Tag Archive for: CARE Act

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Child Labor Coalition welcomes the Senate Introduction of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety Act of 2024 (CARE Act)

Press Release

March 25, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Reid Maki, reidm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2820

 

Washington, DC – With the beginning of Farmworker Awareness Week today, the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), representing 37 groups engaged in the fight against domestic and global child labor, applauds Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and for introducing the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE). The legislation, introduced on March 21, would close long-standing loopholes that permit children in agriculture to work for wages when they are only 12 and 13—younger than other teens can work. The bill would also ban jobs on farms labeled “hazardous” by the U.S. Department of Labor if workers are under the age of 18. Current U.S. law allows children to perform hazardous work at age 16.

“With their whole future ahead of them, our country must do better protecting children working in the agriculture industry,” said Senator Luján. “Across the country, thousands of children are working under hazardous conditions in the agriculture sector, risking their health and education. I’m introducing the CARE Act to raise the floor and bring our agricultural labor lines in with other industries to better protect children and improve the working conditions they operate in.”

“It’s amazing to us that discriminatory loopholes, which allow very young kids to work 70- and 80-hours a week, performing back-breaking labor on farms, have been allowed to exist since the 1930s,” said Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy for the National Consumers League and the Child Labor Coalition. “The impact of the exemptions on farmworker children educationally is harmful and their health is at significant risk on farms.”

“We’re grateful for Senator Luján’s tremendous leadership on this issue.” said the CLC’s Chair Sally Greenberg, also the CEO of the National Consumers League. “It’s been 22 years since we’ve had a Senate bill that would fix our weak child labor laws that discriminate against farmworker children and leave them unprotected from farm dangers. This day was long overdue. We applaud Senator Lujan for taking action to protect child farmworkers.

“Growing up as a migrant farmworker child, I saw first-hand the detrimental consequences of our inequitable child labor laws,” says Norma Flores López, Chair of the Child Labor Coalition’s Domestic Issues Committee. “Working 70 hours a week, performing back-breaking work did not prepare me for a career in agriculture. Rather, it robbed me of my childhood and my health. Working children must be protected from dangerous work that is not age-appropriate, and the CARE Act provides this critical change in our labor laws.”

In the House, Rep. Raul Ruiz introduced a version of the CARE Act, H.R. 4046, earlier in the congressional session; it has 45 cosponsors.

The Senate bill, which does not have a number yet, has been endorsed by 46 organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the Economic Policy Institute, the UFW, Farmworker Justice, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Farm Medicine Center. The House version has been endorsed by 200 national, regional, and state-based organizations, noted Maki.

“The US will not fix the country’s child labor problem until Congress provides children working in agriculture with the same protections as all other working children. Congress should pass this bill without delay to protect children from dangerous work that harms their health and development,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director, Human Rights Watch.

In addition to raising the minimum age at which children could work in agriculture, CARE would significantly increase minimum fines for employers who violate agricultural child labor laws; the bill would also establish minimum fines for the first time. The legislation would also codify a ban on children applying pesticides and increase data collection and analysis of child farmworker injuries.

The children of farm owners working on their parents’ farms would not be covered by the protections of the CARE Act—this aligns with the wishes of organized farmer groups.

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201 Organizations Endorse Legislation (CARE Act) to Close Child Labor Loopholes that Endanger the Health, Safety and Educational Development of Farmworker Children

The Child Labor Coalition is reaching out for organizational endorsements of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety,  which would end exploitative child labor in U.S. agriculture. [The bill was introduced on Cesar Chavez Day, 3/31/2022 in the 117th Congress. We will post a bill number as soon as it is available.]

201 great national, regional, and state-based groups have endorsed this much-needed legislation.

We ask organizations to help us advance this vital legislation which would remove the exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act that allow children to work unlimited hours in agriculture at the age of 12; these exemptions also allow child farmworkers to perform hazardous work at the age of 16. A text of the bill can be found here.

The educational impact of child labor on U.S. farmworker children has been devastating. We estimate that two out of three children who work in the fields drop out of school.

The CLC’s press release explains why there is an urgent need to protect farmworker children and how the bill accomplishes this. Child farmworkers perform back-breaking work for long hours in excessive heat while they are exposed to pesticides and other dangerous agro-chemicals.

Organizations that wish to add their names to the list of endorsers, please email reidm@nclnet.org .

