Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2005

Bill: 109-hr-3482
Sponsor: Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-34]
Introduced: 2005-07-27 in the House
Policy area: Labor and Employment
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Agricultural labor
Agriculture and Food
Appropriations
Child labor
Child safety
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Department of Labor
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Elementary and secondary education
Employers' liability
Environmental Protection
Environmental law enforcement
Families
Federal employees
Fines (Penalties)
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Health
Hours of labor
Imprisonment
Labor statistics
Law
Medical statistics
Migrant education
Migrant labor
Occupational health and safety
Parent and child
Personnel records
Pesticides
Prosecution
Recidivists
Recruiting of employees
Seasonal labor
Standards
Youth services

Summary:
action_date: 2005-07-27
text: 
Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2005 - CARE Act of 2005 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to repeal certain exemptions from child labor prohibitions for agricultural employment.

 Allows an exemption only if: (1) the agricultural employment of an individual under 16 occurs outside of school hours; and (2) such individual is employed by a parent or a person standing in place of a parent on a farm owned or operated by such parent or person. Raises from 16 to 18 years old the minimum age for engaging in hazardous agricultural employment. Eliminates a waiver for hand-harvesting of certain crops.

Increases civil and criminal penalties for child labor violations.

Directs the Secretary of Labor to analyze data and report to Congress on work-related injuries to children and related matters. Requires employers to report on work-related serious injuries and illnesses, and deaths, of agricultural employees under 18 years of age.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) employ at least 100 additional inspectors within the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to enforce child labor laws; and (2) provide for a ten percent increase in the budget for the Employment Standards Division within the office of the Solicitor of Labor to increase prosecution of violations of such laws.
 
 Incorporates into FLSA child labor requirements certain federal standards for protecting workers exposed to pesticides. Reconciles civil penalties for violations of such standards affecting child workers imposed by the Secretary under FLSA and by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. 
 
Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary to make competitive grants for specified types of programs for migrant and seasonal farmworker youth dropout prevention. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-10-12
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
action_date: 2005-10-12
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
action_date: 2005-07-27
text: Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
action_date: 2005-07-27
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2005-07-27
text: Introduced in House