II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 3100

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reform the provisions

relating to child labor.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. WELLSTONE, and Mr.

KERRY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reform

the provisions relating to child labor.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Children’s Act for Responsible Employment’’ or ‘‘CARE

6 Act’’.

7 (b) REFERENCE.—Whenever in this Act an amend8 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment

9 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference

10 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi-
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1 sion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.

2 201 et seq.).

3 SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.

4 Section 13(c) (29 U.S.C. 213(c)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(1) The provisions of section 12 relating to child

8 labor shall not apply to any employee employed in agri9 culture outside of school hours for the school district

10 where such employee is living while he or she is so em11 ployed, if such employee is employed by his or her parent

12 or legal guardian, on a farm owned or operated by such

13 parent or legal guardian.’’; and

14 (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (4).

15 SEC. 3. YOUTH PEDDLING.

16 (a) FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT COVERAGE.—

17 (1) FINDING.—The last sentence of section 2(a)

18 (29 U.S.C. 202(a)) is amended by inserting after

19 ‘‘households’’ the following: ‘‘, and the employment

20 of employees under the age of 16 years in youth

21 peddling,’’.

22 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 3 (29 U.S.C. 203) is

23 amended by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(z) ‘Youth peddling’ means selling goods or services

25 to customers at their residences, places of business, or
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1 public places such as street corners or public transpor2 tation stations. ‘Youth peddling’ does not include the ac3 tivities of persons who, as volunteers, sell goods or services

4 on behalf of not-for-profit organizations.’’.

5 (b) DEFINITION OF OPPRESSIVE CHILD LABOR.—

6 Section 3(l) (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is amended—

7 (1) in paragraph (1) of the first sentence, by

8 inserting ‘‘youth peddling,’’ after ‘‘occupation other

9 than’’; and

10 (2) in the last sentence by inserting ‘‘youth

11 peddling,’’ after ‘‘occupations other than’’.

12 (c) PROHIBITION OF YOUTH PEDDLING.—Section

13 12(c) (29 U.S.C. 212(c)) is amended by inserting after

14 ‘‘oppressive child labor in commerce or in the production

15 of goods for commerce’’ the following: ‘‘, or in youth ped16 dling,’’.

17 SEC. 4. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CHILD

18 LABOR VIOLATIONS.

19 (a) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.—Section 16(e) (29

20 U.S.C. 216(e)) is amended in the first sentence—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘$15,000’’;

23 (2) by inserting after ‘‘subject to a civil penalty

24 of’’ the following: ‘‘not less than $500 and’’.
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1 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 16(a) (29

2 U.S.C. 216(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: ‘‘Any person who violates the provisions of section

4 15(a)(4), concerning oppressive child labor, shall on con5 viction be subject to a fine of not more than $15,000, or

6 to imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in

7 the case of a willful or repeat violation that results in or

8 contributes to a fatality of a minor employee or a perma9 nent disability of a minor employee, or a violation which

10 is concurrent with a criminal violation of any other provi11 sion of this Act or of any other Federal or State law.’’.

12 SEC. 5. GOODS TAINTED BY OPPRESSIVE CHILD LABOR.

13 Section 12(a) (29 U.S.C. 212(a)) is amended by

14 striking the period at the end and inserting the following:

15 ‘‘: And provided further, that the Secretary shall determine

16 the circumstances under which such goods may be allowed

17 to be shipped or delivered for shipment in interstate com18 merce.’’.

19 SEC. 6. COORDINATION.

20 Section 4 (29 U.S.C. 204) is amended by adding at

21 the end the following:

22 ‘‘(g) The Secretary shall encourage and establish

23 closer working relationships with non-governmental orga24 nizations and with State and local government agencies

25 having responsibility for administering and enforcing labor
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1 and safety and health laws. Upon the request of the Sec2 retary, and to the extent permissible under applicable law,

3 State and local government agencies with information re4 garding injuries and deaths of employees shall submit such

5 information to the Secretary for use as appropriate in the

6 enforcement of section 12 and in the promulgation and

7 interpretation of the regulations and orders authorized by

8 section 3(l). The Secretary may reimburse such State and

9 local government agencies for such services.’’.

10 SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor shall pro12 mulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out

13 this Act and the amendments made by this Act. Such reg14 ulations shall be promulgated through notice and comment

15 rulemaking in accordance with chapter 5 of title 5, United

16 States Code, taking into consideration the best available

17 data and including procedures to obtain and consider the

18 views of interested parties, such as agricultural employers,

19 workers, and injury prevention experts.

20 (b) EXISTING REGULATIONS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations of the Sec22 retary of Labor that are in effect on the date of en23 actment of this Act which identify occupations in ag24 riculture that are particularly hazardous for the em25 ployment of children under the age of 16 (contained
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1 in section 570.71 of title 29, Code of Federal Regu2 lations) shall continue in effect until superseded by

3 regulations promulgated under subsection (a). Prior

4 to the promulgation of such regulations, children

5 ages 14 and 15 may be employed outside of school

6 hours, in occupations in agriculture other than the

7 occupations that are identified in the regulations re8 ferred to in the proceeding sentence as being par9 ticularly hazardous.

10 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The regulations referred

11 to in paragraph (1) that are in effect on the date

12 of enactment of this Act, shall be applicable only to

13 the employment of children under the age of 16.

14 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

15 subsection shall be construed to restrict the agricul16 tural occupations in which children ages 16 and 17

17 may be employed until such time as the Secretary of

18 Labor promulgates regulations pursuant to sub19 section (a) to identify agricultural occupations that

20 are particularly hazardous for the employment of

21 such children, or detrimental to their health or well22 being.

23 (c) CONSULTATION.—With respect to the promulga24 tion of regulations to identify agricultural occupations

25 which are particularly hazardous for the employment of
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1 children under the age of 18 or detrimental to the health

2 or well-being of such children, the Secretary of Labor shall

3 consult and collaborate with the Secretary of Agriculture,

4 and shall include in such regulations a process by which

5 children may be employed in such occupations as voca6 tional agriculture student-learners so long as such children

7 have successfully completed a Cooperative State Research,

8 Education, and Extension Service training program or

9 have successfully completed a bona fide agricultural edu10 cation training program. During the rulemaking process

11 under this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall co12 operate with the Secretary of Labor, including providing

13 advice and technical expertise.

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION.

15 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec16 retary of Labor such sums as may be necessary for to

17 carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

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