The 201 groups below have endorsed the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety between 2019 and 2022:

Action for Children North Carolina
AFL-CIO
Alianza Nacional de Campesinas
Alliance for Justice 
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers 
American Medical Women’s Association
Amnesty International USA 
Arkansas Human Development Corporation
Asian Americans Advancing Justice — AAJC
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance 
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs 
Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers (AWPPW) 
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, & Grain Millers  International Union 
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers, & Grain Millers  International Union, Local 351 (NM)
Bank Information Center
Be Slavery Free
Beyond Borders
Beyond Pesticides
Bon Appétit Management Company 
California Human Development 
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation 
Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities
CATA – Farmworkers’ Support Committee  (NJ, PA, MD)
Causa (OR)
Center for Childhood & Youth Studies, Salem State University  (MA) 
Center for Human Rights of Children, Loyola University
Center for Progressive Reform
Central Valley Opportunity Center (California)
Centro de los Derechos del Migrante
Child Labor Coalition 
Child Welfare League of America
Children’s Advocacy Institute, Univ. of San Diego School of Law (CA)
Children’s Alliance (Washington State) 
CLASP
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking̶̶—CAST
Coalition of Immokalee Workers 
Coalition on Human Needs
Communications Workers of America 
Community Council of Idaho
Community Farm Alliance
Corporate Accountability Lab
CREA: Center for Reflection, Education and Action 
Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
Dialogue on Diversity 
Earth Ethics
Earth Justice
East Coast Migrant Head Start Project 
Episcopal Farmworker Ministry (NC)
Fairtrade America
Fair World Project
Families USA
Farm Labor Organizing Committee 
Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (IL)
Farmworker Association of Florida 
Farmworker Justice 
Feminist Majority Foundation
First Focus Campaign for Children 
Food and Water Action
Food Chain Workers Alliance 
Food Empowerment Project
Food Policy Action Education Fund
Food Tank
Friends of the Earth
Futures Without Violence
General Federation of Women’s Clubs 
Girls Inc.
Global Campaign for Education–US
Global Fairness Initiative
Global March Against Child Labour
GoodWeave
Green America
Hispanic Affairs Project (Colorado)
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) 
Hispanic Federation 
Human Agenda
Human Rights Watch 
Human Trafficking Legal Center
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
International Bar Association’s Institute of Human Rights 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters 
International Initiative to End Child Labor 
International Justice Mission
International Labor Rights Forum 
International Rights Advocates
Jobs with Justice
Justice for Migrant Women
Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation
Kentucky Equal Justice Center
Kentucky Youth Advocates 
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement–LACLAA
La Semilla Food Center (NM & TX)
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund – LALDEF (NJ)
Lawyers for Good Government
League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Learning Disabilities Association of Maine
Legal Aid Justice Center (VA)
Lideres Campesinas
MANA, A National Latina Organization 
Marshfield Clinic Health System 
Maryland Pesticide Network
Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (Mass COSH)
Media Voices for Children 
MEO (HI)
Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project
Mighty Earth
Migrant Clinician’s Network 
Migrant Justice // Justicia Migrante
Migrant Legal Action Program 
Motivation, Education, and Training, Inc. (LA, MN, ND, NM, TX, WY)
NAACP 
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP)
National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education 
National Center for Farmworker Health
National Consumers League 
National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH)
National Council of Jewish Women
National Domestic Workers Alliance
National Education Association 
National Employment Law Project (NELP) 
National Farm Medicine Center
National Farm Worker Ministry 
National Immigration Law Center
National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association  
National Organization for Women 
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Women’s Law Center
NC Field (NC)
New Labor (NJ)
New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty
New Mexico Voices for Children 
North Carolina Council of Churches (NC)
North Carolina Justice Center (NC)
Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP)
Northwest Workers’ Justice Project (OR)
NYS American Academy of Pediatrics, Chapters 1, 2 & 3 (NY)
NYSUT — A Union of Professionals (NY)
Oregon Human Development Corporation 
PathStone (IN, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, VT, VA)
Pax Christi USA
PCUN—Pineros y Campesinos  del Noroeste (Northwest Treeplanters and Farmworkers)
Pesticide Action Network 
PhilaPOSH
Phoenix Zones Initiative
Physicians for Social Responsibility, New Mexico Chapter
Polaris
Pride at Work 
Progressive Democrats of America 
Project Protect Food Systems (CO)
Promise Institute for Human Rights, UCLA School of Law (CA)
Proteus Inc. (CA)
Public Citizen
Rainforest Action Network
Responsible Sourcing Network
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC)
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights 
Rukmini Foundation
Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA
Rural and Migrant Ministry (NY)
Rural Coalition
SafeJobs Oregon
SafeWork Washington
SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Shine Global
Shriver Center on Law and Poverty
Sierra Club
Social Accountability International
Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR) 
SPLC Action Fund 
Student Action with Farmworkers (NC)
Telamon Corp./Transition Resources Corp. (AL, DE, GA, IN, MD, MI, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Texas AFL-CIO 
Tony’s Chocolonely
Toxic Free NC (NC)
Trinity Human Rights Group
UFW Foundation
UnidosUS
Union of Concerned Scientists
United Farm Workers of America (UFW)
United Food & Commercial Workers International Union  
United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society 
United Methodist Women 
United Migrant Opportunity Services (WI, FL, MN, MO, TX)
United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (DC)
United Steel Workers
United States Hispanic Leadership Institute 
Vecinos Farmworker Health Program  (North Carolina)
Verité
Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
Voices for Utah Children
Wasatch Clean Air Coalition (UT)
Washington Lawyers Committee
Wayne Action for Racial Equality (NY)
Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NY)
Western North Carolina Workers’ Center (NC)
Winrock International
Worker Justice Center of New York (NY)
Worksafe (CA)
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Press Release: Rep. Roybal-Allard, 24 Cosponsors Reintroduce CARE Act to Strengthen Protections for Child Farmworkers

