[Fwd: Fwd: ChildFarmworkers Legislation]

[Guest guest]

Everyone,

I recently received this e-mail on legislation to protect farmworker children

and I wanted to pass it on to all of you.

Josh Shepherd

Resource Center Manager

National Center for Farmworker Health

(512) 312-5463

_________________________________________________

CONGRESSWOMAN LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD (CA-34)

INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO PROTECT CHILD

FARMWORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard introduced " The

Children's Act for Responsible Employment " (CARE) today to address

abusive

and exploitive child labor practices in the United States.

" Mention abusive child labor and many people think of children in far

off

corners of the world being subjected to long hours and hazardous working

conditions, " Congresswoman Roybal-Allard (CA-34) said. " What many

Americans

don't realize is that our own labor laws exempt child agricultural

workers

from restrictions that protect children who work in other occupations.

We

must end this unacceptable double standard. "

While retaining current exemptions for family farms, CARE would bring

the

age and work hour standards for children working in corporate agriculture

up

to the standards set for all other forms of child labor. Under the

measure,

teenagers would need to be at least 16 years of age to work in

agricultural

fields and at least 18 years of age to perform particularly hazardous

work.

The bill retains, however, an existing exemption that permits 14 and 15

year

olds to work in certain jobs, including in agriculture, during limited

and

shorter shifts. The measure would also provide farmworker children with

greater protections against pesticide exposure in the fields and expand

educational opportunities to increase high school graduation rates.

Strauss, who is the Executive Director of the Association of

Farmworker Opportunity Programs and a member of the Child Labor

Coalition,

said about CARE: " I commend Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard for her

strong effort to eliminate this unconscionable discrimination in federal

law

against poor, mostly Hispanic, farmworker children. I urge all Americans

to

contact their Members of Congress and ask them to support this important

legislation. "

Congresswoman Roybal-Allard continued: " An estimated 500,000 children,

as

young as 12 years old, work in fields harvesting crops across America.

Current federal law allows child farmworkers to work in corporate

agriculture at a younger age, for much longer hours, and under more

hazardous conditions than those working in non-agricultural jobs. As a

society, we have a moral obligation to change these unjust laws to

protect

all children equally, regardless of whether they're picking tomatoes or

working in the local mall. "

In addition to addressing the age and hour requirements for child

farmworkers, CARE would address several other problem areas:

* To serve as a stronger deterrent for employers who violate child

labor laws, the bill would increase the maximum civil monetary penalties

for

child labor violations from $11,000 to $50,000 and would increase the

maximum criminal penalties from six months imprisonment to five years.

The

bill would also raise the maximum penalty to $100,000 for willful or

repeat

violations that lead to the death or serious injury of a child worker.

The

Administration has also incorporated the same increases in penalties

into

its labor budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2006.

* To address the educational needs of farmworker youth, CARE would

authorize $10 million in federal funds for farmworker youth programs

that

provide school retention services such as tutoring, mentoring, computer

instruction, and academic and vocational counseling. These essential

programs operated in 31 states prior to the expiration of the U.S.

Department of Labor's National Farmworker Jobs Program grants in 2004.

* To provide children with greater protections against pesticide

exposure in agriculture, CARE would raise the labor protections for

pesticide exposure to the levels currently enforced by the EPA. In

addition, CARE would provide Labor Department investigators with the

jurisdiction to enforce the more protective safeguards.

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B. Leonard

2500 North Jefferson Street

Arlington, Virginia 22207-1448

U.S.A.

Tel. (703) 533-0756

E-mail: jbleonard@...

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