Child Labor Rule Released By White House After 9 Month Delay

WASHINGTON -- After much delay, the White House has finally released a proposed rule that would update child labor regulations in agricultural work. Put forth by the Department of Labor last fall, the rule had been stuck in red tape at the White House for nine months, angering workplace safety advocates who said the regulations need to be modernized.

Although the rule still has not been made public, public health officials believe it will restrict minors from engaging in certain dangerous work activities on farms and perhaps grain facilities. As reported last week by HuffPost, safety advocates claimed that recent accidents involving juveniles may have been prevented had the rule not been held up at the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

“[A]fter so many tragedies involving young workers, OMB finally came to understand the pressing need for this regulation," Justin Feldman, a worker health and safety advocate at watchdog group Public Citizen, said in an email. "At this point we’ll have to wait for the text. I understand that OMB made changes to the Department of Labor’s proposal and it remains to be seen whether or not the revised proposal will be as robust as the original."

A group of more than 25 public health officials and advocates signed a letter last week to OMB official and regulatory czar Cass Sunstein, who oversees rule review at the agency, urging him to move the child labor rule along. The officials said the new rule may have prevented an accident in Oklahoma earlier this month in which two 17-year-old boys had their legs crushed when they were pulled into a grain augur.

"We hope this terrible event and the hundreds of other incidents that injure and kill young workers every year will compel you to release this draft proposal immediately," they wrote.

Rules written by federal agencies like the Labor Department are subject to review by the White House, especially when they may have economic impact. Such rules are supposed to be reviewed within 90 days, although that period can be extended. Feldman and other safety advocates said the nine month review of the child agriculture rule was unusually long.

The proposed rule will undergo a public comment period before being finalized. It is expected to be published in the federal register in the coming weeks.

Comments

[Razpooten]

10:50 PM on 08/27/2011

For those of you who are new to the internet (farmers who have worked hard all your lives) and have your panties in a wad over the "rules" - look in the first paragraph, the phrase "proposed rule;" it is highlighted. This is a clue that it is a link that will take you the rule - of course then you have to look up the appropriate CFR - nah froget it, you'll just get lost.

[Razpooten]

08:21 PM on 08/27/2011

According to the National Ag Safety Database: "In the United States last year, more than 300 children died in agriculture-related accidents. No other industry includes children in its injury and death rates. "
We don't need no stinkin' rules.

[themowerman]

06:42 PM on 08/25/2011

The gov'ment needs to get there nose out of a lot of things, I worked on a farm from the time i could carry a bucket, about 4 yr old, and I loved it, it was hard, but instilled a good work ethic in me , I have never forgotten,,,, thanks MOM N DAD!

[dollyllama10]

08:49 PM on 08/26/2011

We can tell by your grammar and punctuation.

[themowerman]

11:27 PM on 08/26/2011

So what's wrong with it......dolly

[Razpooten]

08:02 PM on 08/27/2011

Bet you were the best at carrying a bucket, werman.

[ccand3]

03:40 PM on 08/25/2011

Please, I work on a farm now. AND I AM A WOMEN!! I have a small farm, and I have worked on farms since I was a child. NO ONE wants anyone to get hurt. I have never felt more loved or protected than I do on a farm. We worked hard, yes. I never felt in any danger as a child, I wasn't afraid or didn't know how something worked and was left to figure it out. If someone gets hurt, it stops work....if for no other reason no one wants anyone to get hurt. Children around here don't work 12 hour days....., they help us out. They spend more time playing and goofing around than working...and thats fine. My kids are in more danger climbing trees, and jumping off gates when they are playing than they are when they are with use doing farm work. Most kids love working on a farm. I'd rather risk my kids getting hurt, than have them setting in front of a computer or T.V. all day. We need people to use more common sense. We don't need more LAWs.

[Razpooten]

08:07 PM on 08/27/2011

cc, this is clearly way over your head. Cosider the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, - 146 workers died in that fire because the fire exits were kept locked to prevent workers from losing production. Today, it could happen again if it were not for the fire marshalls establishing fire safety laws.

