I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2234 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to strengthen the provisions 
relating to child labor. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 16, 2011 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
strengthen the provisions relating to child labor. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Children’s Act for Re-
sponsible Employment of 2011’’ or the ‘‘CARE Act of 
2011’’. 
SEC. 2. AMENDED DEFINITIONS. 
Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is amended to read as follows: 
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‘‘(l) ‘Oppressive child labor’ means a condition of em-
ployment under which— 
‘‘(1) any employee who is 16 or 17 years of age 
is employed by an employer in any occupation found 
by the Secretary and by order declared to be par-
ticularly hazardous for the employment of children 
between such ages or detrimental to their health or 
well-being; 
‘‘(2) any employee who is 14 or 15 years of age 
is employed by an employer, unless the Secretary 
has determined that the employment is confined to 
periods which will not interfere with the schooling of 
the employee, and that the conditions of employment 
will not interfere with the health and well-being of 
the employee; or 
‘‘(3) any employee who is under 14 years of age 
is employed by an employer.’’. 
SEC. 3. REVISED AGE REQUIREMENT FOR CHILD AGRICUL-
TURAL EMPLOYMENT; REPEAL OF WAIVER 
PROVISION FOR HAND HARVEST LABORERS. 
(a) REVISED AGE REQUIREMENT.—Section 13(c) of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(c)) 
is amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and insert-
ing the following: 
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(1) by striking ‘‘person’’ each place it appears 
and inserting ‘‘employer’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘not to exceed’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘of’’; and 
(B) by amending clauses (i) and (ii) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(i) not less than $500 and not more than 
$15,000 for each employee who was the subject of 
such a violation; or 
‘‘(ii) not less than $15,000 and not more than 
$50,000 with regard to each such violation that 
causes the serious injury, serious illness, or death of 
any employee under the age of 18 years, which pen-
alty may be doubled where the violation is a re-
peated or willful violation.’’; and 
(3) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘the term 
‘serious injury’ means’’ and inserting ‘‘the terms ‘se-
rious injury’ and ‘serious illness’ mean’’. 
SEC. 5. SPECIAL CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN AG-
GRAVATED CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS. 
Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 216) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Any person’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (f), 
any person’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates 
any of the provisions of section 12, and such violations 
result in or cause the death or serious injury or serious 
illness of an employee under 18 years of age at the time 
of such violation, shall be subject to imprisonment for not 
more than 5 years or a fine under title 18, United States 
Code, or both.’’. 
SEC. 6. PESTICIDE-RELATED WORKER PROTECTION STAND-
ARD. 
Congress finds and declares that the employment of 
children under the age of 18 in the occupation of a pes-
ticide handler as defined in the worker protection standard 
for workers exposed to pesticides in part 170 of title 40, 
Code of Federal Regulations, is particularly hazardous to 
such children and detrimental to their health and well- 
being. The Secretary of Labor shall revise part 570 of title 
29, Code of Federal Regulations, to prohibit the employ-
ment of a child under the age of 18 to perform any of 
the tasks or duties described in the definition of the term 
‘‘handler’’ in section 170.3 of title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
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SEC. 7. APPLICATION OF FAIR LABOR STANDARDS AMEND-
MENTS. 
(a) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Labor may pre-
scribe rules as necessary to implement the amendments 
made by sections 2 through 5 and the revision required 
by section 6. Any such rules issued shall take effect not 
later than 30 days after the date on which such rules are 
published in the Federal Register. 
(b) VIOLATIONS.—The amendments made by sections 
2, 3, 4, and 5 and the revision required by section 7 shall 
apply to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) that occur after the date 
on which the rules issued under subsection (a) take effect. 
(c) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in the 
amendments made by section 3, 4, or 5 or in the revision 
required by section 7 shall be construed to preempt any 
State law that provides protections or remedies for em-
ployees that are greater than the protections or remedies 
provided under such amendments or such revision. 
Æ 
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