HR 2674 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase penalties for violations of child labor laws, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

June 12, 2007

Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD (for herself, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. WEXLER, and Ms. DELAURO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and LaborCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase penalties for violations of child labor laws, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2007' or the `CARE Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short Title; Table of Contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Revised Age Requirement for Child Agricultural Employment; Repeal of Waiver Provision for Hand Harvest Laborers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. Increased Civil Penalties for Child Labor Violations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Special Criminal Penalties for Certain Aggravated Child Labor Violations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 5. Report to Congress on Work-Related Injuries to Children and Related Matters.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 6. Employer Reporting Requirements.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 7. Pesticide-Related Worker Protection Standard.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 8. Application of Fair Labor Standards Amendments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. REVISED AGE REQUIREMENT FOR CHILD AGRICULTURAL 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 inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c)(1) The provisions of section 12 relating to child labor shall not apply to any employee under 16 years of age employed in agriculture, including in an agricultural occupation that the Secretary of Labor finds and declares to be particularly hazardous under section 3(l), if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(A) the employee 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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(B) the employment is outside of school hours for the school district where the employee is living while so employed.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Repeal of Waiver Provision- Section 13(c) of such Act (29 U.S.C. 213(c)) is further amended by striking paragraph (4).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES FOR CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS.

Section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in the first sentence by striking `not to exceed $10,000' and inserting `not less than $500 and not more than $50,000'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by inserting after the first sentence the following new sentences: `In the case of a violation under the preceding sentence that results in a serious lost-time work-related injury or a serious lost-time work-related illness (as such terms are defined in section 12A(c)) to an employee or results in the death of an employee, the civil penalty shall be not more than $50,000. In the case of a repeated or willful violation that results in a serious lost-time work-related injury or a serious lost-time work-related illness to an employee or results in the death of an employee, the civil penalty shall be not more than $100,000.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. SPECIAL CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN AGGRAVATED CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS.

Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended by adding at the end the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(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.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON WORK-RELATED INJURIES 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:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 12A. DATA ON WORK-RELATED INJURIES TO CHILDREN AND RELATED MATTERS.

`(a) Data Analysis- Using the sources specified in subsection (b), the Secretary shall analyze data concerning children under the age of 18 who are employed in agriculture, and with respect to such children, each serious lost-time work-related injury, serious lost-time work-related illness, or work-related death.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Sources Specified- The sources referred to in subsection (a) are the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) State employment security agencies and other relevant State agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Definitions- As used in this section:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) The term `serious lost-time work-related injury' means, with respect to an employee under 18 years of age, a work-related injury which results in lost employment time for such employee of at least one work day.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) The term `serious lost-time work-related illness' means, with respect to an employee under 18 years of age, a work-related illness which results in lost employment time for such employee of at least one work day.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Report- The Secretary shall submit an annual report to Congress which shall include the following--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) a summary of the data collected by the Secretary under this section and section 12B;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) an evaluation, based on such data, that reflects the status of child labor and related safety and health hazards; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(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.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

`SEC. 12B EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

`(a) Report- Not later than five days after an event specified under subsection (b), the employer involved in the event shall submit a report to the Secretary in accordance with subsection (c).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(b) Events Specified- An event referred to in subsection (a) is--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) a serious lost-time work-related injury to an employee under 18 years of age employed in agriculture;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) the discovery of a serious lost-time work-related illness of an employee under 18 years of age employed in agriculture; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) a work-related death of an employee under 18 years of age employed in agriculture.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(c) Contents of Report- The report required by subsection (a) shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(1) the name and address of the employer;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(2) the name, address, and age of the employee;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(3) details about the injury, illness, or death of the employee; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(4) such other information as the Secretary of Labor may by regulation prescribe.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(d) Penalty for Failure to Report- The Secretary may assess a civil penalty on any employer who fails to file a report as required by this section in an amount up to $7,000 per violation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(e) Definition- As used in this section, the terms `serious lost-time work-related injury' and `serious lost-time work-related illness' have the meanings given those terms in section 12A.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 7. PESTICIDE-RELATED WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD.

(a) Incorporation of Worker Protection Standard in Child Labor Provisions- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall issue final rules to incorporate within the rules relating to the child labor provisions of section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) the worker protection standard for workers exposed to pesticides in part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations. If, after incorporating such standard, the standard in such part is revised, the Secretary shall, by rule, incorporate such revisions within the rules relating to the child labor provisions of section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Reconciliation of Civil Penalties- Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216), as amended by sections 3 and 4, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(g) The amount of a civil penalty imposed by the Secretary on a violator for a violation of section 12 of this Act may be offset by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency against the amount of a civil penalty imposed by the Administrator for a violation of the worker protection standard promulgated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. prec. 121 et seq.) by the same violator if the Administrator determines that the violation of such standard involved the same conduct affecting the same child workers in whose interests the first civil penalty was imposed.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





`(h) The amount of a civil penalty imposed by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on a violator for a violation of the worker protection standard promulgated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. prec. 121 et seq.) may be offset by the Secretary against the amount of a civil penalty imposed by the Secretary for a violation of section 12 of this Act by the same violator if the Secretary determines that the violation of such section involved the same conduct affecting the same child workers in whose interests the first civil penalty was imposed.'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 8. APPLICATION OF FAIR LABOR STANDARDS AMENDMENTS.

(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. 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Violations- The amendments made by sections 3 and 4 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Rule of Construction- Nothing in the amendments made by section 3 or 4 shall be construed to preempt any State law that provides protections or remedies for employees that are greater than the protections or remedies provided under such amendments.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink