HR0680 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0680 LRB097 15528 GRL 60655 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes federal child labor standards for agricultural and non-agricultural employment; and

WHEREAS, The agricultural child labor rules have not been revised since they were first promulgated in the 1970s; and

WHEREAS, The FLSA charges the United States Secretary of Labor with prohibiting employment of youth in occupations which the Secretary finds and declares to be particularly hazardous for the employment of young workers; and

WHEREAS, The Act establishes a minimum age of 18 for hazardous work in non-agricultural employment and 16 in agricultural employment; the Act also provides a complete exemption from these rules for a youth who is employed on a farm owned by his or her parent; and

WHEREAS, On September 2, 2011, the United States Department of Labor published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update the agricultural child labor regulations based upon recommendations made by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, its own enforcement experience, and a commitment to bring these rules in line with the more stringent rules that apply to employing children in non-agricultural workplaces; and

WHEREAS, A few of the revisions proposed by the NPRM would require all tractors operated by 14 and 15-year-old student learners to be equipped with proper rollover protection structures and seatbelts and require that student-learners use the seatbelts, remove the 2 certification programs that allow 14 and 15 year-olds to operate most tractors and farm implements without supervision, revise the type of farm implements that 14 and 15 year-old student-learners may operate after successfully completing the academic units addressing each type of implement, and revise and expand the current prohibitions against working with animals; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Labor recently concluded the public comment period for the proposed regulations that would define restricted farm activities for workers under the age of 16; while these proposed regulations may not affect children working on their parents' farm, they would apply to children under the age of 16 who are hired by farming operations or are working on farms owned by other family members, such as grandparents, uncles, and cousins; and

WHEREAS, Many in the agricultural community are concerned that the Department of Labor's proposed regulations could increase farm families' legal liabilities, as well as force them to change the way they operate their farms; the proposed regulations would also limit training for future farmers by reducing the exposure they have to the agricultural industry; and

WHEREAS, Many young people use livestock as part of 4-H, FFA, and other programs, but under the proposed rules, individuals under the age of 16 would be prohibited from being near certain animals without adult supervision; and

WHEREAS, The proposed rules would also prohibit youth from operating most power equipment, including power-driven equipment such as riding lawnmowers; and

WHEREAS, The proposed regulations would hinder the ability of some youths to earn money during the summer by limiting the number of jobs that are available to them; and

WHEREAS, Any implemented rule changes should maintain the integrity of the family farm exemption approved by Congress; and

WHEREAS, Considerable changes should be made to the proposed regulations before they are finalized; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the United States Department of Labor to carefully consider all of the comments submitted on their proposed regulations for youth in agricultural employment before finalizing any rule changes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we further urge the U.S. Department of Labor to revise the proposed regulations before they are finalized so as to not create a barrier to young people learning about the agriculture industry and entering agricultural careers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and to each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.