I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3564 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to strengthen the provisions 
relating to child labor. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 15, 2009 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Mr. HINOJOSA, and Mr. CONNOLLY of Vir-
ginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Labor 
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 2009’’ or the ‘‘CARE Act of 
2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. 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— 
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) The provisions of section 12 relating to 
child labor shall apply to any employee under 18 
years of age employed in agriculture unless the em-
ployee is employed by a parent of the employee or 
by a person standing in the place of the parent, on 
a farm owned or operated by the parent or person.’’; 
and 
(2) by striking paragraph (2). 
(b) REPEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION.—Section 13(c) 
of such Act (29 U.S.C. 213(c)) is further amended by 
striking paragraph (4). 
SEC. 3. INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES FOR CHILD LABOR 
VIOLATIONS. 
Paragraph (1) of section 16(e) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
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(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 
(2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘the term 
‘serious injury’ means’’ and inserting ‘‘the terms ‘se-
rious injury’ and ‘serious illness’ mean’’. 
SEC. 4. 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— 
(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: 
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‘‘(f) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates 
any of the provisions of section 12, and such violations 
result in or contribute to the death or permanent disability 
of an employee under 18 years of age at the time of such 
violation, shall be subject to imprisonment for not more 
than five years or a fine under title 18, United States 
Code, or both.’’. 
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON WORK-RELATED INJU-
RIES TO CHILDREN AND RELATED MATTERS. 
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended 
by inserting after section 12 (29 U.S.C. 212) the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 12A. DATA ON WORK-RELATED INJURIES TO CHIL-
DREN AND RELATED MATTERS. 
‘‘(a) DATA ANALYSIS.—Using the sources specified 
in subsection (b), the Secretary shall analyze data con-
cerning children under the age of 18 who are employed 
in agriculture, and with respect to such children, each 
work-related injury, illness, or death. 
‘‘(b) SOURCES SPECIFIED.—The sources referred to 
in subsection (a) are the following: 
‘‘(1) Sources within the Department of Labor, 
including the Wage and Hour Division, the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics, and the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration. 
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‘‘(2) State employment security agencies and 
other relevant State agencies. 
‘‘(3) The National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health. 
‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit an annual 
report to Congress which shall include— 
‘‘(1) a summary of the data collected by the 
Secretary under this section and section 12B; 
‘‘(2) an evaluation, based on such data, that re-
flects the status of child labor and related safety and 
health hazards; and 
‘‘(3) any information, based on such data, that 
leads the Secretary to believe that children under 18 
years of age may have been employed in violation of 
section 12. 
The Secretary shall publish each such report in the Fed-
eral Register and shall ensure that such reports are posted 
on the Department of Labor website.’’. 
SEC. 6. EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 12A, 
as added by section 5, the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 12B EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
‘‘(a) REPORT.—Not later than 5 days after an event 
specified under subsection (b), the employer involved in 
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the event shall submit a report to the Secretary in accord-
ance with subsection (c). 
‘‘(b) EVENTS SPECIFIED.—An event referred to in 
subsection (a) is— 
‘‘(1) a work-related serious injury to an em-
ployee under 18 years of age employed in agri-
culture; 
‘‘(2) the discovery of a work-related serious ill-
ness of an employee under 18 years of age employed 
in agriculture; or 
‘‘(3) the work-related death of an employee 
under 18 years of age employed in agriculture. 
‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report required by 
subsection (a) shall include— 
‘‘(1) the name and address of the employer; 
‘‘(2) the name, address, and age of the em-
ployee; 
‘‘(3) details relevant to the incident, to include 
environmental hazards, such as chemicals or pes-
ticide exposure; use of machinery or tools at time of 
incident; work tasks performed at time of incident; 
and other details relating to the incident; and 
‘‘(4) such other information as the Secretary of 
Labor may by regulation prescribe. 
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‘‘(d) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT.—The Sec-
retary may assess a civil penalty on any employer who fails 
to file a report as required by this section in an amount 
not less than $500 and not more than $7,000 per viola-
tion. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the terms 
‘serious injury’ and ‘serious illness’ have the meanings 
given such terms in section 16(e)(1)(B).’’. 
SEC. 7. PESTICIDE-RELATED WORKER PROTECTION STAND-
ARD. 
Congress finds and declares that the employment of 
children under the age of 18 in any occupation or under 
any circumstances inconsistent with the worker protection 
standard for workers exposed to pesticides in part 170 of 
title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, is particularly haz-
ardous to such children and detrimental to their health 
and well-being. The Secretary of Labor shall, not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
revise part 570 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, 
to prohibit the employment of a child under the age of 
18 in any occupation or under any circumstances not per-
mitted by part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula-
tions. 
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SEC. 8. APPLICATION OF FAIR LABOR STANDARDS AMEND-
MENTS. 
(a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 
issue final rules to implement the amendments made by 
sections 2 through 6 and the revision required by section 
7. The rules issued under this subsection shall take effect 
not later than 30 days after the date on which the final 
rules are published in the Federal Register. 
(b) VIOLATIONS.—The amendments made by sections 
2, 3, 4, and 6 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 2, 3, 4, or 6 or in the revi-
sion required by section 7 shall be construed to preempt 
any State law that provides protections or remedies for 
employees that are greater than the protections or rem-
edies provided under such amendments or such revision. 
(d) EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The 
employer reporting requirements of section 12B of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as added by section 
6, shall take effect on the date on which the final rules 
issued under subsection (a) take effect. 
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SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act (other than section 8) and the amendments 
made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 30 
days after the regulations required under section 8 are 
published in the Federal Register. 
Æ 
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