Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2009 or the CARE Act of 2009 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to repeal certain exemptions from child labor prohibitions for agricultural employment.
Applies such child labor prohibitions with respect to any employee under 18 employed in agriculture unless employed by a parent or a person standing in place of a parent on a farm owned or operated by such parent or person.
Eliminates any waiver of such prohibitions for hand-harvesting of certain crops.
Increases civil and establishes 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, illnesses, or deaths of agricultural employees under age 18.
Directs the Secretary to revise federal child labor regulations to prohibit the employment of children under 18 in occupations that prohibit exposure to pesticides.
[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3564 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3564
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to strengthen the
provisions relating to child labor.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 15, 2009
Ms. Roybal-Allard (for herself, Mr. Hinojosa, and Mr. Connolly of
Virginia) 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 strengthen the
provisions relating to child labor.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Act for Responsible
Employment of 2009'' or the ``CARE Act of 2009''.
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--
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) The provisions of section 12 relating to child labor
shall apply to any employee under 18 years of age employed in
agriculture unless 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
(2) by striking paragraph (2).
(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.
Paragraph (1) of section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by striking ``not to exceed'' and inserting
``of''; and
(B) by amending clauses (i) and (ii) to read as
follows:
``(i) not less than $500 and not more than $15,000 for each
employee who was the subject of such a violation; or
``(ii) not less than $15,000 and not more than $50,000 with
regard to each such violation that causes the serious injury,
serious illness, or death of any employee under the age of 18
years, which penalty may be doubled where the violation is a
repeated or willful violation.''; and
(2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ``the term `serious
injury' means'' and inserting ``the terms `serious injury' and
`serious illness' mean''.
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--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Any person'' and
inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (f), any person'';
and
(2) 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 work-related injury, illness, or 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) Report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual report to
Congress which shall include--
``(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.
The Secretary shall publish each such report in the Federal Register
and shall ensure that such reports are posted on the Department of
Labor website.''.
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 5 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 work-related serious injury to an employee under 18
years of age employed in agriculture;
``(2) the discovery of a work-related serious illness of an
employee under 18 years of age employed in agriculture; or
``(3) the 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 relevant to the incident, to include
environmental hazards, such as chemicals or pesticide exposure;
use of machinery or tools at time of incident; work tasks
performed at time of incident; and other details relating to
the incident; 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 not less than $500 and not more than $7,000
per violation.
``(e) Definition.--As used in this section, the terms `serious
injury' and `serious illness' have the meanings given such terms in
section 16(e)(1)(B).''.
SEC. 7. PESTICIDE-RELATED WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD.
Congress finds and declares that the employment of children under
the age of 18 in any occupation or under any circumstances inconsistent
with the worker protection standard for workers exposed to pesticides
in part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, is particularly
hazardous to such children and detrimental to their health and well-
being. The Secretary of Labor shall, not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, revise part 570 of title 29, Code of
Federal Regulations, to prohibit the employment of a child under the
age of 18 in any occupation or under any circumstances not permitted by
part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.
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 and the
revision required by section 7. 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 2, 3, 4, and 6 and
the revision required by section 7 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 2, 3, 4, or 6 or in the revision required by section 7 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 or such revision.
(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.
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act (other than section 8) and the amendments made by this Act
shall take effect on the date that is 30 days after the regulations
required under section 8 are published in the Federal Register.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H9494)
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.
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