Department of Labor

AGRICULTURAL YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

STANDARDS

Dairy Policy & Directors Leadership ConferenceApril 4, 2012

The Problem

For some time activists have attempted to pass legislation amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to restrict the ability of youth under the age of 16 to work in agriculture

Department of Labor (DOL)

On Sept. 2, 2011, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would amend and expand a number of existing hazardous occupation orders (H.O.s) as they pertain to the employment of youths under the age of 16 on farms and ranches.

The DOL proposal • Fundamentally changes how the department interprets the existing

parental exemption for family farms; • Greatly restricts the ability of youth to work on common farm

equipment, such as tractors; • Changes and hinders the ability of youth in training and educational

programs to gain real-life experience working on farm; • Restricts youths’ ability to work with livestock; • Greatly expands the universe of prohibited equipment with which

youth may work; and • Has the potential of limiting, if not prohibiting, youth under the age of

16 working in orchards and fields harvesting fruits and vegetables.

Parental Exemption

Youths working on farms wholly owned or operated by their parents would be exempt from the rules

Does Not Include • Step Parents• Relatives • LLC’s • Corporations• Neighbors

The Process• The DOL publishes the actual

proposed regulatory language in the Federal Register

• Once a proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, a public comment period begins, allowing the public to submit written comments to the agency

10,000 CommentsDOL Re-proposes a Portion of

the Rule

Parental exemption for those children working on a farm substantially owned by a parent or person standing in place of a parent.

Does not Change

• Greatly restricts the ability of youth to work on common farm equipment, such as tractors;

• Changes and hinders the ability of youth in training and educational programs to gain real-life experience working on farm;

• Restricts youths’ ability to work with livestock; • Greatly expands the universe of prohibited equipment with which

youth may work; and • Has the potential of limiting, if not prohibiting, youth under the age of

16 working in orchards and fields harvesting fruits and vegetables.

S 2221 & H.R. 4157: Preserving America’s Family

Farms Act

To prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing a proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 relating to child labor.

Sen. John Thune Rep. Tom Latham (R-SD) (R-IA)

Work Needs to Be Done 40 Senators have co-

sponsored S 2221 including

Sen. Amy Klobuchar Sen. Ron Johnson (D-MN) (R-WI)

Kohl (D-WI)Franken (D-MN)

Have not

Contact Info

Sen Kohl

330 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510(202) 224-5653

Fax: (202) 224-9787

Sen Franken309 Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

(202) 224-5641

Work Needs to Be Done

Rep James Sensenbrenner Rep Michele Bachman

Contact Your Senator or Congressman

• April 4, 2012• • Dear Senator_____________ or Representative _______________________________• My name is _____________________________ I farm near ________________ and milk

____________ cows. On my operation I hire high school students to help with milking and feeding my cattle. The proposed Department of Labor Rule on child labor on farms would severely restrict my use of the high school. The students would be losing out of an opportunity for employment as well as learning about agriculture.

• Please co-sponsor S 2221 authored by Senator John Thune or Representative Tom Latham which would prohibit the Secretary of Labor from finalizing a proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

• Thank you for your attention to this matter.• Sincerely