I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1454 

To exempt certain 16- and 17-year-old individuals employed in logging or 

mechanized operations from child labor laws. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2017 

Mr. LABRADOR (for himself and Mr. POLIQUIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To exempt certain 16- and 17-year-old individuals employed 

in logging or mechanized operations from child labor laws. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Future Logging Ca5 reers Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CHILD LABOR LAW EXEMPTIONS FOR LOGGING AND 

7 MECHANIZED OPERATIONS. 

8 The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

9 201 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) in section 3 (29 U.S.C. 203)— 


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1 (A) in subsection (l), by adding at the end 

2 the following: ‘‘, and that employment of em3 ployees ages sixteen or seventeen years in a log4 ging or mechanized operation in an occupation 

5 that the Secretary of Labor finds and declares 

6 to be particularly hazardous for the employment 

7 of individuals of such ages shall not be deemed 

8 to constitute oppressive child labor if such em9 ployee is employed by his parent or by a person 

10 standing in the place of his parent in a logging 

11 or mechanized operation owned or operated by 

12 such parent or person’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(z)(1) ‘Logging’— 

15 ‘‘(A) means— 

16 ‘‘(i) the felling, skidding, yarding, loading 

17 and processing of timber by equipment other 

18 than manually operated chainsaws and cable 

19 skidders; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the felling of timber in mechanized 

21 operations; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the bucking or converting of timber 

23 into logs, poles, ties, bolts, pulpwood, chemical 

24 wood, excelsior wood, cordwood, fence posts, or 

25 similar products; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the collecting, skidding, yarding, 

2 loading, transporting and unloading of such 

3 products in connection with logging; 

4 ‘‘(v) the constructing, repairing and main5 taining of roads or camps used in connection 

6 with logging; the constructing, repairing, and 

7 maintenance of machinery or equipment used in 

8 logging; and 

9 ‘‘(vi) other work performed in connection 

10 with logging; and 

11 ‘‘(B) does not include the manual use of chain 

12 saws to fell and process timber and the use of cable 

13 skidders to bring the timber to the landing. 

14 ‘‘(2) ‘Mechanized operation’— 

15 ‘‘(A) means the felling, skidding, yarding, load16 ing and processing of timber by equipment other 

17 than manually operated chainsaws and cable skid18 ders; and 

19 ‘‘(B) includes whole tree processors, cut-to20 length processors, stroke boom delimbers, wheeled 

21 and track feller-bunchers, pull thru delimbers, 

22 wheeled and track forwarders, chippers, grinders, 

23 mechanical debarkers, wheeled and track grapple 

24 skidders, yarders, bulldozers, excavators, and log 

25 loaders.’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 13(c) (29 U.S.C. 211(c)), by add2 ing at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(8) The provisions of section 12 relating to 

4 child labor shall apply to an employee who is 16 or 

5 17 years old employed in a logging or mechanized 

6 operation in an occupation that the Secretary of 

7 Labor finds and declares to be particularly haz8 ardous for the employment of children ages 16 or 

9 17, except where such employee is employed by his 

10 parent or by a person standing in the place of his 

11 parent in a logging or mechanized operation owned 

12 or operated by such parent or person.’’. 

Æ 


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