We expect these protections the federal laws guarantee them. But through a campaign by Human Rights Watch, I found out that a lot of kids and teens who work on farms do not enjoy the same working conditions that we take for granted. I have joined other students at Human Rights Watch to fight for a law called the CARE bill which will prohibit children from hazardous labor, enforce minimum hours that allow children to attend school, and toughen inspection policies. When farms deny child workers toilets, water, or fair pay, the state will punish them with increased fines. Currently, federal law allows agriculture businesses to exploit children who work in fields and packing plants.
Children can use pesticides, cutting instruments, and heavy machinery.
When companies fail to provide proper water or sanitation, the government slaps their wrists with fines of a few thousand dollars. The exception encourages large farms to force children of their adult workers to join their parents job instead of going to school. In addition, the Act requires that children work only 40 hours in a nonschool week, and 18 hours in a school week. In agriculture, however, the Act allows employers to hire 14 and 15-year old children to work unlimited hours and without parental consent. With this exception, employers can make children work 12 or more hours a day under grueling conditions, thus denying them a chance to get an education.