Legislation to Protect Child Farmworkers in the US Re-Introduced
“The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) and its 35 members applaud the re-introduction late yesterday of two congressional bills that would significantly reduce child labor in U.S. agriculture and largely equalize child labor laws for wage-earning children on farms with current rules for non-farm work.”
In the House of Representatives, Rep. Roybal-Allard (D-CA) re-introduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, removing the exemptions that prevent the nation’s child labor laws from applying to children who work for wages on farms.
“Agriculture is the only industry in which children as young as 12 are allowed to labor with virtually no restrictions on the number of hours they work outside of the school day. That is why, since 2001, I have introduced the CARE Act, which ends this dangerous double standard. The time has come for the United States of America to bring child labor laws in line with our American values, and give all of our children the fundamental protections they rightfully deserve.”