025. If you have speakers or topics you would like to be on the agenda, please reach out to Katie or Cameron Stanley.
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There is a lot of behind-the-scenes day to day operations that Katie and her team have been working on to streamline our Association. We have been working on updating our website to make it more efficient for members to log in, update their contact information and learn more about various events that the VNLA has going on throughout the Commonwealth. We have also been working on an internal audit to help cut costs as well as improving our reports so we can make sound decisions in the future.
Finally, it has been a privilege to serve as President of our Association for the past year. As I mentioned above, we have made great progress but there is still more to be done, and I am excited for the future. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Katie, myself or any of your board members. Happy Spring!
Jason Stern
VNLA President
ongratulations to Liza Fleeson Trossbach, who retired from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Pesticide Services (OPS) on July 31, 2024. Liza worked in the Office of Pesticide Services for 24 years and led OPS as Program Manager for the past 16 years. As Program Manager, Liza was responsible for development of pesticide related regulations, planning and coordinating the development of pesticide programs to conform with federal laws, and development of polices and guidelines. In addition, she coordinated EPA grant applications and served as liaison between VDACS and Virginia’s pesticide industry stakeholders as well as national industry leaders and EPA. Throughout her career, Liza worked with industry leaders and state and federal agencies on the regulation of pesticides, and she is highly regarded as a subject matter expert in pesticide regulation. Liza is well known by Virginia’s pesticide industries, including both structural and agricultural.
Liza provided oversight of numerous pesticide projects in Virginia, including Virginia’s pollinator protection plan, electronic inspection forms for use by OPS pesticide investigators, remote applicator certification testing, Spanish language testing for Registered Technician certification, Spanish language applicator manuals, and she worked closely with the VDACS Information Technology staff to develop and implement the agency’s new online system that can be used for applicator certification, business licensing, and product registration. The online pesticide system has taken several years to develop and while this project is not yet complete, it is nearing completion and Liza devoted many hours to ensuring the success of this new system.
As a regulatory agency, VDACS was represented on the national level by Liza through her participation in the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials, Association of American Pesticide Control Officials, and other pesticide related organizations and agencies. Throughout her career, Liza was very active in these national organizations, resulting in Virginia’s pesticide program being nationally recognized and more importantly her participation allowed Virginia to have a voice on pesticide related issues at the national level with other states and with the EPA. Liza served in leadership roles with various organizations over the years:
• Served as President of the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials for three terms
• Elected as Director of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials in 2020 and President in 2022
• Served as a member of the Board and later as Vice-President and President of the Pesticide Stewardship Alliance
• Served on numerous national working committees for these organizations and EPA
• In August 2023, Liza was elected to the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials Hall of Fame
• Also in 2023, the Board of Directors of the Association of American Pesticide Control Officials bestowed upon Liza a Life Membership for her outstanding contributions.
The Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO) recently inducted Liza into the association’s hall of fame. ASPCRO is a professional association comprised of the state regulatory officials responsible for regulating services provided by the structural pest control industry in their respective states. The induction highlights the positive impact Liza has had on the structural pest control industry, the regulatory community, and her contributions to ASPCRO.
In speaking of her hall of fame induction, Liza stated, “I am honored to have been recognized by my colleagues and peers. I am so grateful for the opportunities that have been afforded to me by the agency in allowing me to participate with this and other groups involved in pesticide regulation nationwide. To represent not only VDACS but to also be selected to advocate for pesticide regulatory officials and programs on this stage is and has been rewarding and humbling and I consider it a career peak.”
Throughout her career, Liza has gained valuable experience with state and federal laws governing the regulation of pesticides, served in leadership roles for a variety of industry organizations, and she is highly regarded as a subject matter expert in pesticide regulation. Liza is the ASPCRO immediate past president and has served on the Board of Directors since 2008. She has the distinction of serving as ASPCRO President for three terms and Immediate Past President for four terms. In addition to serving on several working committees, she started and chaired the Bed Bug committee which was established as a liaison to assist state, tribal, and territorial lead agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency and other stakeholders with concerns over critical emerging pests threatening public health. Through her leadership, a nationwide survey, review of testing protocols, development of a clearinghouse for bed bug resources, and label language review played a key role in assisting states and federal agencies in promoting meaningful policies to control the public health pest and setting the stage for the development of what is now ASPCRO’s most important working committee, the Public Health Committee.