[Released by Rep. Roybal-Allard]

June 20, 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT

Ben Soskin

(202) 225-1766

Benjamin.Soskin@mail.house.gov

Rep. Roybal-Allard, 24 Cosponsors Reintroduce CARE Act to Strengthen Protections for Child Farmworkers

Washington, DC Today, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) led the reintroduction of her Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE), which raises labor standards and protections for farm worker children to the same level set for children in all other occupations.  The congresswoman announced the CARE Act’s reintroduction at a press event in the U.S. Capitol alongside advocates including Mónica Ramírez, the president of Justice for Migrant Women; Norma López, the chair of the Domestic Issues Committee for the Child Labor Coalition; and Brenda Alvarez-Lagunas, a former child farmworker who recently made national news for her valedictorian speech at her high school graduation.  Congresswoman Roybal-Allard reintroduced today’s bill with 24 House cosponsors.

 “America is morally obligated to protect the rights, safety, and future of every child in our nation,” said Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.  “Sadly, our child agricultural workers do not enjoy these protections.  They currently face a double standard that lets them work at younger ages, for longer hours, and in more hazardous conditions than child workers in any other industry.  If we value our youth, if we support fair and decent treatment for all children, then we must pass the CARE Act and finally ensure fundamental protections for America’s child farmworkers.”

“Farmworker children pay the price for the inexpensive fruits and vegetables our nation consumes with their battered bodies, lost educational opportunities, and broken dreams because they are forced to work just to make ends meet for their families,” said Ms. Ramírez.  “The CARE Act seeks to put farmworker children on equal footing with other children by placing necessary restrictions on their ability to work in one of the most dangerous jobs in the US.”

“Today in America, as many as 500,000 children are performing back-breaking and often dangerous work on farms across the country with few protections, no safety training or equipment, and for very low wages,” said Ms. López.  “They are sacrificing their childhood, their education, and their health to help put food on their family’s table; yet the most they earn in a year is $2000.  America’s future is worth so much more.  It is time to end the double-standard farmworker children face and extend equal protections to all of America’s children.  It is time to pass the CARE Act.”

“I was in the fields as young as seven years old with continued exposure to harmful chemicals,” said Ms. Alvarez-Lagunas.  “I was working under the sun for hours at a time – this is why I am grateful for Roybal-Allard’s CARE Act.  It will help protect children from harmful conditions.”

“Why must we rely on children to harvest fruits and vegetables in America?,” said Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy of the National Consumers League and Coordinator of the Child Labor Coalition.  “Why must Latino children bear the brunt of unjust laws?  The child labor exemptions in U.S. labor law constitute a de facto form of discrimination and why allow young children to work in what is the most dangerous industry?  These loopholes have been around since the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938.  Isn’t it time to protect all our children equally?”

Under current law, children in agriculture are allowed to work at younger ages and for longer hours than those working in other sectors.  Children as young as 12 can work with virtually no restrictions on the number of hours they spend in the fields outside of the school day.  Furthermore, children performing hazardous agricultural work can be as young as 16, while hazardous non-agricultural work is reserved for adults.  With the majority of work-related fatalities for children occurring in the agriculture sector, and past findings that child agricultural workers drop out of school at four times the national dropout rate, it is imperative for Congress to take action to protect these child workers.

