Written for landscapers and lawn care routes, grounds maintenance contractors, tree services and arborists, irrigation, hardscape and fencing installers, and landscape firms that sell snow and ice work, in any US state.
The short version
- Stop work the moment danger shows.An unprotected trench of 5 feet or more, a tree near a power line, or a worker in heat distress (As of Oct 2026).
- Deal with the danger first.Slope, shore or box the trench. Call the utility about the line. Call 911 and cool anyone with heat illness.
- Report on the right clock.Federal OSHA and state plans like Cal/OSHA set different deadlines, so know yours. Tell your insurer the same day.
Most landscape work is routine, which is why the dangerous moments catch crews off guard. Four hazards need a firm rule on every crew: a trench deeper than it looks, a tree near a power line, heat, and a mower on a slope. Each has a clear rule, and so does what you report afterward.
The trench
Irrigation mainlines and drainage trenches often reach 5 feet on slopes. Say your crew is trenching an irrigation main 5 feet deep on a sloped lot and the walls are vertical: stop, then slope, shore or box the trench, have a competent person inspect it, and confirm the 811 marks are in place. Spoil stays at least 2 feet back from the edge. As of Oct 2026.
Trench protection
An excavation 5 feet deep or more needs a protective system (sloping, shoring or a trench box) unless it is in stable rock, and 20 feet or deeper needs a registered professional engineer's design. A competent person inspects daily and after rain. As of Oct 2026.
29 CFR 1926.651(k) and 1926.652(a)
The power line
Clearance from overhead lines
Unqualified employees, and conductive objects they handle, generally must stay at least 10 feet from unguarded energized overhead lines at 50 kV or below, with greater distances above 50 kV. Utility-directed line-clearance work has its own training and approach rules. As of Oct 2026.
29 CFR 1910.333(c)(3); 29 CFR 1910.269(a)(1)(i)(E) and (r)
If an HOA asks you to remove a live oak 6 feet from a primary distribution line and your crew is not line-clearance qualified, stop and contact the utility. It confirms the voltage and who controls the line, and arranges a safe plan or its own line-clearance contractor. Do not treat 10 feet as the whole rule, or assume a qualification alone allows a closer approach. As of Oct 2026.
The heat
There is no federal heat standard: OSHA's proposed rule, published August 30, 2024, is still a proposal, and heat is cited under the general duty clause. Several states have rules in force, including Washington, Oregon and Maryland. Train crews, give water, shade and rest, and acclimatize new and returning workers over their first week. As of Oct 2026.
California heat rules
Water throughout outdoor work, shade when the temperature exceeds 80 F and on request below that, and high-heat procedures at 95 F. As of Oct 2026.
8 CCR sec. 3395
The mower on a slope
Ride-on and zero-turn mowers on slopes are the trade's leading cause of death in many years' data.
If someone is hurt
- Deal with the person first.Call 911, and cool a heat-illness victim immediately.
- Report on the right clock.Federal OSHA and state plans such as Cal/OSHA set different deadlines, set out below. In California, report to the nearest Cal/OSHA office, and do not use the federal 24-hour rule.
- Tell the insurer the same day.Report every incident the day it happens, with photos, logs and the contract, and never admit fault at the scene.
Reporting deadlines
Federal: a death within 8 hours, and an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours. California: a death or serious injury or illness immediately and no later than 8 hours after you knew or should have known. As of Oct 2026.
29 CFR 1904.39; 8 CCR 342(a)
Maximum federal penalties are $16,550 per serious violation and $165,514 per willful or repeated one, at the January 2025 figures, and a trench collapse can be a fatality as well as a citation. The state OSHA consultation program is free and confidential: use it before a citation, not after. As of Oct 2026.
Asked in Greymill
Only stable rock is exempt. Firm clay is not rock, and straight walls are the danger.
Before the crew starts:
Slope it, shore it or bring a trench box
A competent person inspects it daily and after rain
Spoil, the dirt you dig out, stays at least 2 feet back from the edge (As of Oct 2026)
The 811 marks are confirmed in place
If someone is hurt, your deadline depends on whether federal OSHA or a state plan covers you.
