Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2007 or the CARE Act of 2007 - 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.
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.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2674 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2674
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase penalties for
violations of child labor laws, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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 Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase penalties for
violations of child labor laws, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
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''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short Title; Table of Contents.
Sec. 2. Revised Age Requirement for Child Agricultural Employment;
Repeal of Waiver Provision for Hand Harvest
Laborers.
Sec. 3. Increased Civil Penalties for Child Labor Violations.
Sec. 4. Special Criminal Penalties for Certain Aggravated Child Labor
Violations.
Sec. 5. Report to Congress on Work-Related Injuries to Children and
Related Matters.
Sec. 6. Employer Reporting Requirements.
Sec. 7. Pesticide-Related Worker Protection Standard.
Sec. 8. Application of Fair Labor Standards Amendments.
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:
``(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--
``(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; and
``(B) the employment is outside of school hours for the
school district where the employee is living while so
employed.''.
(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.
Section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
216(e)) is amended--
(1) in the first sentence by striking ``not to exceed
$10,000'' and inserting ``not less than $500 and not more than
$50,000''; and
(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.''.
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:
``(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 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:
``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.
``(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.
``(2) State employment security agencies and other relevant
State agencies.
``(3) The National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health.
``(c) Definitions.--As used in this section:
``(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.
``(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.
``(d) Report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report to
Congress which shall include the following--
``(1) a summary of the data collected by the Secretary
under this section and section 12B;
``(2) an evaluation, based on such data, that reflects 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.''.
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 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).
``(b) Events Specified.--An event referred to in subsection (a)
is--
``(1) a serious lost-time work-related injury to an
employee under 18 years of age employed in agriculture;
``(2) the discovery of a serious lost-time work-related
illness of an employee under 18 years of age employed in
agriculture; or
``(3) a 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 employee;
``(3) details about the injury, illness, or death of the
employee; and
``(4) such other information as the Secretary of Labor may
by regulation prescribe.
``(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.
``(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.''.
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).
(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:
``(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.
``(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.''.
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.
(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.
(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.
(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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
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