Stronger protections for child farmworkers: higher penalties and new employment rules.
This Act significantly tightens child labor laws in agriculture, aiming to equalize protections with those in other industries. It introduces higher civil and criminal penalties for violations, especially those resulting in serious injury or death. Furthermore, the law mandates prompt reporting of accidents by employers and prohibits the employment of minors under 18 in pesticide handling, directly enhancing the safety and health of young workers.
Key points
Minimum Age: Establishes new, stricter rules regarding the age and working hours for children in agriculture, eliminating previous exceptions that allowed younger children to work under hazardous conditions.
Increased Penalties: Significantly raises the minimum and maximum civil penalties for child labor violations, especially in cases of serious injury or death (up to $60,115 per violation).
Criminal Penalties: Introduces new criminal penalties (up to 5 years imprisonment) for repeated or willful violations resulting in serious injury, serious illness, or death of an employee under 18.
Pesticide Ban: Prohibits the employment of children under 18 from performing tasks or duties related to handling pesticides ('handler').
Mandatory Accident Reporting: Agricultural employers must report serious injury, illness, or death of an employee under 18 to the Secretary of Labor within 5 days of the event.
Expired
Citizen Poll