For her many contributions to ASPCRO in furtherance of the association’s goals to protect public health and foster the development of practical public policy related to regulation of the pest control industry and consumer health protection, Liza was inducted into the ASPCRO Hall of Fame. •
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icole Wilkins was promoted to fill the Program Manager position on August 25, 2024. For the last two years as Senior Compliance Officer on the management team of OPS, Nicole was responsible for compliance reviews of pesticide violations. She crafted VDACS’ voice in fact finding and formal hearings regarding violations of Virginia’s laws and regulations, playing a pivotal role in the agency’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.
Nicole Wilkins is already a familiar name in the Division of Consumer Protection, Office of Pesticide Services (OPS). Nicole took an interesting route into pesticide services, getting a degree in Anthropology after initially planning to be a pediatrician. Most of her professional background is in the legal sector, having worked as a personal injury paralegal and then spending most of a decade at the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, where she supervised judicial compliance.
For the last two years as Senior Compliance Officer on the management team of OPS, Nicole was responsible for compliance reviews of pesticide violations. She crafted VDACS’ voice in fact finding and formal hearings regarding violations of Virginia’s laws and regulations, playing a pivotal role in the agency’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.
Nicole says that more than anything, she likes to learn, and her passion for learning is what keeps her engaged and drives her success in OPS. “I know a little bit about a lot of things, and what I don’t know, I just need to know where to go to find out,” she said.
Nicole steps into big shoes, with the retirement of Liza Fleeson Trossbach who led the program for nearly 24 years. Nicole views this as an opportunity as the team is already in good shape. “I just think everyone is great at what they do,” Nicole said. “I’m excited to lead them and to collaborate with them. Everybody’s willing to help each other and work together.”
Nicole said she looks forward to settling into the new position and working with her colleagues in a new way, getting their perspective and helping them grow.
When Nicole is not at work, she loves interior design and styling her home. She and her fire captain husband have two daughters, 13 and 8, and she is very close to her family and loves spending time with all of them. •
Spanish Language Registered Technician Exams
Offered by the Office of Pesticide Services
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Pesticide Services (OPS) provides Spanish-language Registered Technician exams to Spanish-speaking communities across the Commonwealth.
The Registered Technician Exam is currently available through Remote (Online) Testing and In-Person testing proctored by Pesticide Investigators. To take the exam in Spanish, applicants simply select the appropriate language when completing their application. OPS is continuing to work with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to make the Spanish Registered Technician exams available at DMV service centers in the future. VDACS is also working with Virginia Tech to provide Spanish language instruction materials. The Remote Testing option allows prospective applicators to take their certification exams from the comfort of their own homes or offices. Hosted by Everblue, this option is available 24/7 during the applicant’s 90-day authorization period. Please note that in addition to the
application fee submitted to OPS, there is an additional online testing fee paid directly to Everblue. Applicants will receive detailed instructions regarding Remote Testing in their Letter of Authorization. For those interested in learning more about Remote Testing, an introductory demo is available on the VDACS website.
VDACS is nearing completion of the online certification, licensing, and registration system which provides an expedited application process for prospective Registered Technicians and Commercial Applicators to apply and receive a letter of authorization within 24 hours. Applicants who pass the certification test before the deadline specified on their letter can begin working under a temporary permit. OPS is continuing development of the online system and anticipates it will be completed soon.
For more information about OPS pesticide programs, please visit the OPS webpage at vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides.shtml. •
The rule targets vulnerability and abuses experienced by workers under the H-2A program that undermine fair labor standards for all farmworkers in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Labor Finalizes Farmworker Protection Rule
Department of Labor announced a final rule to strengthen protections for farmworkers. The rule targets vulnerability and abuses experienced by workers under the H-2A program that undermine fair labor standards for all farmworkers in the U.S.
