Child Labor Coalition Applauds Introduction of the CARE Act of 2025 on Universal Children’s Day
Washington, DC — Today, on World Children’s Day, Representative Raul Ruiz (CA-25) reintroduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE Act) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) strongly supports this essential legislation, which modernizes outdated federal child labor laws and extends long-overdue protections to child farmworkers—among the nation’s most vulnerable laborers.
“Our nation has a moral duty to protect every working child,” said Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy and Coordinator of the CLC. “Farmworkers remain among the most exploited and unprotected workers in America. Children deserve safe working conditions and the same rights afforded to young workers in every other industry. Updating these antiquated laws is long overdue.”
The CARE Act closes loopholes that have long allowed children in agriculture to perform hazardous work at age 16—an age two years younger than what is required in all other sectors. It raises the minimum age for children to work on farms from 12 to 14, and it makes these critical changes while preserving long-standing family farm traditions by ensuring that new protections do not restrict children working on their parents’ farms.
Maki emphasized the deep historical harm caused by these outdated rules:
“It’s astonishing that discriminatory loopholes allowing very young children to work 70- or 80-hour weeks in dangerous conditions have existed since the 1930s. These exemptions undermine children’s education and put their health at serious risk.”
The CARE Act of 2025 marks a critical step toward safety, equity, and dignity for child farmworkers. The Child Labor Coalition urges Congress to act swiftly to pass this legislation and ensure that every child in America is protected—no matter where they live or work.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.