Key provisions of the CARE bill:

While retaining current exemptions for family farms and educational programs like 4-H and Future Farmers of America, the CARE Act:

  • Brings age and work hour standards for children in agriculture up to the standards for children working in all other industries:
  Existing Law for Agricultural Employment Existing Law for Non-Agricultural Employment CARE Act provisions
Non-Hazardous Job, Age 12-13 Can work outside of school hours with parental consent. Prohibited. Prohibited.
Non-Hazardous Job, Age 14-15 Can work outside of school hours without any restrictions on number of hours per day or per week. Can work outside of school hours.  Cannot work before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m. or for more than 3 hours on a school day or more than 18 in a school week. Imposes the same hour restrictions in place for non-agricultural workers on agricultural workers.
Hazardous, Age 16-17 Minimum age is 16 for hazardous jobs. Prohibited until age 18. Prohibited until age 18.
  • Establishes a minimum penalty for child labor violations;
  • Increases the maximum civil monetary penalties and maximum criminal penalties for child labor violations;
  • Provides children with greater protections against pesticide exposure in agriculture by raising the labor protections to EPA standards.
  • Includes reporting requirements on work-related injuries and serious illness.

The CARE Act’s original cosponsors include Congressmembers Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Karen Bass (CA-37), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), David Cicilline (RI-01), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Andy Levin (MI-09), Alan S. Lowenthal (CA-47), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam B. Schiff (CA-28), José E. Serrano (NY-15), Albio Sires (NJ-08), and Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24).

 

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CARE Act’s 24 Co-sponsors in the 116th Congress

The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety was introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard on June 20, 2019 with 24 original cosponsors (bold). For the goals of the CARE Act, click here.

 

Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44)

Karen Bass (CA-37)

Tony Cárdenas (CA-29)

David Cicilline (RI-01)

Yvette Clarke (NY-09)

Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)

Ruben Gallego (AZ-07)

Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)

Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Barbara Lee (CA-13)

Andy Levin (MI-09)

Alan S. Lowenthal (CA-47)

Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08)

James P. McGovern (MA-02)

Gwen Moore (WI-04)

Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32)

Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)

Mark Pocan (WI-02)

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP)

Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09)

Adam B. Schiff (CA-28)

José E. Serrano (NY-15)

Albio Sires (NJ-08)

Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24)

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CLC News Release: Legislation to Protect Child Farmworkers in the US is Re-Introduced

CHILD LABOR COALITION PRESS RELEASE
Child Labor Coalition applauds the introduction of two congressional bills to reduce dangerous child labor in U.S. agriculture

For immediate release: June 13, 2017
Contact: Reid Maki, (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) and its 35 members applaud the re-introduction late yesterday of two congressional bills that would significantly reduce child labor in U.S. agriculture and largely equalize child labor laws for wage-earning children on farms with current rules for non-farm work.

In the U.S., many teens who work in tobacco fields wear plastic garbage bags to try to avoid nicotine poisoning. [Photo courtesy Human Rights Watch]

In the U.S., many teens who work in tobacco fields wear plastic garbage bags to try to avoid nicotine poisoning. [Photo courtesy Human Rights Watch]

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Roybal-Allard (D-CA) re-introduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, removing the exemptions that prevent the nation’s child labor laws from applying to children who work for wages on farms.

“A 12-year-old is not allowed to work in our air-conditioned office,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League and a co-chair of the CLC. “Yet, that same child is allowed to work unlimited hours, seven days a week on a farm, performing back-breaking work.”

CARE would also raise the age at which children laboring on farms can perform hazardous work from 16 to 18, which is the norm for all non-farm work. “We lose far too many children to work accidents on farms,” said CLC Coordinator Reid Maki. “This change is long overdue.”

“Child farmworkers work at far younger ages, for longer hours, and under more hazardous conditions than children are allowed to work in any other industry. It’s time to end this double standard in U.S. law and ensure they have the same protections as other working youth,” said CLC-member Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.

Read more

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Needed: A Champion for Children

By Len Morris

Len Morris of Media Voices for Children

Len Morris of Media Voices for Children

If we are to have a government worthy of the America Jimmy Stewart described in his famous role as Senator Jefferson Smith, we’ll need champions in government that will protect those who are the weakest and most vulnerable among us – our children.

Today, hundreds of thousands of children work in America’s fields doing dangerous, unhealthy and adult work from sunrise to sunset…many under 14 years of age. They need a champion, one senator out of a hundred, who will step forward to protect them by introducing a law outlawing child labor in America’s fields, revising and repealing a law that’s been on the books since 1939, when America was a different place and American farms were small family affairs, not the corporate agribusiness of today.

The invisible children in our fields are victims of greed, racism and violated human liberties.