The H-2A program allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers when the department determines there is a lack of able, willing and qualified U.S. workers to perform the agricultural labor or services, and that employing temporary labor will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
“H-2A workers too frequently face abusive working conditions that undercut all farmworkers in the U.S.,” said Acting Secretary Julie Su. “This rule ensures farmworkers employed through the H-2A program are treated fairly, have a voice in their workplace and are able to perform their work safely. It also promotes employer accountability, benefitting all farmworkers by upholding labor standards. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to being the most pro-worker administration in history, and this rule is a significant milestone in that effort.”
The final rule includes the following:
• Adding new protections for worker selfadvocacy: The final rule improves workers’ ability to engage in advocacy regarding their working conditions by expanding the range of activities protected by antiretaliation provisions. For workers not protected by the National Labor Relations Act, this rule protects workers’ choice to engage in self-organization or concerted activities and to decline attending employer-sponsored “captive audience” meetings where employers discourage workers from joining unions or engage in other protected activities. The rule also allows workers to consult key service providers, such as legal service providers, and to meet with them in employer-furnished housing. Workers also may now invite and accept guests, including labor organizations, service providers and others, to their employer-furnished housing.
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• Clarifying “for cause” termination: Workers employed under the H-2A program have the right to payment for threefourths of the hours offered in the work contract, as well as housing and meals until the worker leaves, outbound transportation and — if the worker is a U.S. worker — to be contacted for employment in the next year, unless they are terminated for cause. The final rule clarifies that an employer only terminates a worker for cause when the worker either fails to comply with employer policies or fails to perform job duties satisfactorily after, in most cases, the transparent application of a system of progressive discipline. The rule establishes that for a worker to be terminated for cause, five conditions must be met, including a requirement that workers are either informed about or reasonably should have known the policy, rule or performance expectation unless the worker has engaged in egregious misconduct.
• Making foreign labor recruitment more transparent: The final rule imposes new disclosure requirements to improve foreign worker recruitment chain transparency, provides additional information about the nature of the job opportunity and bolsters the department’s ability to protect workers from exploitation and abuse. The new provisions require employers to provide a copy of all agreements with any agent or recruiter they engage or plan to engage, disclose the name and location of any person or entity working for the recruiter who will solicit prospective H-2A workers and disclose in the H-2A application the name, location and contact information of the workplace’s owners, operators and managers.
• Ensuring timely wage changes for H2A workers, which helps prevent an adverse effect on the wages of similarly employed workers in the U.S.: Returning to longstanding practice, the final rule designates the effective date of updated adverse effect wage rates as of the date of publication in the Federal Register. This change safeguards fair compensation for workers under the H-2A program and addresses potential adverse effects on the wages and working conditions of similarly employed workers in the U.S. The rule would also require employers who fail to provide
adequate notice to workers of a delay in their start date to pay workers the applicable rate for each day that work is delayed for up to 14 days.
• Improving transportation safety: Many H-2A workers travel in vans or buses, sometimes driven after long days by tired workers. The final rule includes a seat belt requirement to reduce the hazards associated with the transportation of farmworkers. If a vehicle is required by Department of Transportation regulations to be manufactured with seat belts, the final rule prohibits the operation of these vehicles to transport workers under the H-2A program unless each occupant is wearing a seat belt.
• Preventing labor exploitation and human trafficking: The final rule clarifies that employers are prohibited from holding or confiscating a worker’s passport, visa or other identification documents, which is a tactic used to exploit workers.
• Ensuring employer accountability: The final rule updates procedures for discontinuing employment services for employers that have failed to meet the Department of Labor’s requirements. Relatedly, the rule requires states to discontinue services to debarred employers. It also streamlines the procedures for applying debarment to a successor who carries forward a debarred company. In addition, the rule codifies how the department determines whether separate entities are acting as one employer for purposes of assessing seasonal or temporary need and how these entities are treated for enforcement purposes.
The final rule is effective on June 28, 2024. However, H-2A applications filed before Aug. 28, 2024, will be processed according to applicable federal regulations as is in effect as of June 27, 2024. Applications submitted on or after Aug. 29, 2024, will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Farmworker Protection Rule. • For more information about the rule, visit the Employment and Training Administration and Wage and Hour Division web pages.