Federal: a death within 8 hours; an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours
California: a death or serious injury immediately, and no later than 8 hours (As of Oct 2026)
Say the word and I'll make a one-page trench checklist for the truck.
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Rules & Licensing works it through for your business.
I run a landscaping or gardening business in [state], in the US. We have [number] crew members doing [mowing, installs, irrigation trenching, tree work]. Write me a one-page safety plan covering trenches, overhead lines, heat and mowers on slopes, tell me whether federal OSHA or a state plan covers us, and set out exactly who reports what, and by when, if someone is hurt.
More for landscaping and gardening in the US
- Pricing a crew hour and a mowing stop so the drive time is paid forBuild your rate from a burdened, billable crew hour, then price each stop by the minutes on site plus the minutes driving to it, because route density is where the margin is.Read the lesson
- Making it through the winter when the mowing stops and payroll does notLate-winter payroll, equipment and materials come before the first spring payments, so smooth your income, take lawful deposits and line up credit in the fall.Read the lesson
- Do I charge sales tax on mowing, and who needs a 1099 from me this year?Whether landscaping is taxable depends on the state and on whether the job is maintenance or an improvement, and the 1099 threshold changed for 2026.Read the lesson
- Can my crew spray the weeds, build the patio and dig the irrigation line without a license?Pesticides, installs, irrigation and digging each have their own state or local license or notice rule, and in California an unlicensed contractor cannot sue to collect.Read the lesson
- Snow contracts, plant warranties and lien waivers: the clauses that leave you holding the billSnow and ice work brings slip-and-fall suits that name both the owner and the contractor, where the contract, the trigger and the log decide who pays, and installs carry four clauses of their own to fix.Read the lesson
- Paying crews a day rate and bringing in H-2B workers without owing back wagesLandscaping is not agriculture, so crews are owed overtime even on a day rate, and H-2B adds wage, hours and travel duties of its own.Read the lesson
- Winning HOA and commercial maintenance bids, and keeping the account at renewalCommercial and HOA work is won on the paperwork that comes with the price: certificates, endorsements, a site plan, and terms that survive renewal.Read the lesson
Open the interactive lesson · Every landscaping and gardening lesson · What Greymill knows about the trade
Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- Bus. and Prof. Code sec. 7031(a), (b) (Hard cases: crews, chemicals, TREES and snow)
- 8 CCR 342(a); 330(h) serious injury definition; DIR accident-reporting guidance (Hard cases: crews, chemicals, TREES and snow)
- 1910.333(c)(3); 1910.269(a)(1)(i)(E), (r), (x) (Hard cases: crews, chemicals, TREES and snow)
- 815 ILCS 675/10 and 675/15; controlling snow section (Hard cases: crews, chemicals, TREES and snow)
- OSH Act sec. 5(a)(1) (Safety: trees, trenches, heat and equipment)
- Penalty amounts (Safety: trees, trenches, heat and equipment)
- ISA newsroom notice, May 27, 2026 (Safety: trees, trenches, heat and equipment)
- 29 CFR 1910.269(a)(1)(i)(E), (a)(2), (r); paragraph (x) definitions and notes (Safety: trees, trenches, heat and equipment)
- 29 CFR 1926.651(j)(2), (k); 1926.652(a), (b) (Safety: trees, trenches, heat and equipment)
- 20 CFR 655.15(b), 655.20(j)(2) (Who must sign off and deliverables: us house style)
- 29 CFR 1904.39(a); California 8 CCR 342(a), controlling state case (Who must sign off and deliverables: us house style)
- 16 CFR 429.1 (Who must sign off and deliverables: us house style)
- CSLB active versus inactive; B&P 7071.6(a), (c) (Insurance and risk)
- Tex. Lab. Code 406.002, 406.033 (Insurance and risk)
- DMV Types of Insurance and minimum liability requirements (Insurance and risk)