Greed is the driver, enabling companies to make huge profits at the expense of children’s health. Under current US law, child tobacco workers can be and are exposed to nicotine poisoning and the carcinogens of deadly pesticides. These kids’ human rights are violated with little notice or political consequence.

Yesenia, age 12, harvesting onions in South Texas (Photo courtesy of Robin Romano)

Yesenia, age 12, harvesting onions in South Texas (Photo courtesy of Robin Romano)

Meanwhile, politicians look the other way and pretend it’s not happening as they collect campaign contributions from those same companies. Senators and Representatives have somehow lost their voice when the constituent is a child who cannot vote.

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Child Labor Coalition Press Release: The CLC Welcomes the Reintroduction of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE Act)

For immediate release: June 17, 2013
Contact: Reid Maki, (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org

Washington, D.C.—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) applauds Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) for introducing the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), H.R. 2342, on World Day Against Child Labor, June 12th. The legislation would close loopholes that permit children in agriculture to work for wages when they are only age 12 or 13–and sometimes even younger. The bill would also limit hazardous work on farms by workers under the age of 18.

“Agriculture is the only industry governed by labor laws that allow children as young as 12 to work with virtually no restrictions on the number of hours they spend in the fields outside of the school day,” Rep. Roybal-Allard said in a press release this week.  “We need this legislation because we know that agriculture is one of this country’s most dangerous occupations.”

“Children working for wages on farms are exposed to many hazards—farm machinery, heat stroke, and pesticides among them—and they perform back-breaking labor that no child should have to experience,” said CLC co-chair Sally Greenberg, the executive director of the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy organization that has worked to eliminate abusive child labor since its founding in 1899. “Child farmworkers deserve the same protections that all other American kids enjoy. We applaud Rep. Roybal-Allard’s leadership in introducing CARE.”

AFT Secretary-Treasurer and CLC Co-Chair Lorretta Johnson added that child labor and migration have a profound impact on the education of child farmworkers. “Fifty percent of children who regularly work on farms will not graduate from high school. That is unacceptable,” said Johnson. “Until all children, regardless of where they are born, have the same opportunity to receive an education, we will continue advocating and fighting on their behalf.

“In the U.S., approximately 400,000 children are picking the very fruits and vegetables we eat today for low pay and with few protections,” said Norma Flores López, Director of the Children in the Fields Campaign at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) and Chair of the CLC Domestic Issues Committee. “Through the protections offered by the CARE Act, we will ensure that farmworker children can break the cycle of poverty by providing them with healthy, happy childhoods.”

“For too long, children laboring in U.S. agriculture have been denied the protections they deserve to ensure their health and well-being. Too often, kids working on commercial farms are subjected to dangerous, unhealthy, work that’s detrimental to their education and far too often results in harm or even death. The CARE Act would address this problem and give children working on farms the same protections as children working in other industries,” said Bruce Lesley, president of the First Focus Campaign for Children, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization.

Read more

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CARE Act Reintroduced–Would Equalize Protections for Children Who Work in U.S. Agriculture

Child Labor Coalition Press Release

More progress needed to reduce child labor; Urgent action required on Uzbekistan, Domestic Workers Convention, and U.S. farmworker children

For release: June 10, 2011

Contact: NCL Communications, (202) 835-3323, media@nclnet.org

Washington, DC—As World Day Against Child Labor on June 12 approaches, the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is alerting the public that more than 200 million children still toil around the world, often in dangerous jobs that threaten their health, safety, and education.

Here in the United States, the CLC is applauding the anticipated re-introduction of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment (CARE), which Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) plans to sponsor once again next week. The legislation [H.R. 2234] would close loopholes that permit the children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers to work for wages when they are only 12 and 13 years old, often in harsh conditions—10- to 12-hour days of bending over and performing repetitive tasks in 90- to 100-degree heat.

“It’s time to level the playing field by closing these loopholes, which go all the way back to 1938, when the Fair Labor Standards Act was introduced,” said CLC Co-Chair Sally Greenberg, the Executive Director of the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy organization that has worked to eliminate abusive child labor since its founding in 1899. “We must offer these children the same protections that all other American kids enjoy.”

“Working migrant children pay a heavy price educationally for their labor,” said Antonia Cortese, a Co-Chair of the CLC  and the Secretary-Treasurer of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.5 million public service employees. “Many farmworker children leave school before the school year ends and return after it begins. The constant travel and work wears many children out. They struggle to catch up academically, but for many it’s a losing battle—and more than half never graduate high school.”

Read more

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CARE Act Summary by First Focus Campaign for Children, May 2010

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