4-H Youth Agricultural Program- Child labor Laws

[whalesong]

At this time they are trying to make it against the law to have anyone under 18 work on the family farm. http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20111250.htm

They did create this program instead for them to learn the same responsibilities.

East Hawaii 4-H has much to offer...we invite you to take a look at our site and if you are interested in becoming involved in our program as a 4-H member or 4-H leader, please contact our office at (808) 969-8213. More information can also be found at our State 4-H website at: http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/4h/

A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district members of Congress. But now it’s attracting barbs from farm kids themselves.

The Department of Labor is poised to put the finishing touches on a rule that would apply child-labor laws to children working on family farms, prohibiting them from performing a list of jobs on their own families’ land.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/25/rural-...z1t7c9j9Yi
http://web.me.com/bsettlage/Site/Home.html



http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/25/rural-...rm-chores/

[rbrgs]

Sounds like this only applies to for paid employment, NOT working on family farms. From the Dep't of Labor press release:

The FLSA also provides a complete exemption for youths employed on farms owned by their parents.

[Kapohocat]

So why do we need another law? Dont we already have pretty serious child labor laws?

[csgray]

Farms have traditionally been exempt from child labor laws. My first job at 12 was detassling corn, at 13 I was breaking completely wild range horses shipped to Indiana from Montana. My daughters picked strawberries and bucked hay bales at 12 and 13. These were all paid jobs on other people's farms and farm jobs were the only paid jobs available to kids so young, other than mowing lawns and babysitting.

I have mixed feelings about this law. In some cases these farm jobs were not particularly safe jobs, I went to school with kids who had missing fingers from balers and one of my classmates died in a silo in a horrible accident while working for a neighbor. I think the intent of the law is not to go after kids working on their family farms, but to end the exploitation of kids doing dangerous jobs on non family farms.

Carol

[Obie]

The list of jobs that can't do is mostly operating motorized equipment.

[Kane family]

Hey! I think they've just recalled the bulk of that new law in order for small/family farms to still operate. At least, that was the big news that circulated on our local organic farming network...

"The Labor Department on Thursday withdrew proposed rules that would ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment. The rules also would keep people 18 and younger from working in feed lots, grain silos and stockyards.

The plan specifically excluded children on farms owned or run by their parents."