[livininkansas]

11:50 AM on 08/25/2011

This is a perfect example of people living on the edges of America making rules for the people in fly over country. You all talk as if farm families don’t love or care or look out for their children. This country was built on families like the ones that farm this great country. Hard work is a way of life here. Kids in the inner cities of Chicago, Detroit, New York, are killing each other every day in huge numbers. If they are not killing each other they are killing themselves with drugs. Farm kids go to work every day with their fathers and learn what it is to work for your food and all the other things it takes to live. Are there tragic accidents? Unfortunately yes. There are tragic accidents every single day in every part of the world. You cannot regulate them out of existence.

[dollyllama10]

08:53 PM on 08/26/2011

You know, whether you like it or not we're ALL part of this country, people on the coast, people in middle America. The difference is I don't want the blood of a child on my hands and if something I purchase (that another person profits from) is made by a child who is working in a hazardous situation I don't want to purchase that item. I don't buy stuff from Pakistan or India or China for these reasons. I won't buy them from middle-America either.

[Razpooten]

08:09 PM on 08/27/2011

Your mentality is exactly why there need to be laws; you don't grasp the need for safety in the workplace (farms are workplaces). If employers were left to their own devices there would be more deaths and injuries on the job.

[fireman321]

11:46 AM on 08/25/2011

This is a stupid stupid ruling..as usual Washington, D.C. does not have a single clue about real life!! ALL FOUR OF OUR BOYS LEARNED SO MUCH (with oversight and training) learning that #1, SAFETY FIRST.. by having chores and doing equipment repairs, driving, hauling, farming, .taking care of what is valuable.and the Earth, too! .hard work baling hay, It matured them... it made them so useful in Life, gave them a fine accountable work ethic!!Sweat, satisfaction, always curious Happy at the job.. ..able to fix anything.. responsible, and reaping the rewards.. especially of a JOB WELL DONE! learning from Dad and Mom was the very best thing that could happen..and for any child!! WE DESPERATELY NEED MORE OF THESE VALUES INSTILLED IN YOUNG PEOPLE NOW.. IT IS EXACTLY WHAT IS NEEDED IN THIS COUNTRY. WHAT IS THE SENSE IN A STUPID BILL LIKE THIS PIECE OF WORTHLESS JUNK!! and they still have those values with their successful lives!.. AS WELL AS LOVE AND JOY! You tell me, What could be better?.. and yes, they sometimes complained.. it fell on laughing cheerful ears! It produced enduring character! .. and yes, they have all their fingers, toes,eyes and ears!! and aside from a few scars from climbing trees and playing accidents at school., they are fine!. There you go.

[Razpooten]

08:13 PM on 08/27/2011

fireman; I'm sure you are not one - don't hurt yourself, this is well over your head.

[Digg34]

11:38 AM on 08/25/2011

Another rule looking to get passed is the soft sidewalk rule. It seems sidewalks have been scraping childrens knees for generations and new regulations are in process to make sidewalks softer and less scratchy. Just yesterday poor 8 year old billy tripped and skinned his knees. If only the regulations had passed a month ago construction workers could have made those sidewalks softer and saved Billy's knees from getting scratched.

[dollyllama10]

08:54 PM on 08/26/2011

Who profits from children walking on sidewalks?

[Razpooten]

08:14 PM on 08/27/2011

Usaully the level of intelligence here is above normal; not today; we are scraping the bottom of the barrel. Digg.

[Digg34]

10:01 PM on 08/27/2011

Dolly is not all that bad Raz and I am sure you shouldn't be too harsh on the guys backing the new regulations. They are just over reacting to the snowball effect of some people who have been shocked by some horrible accidents. They tell a story about limbs being hacked off and shock more people and next thing you know its "somebody ought to make a law against that!!". Never mind that its a fraction of a percentage of minors getting hurt while helping their families or earning their own money to get by in life.

[Zack Wagner]

10:43 AM on 08/25/2011

Give me a break. Like "regulating" it is going to stop it? These are family farms where generations of farmers have lived. Better living through government regulation?

Don't get me wrong, this is a sad thing that happened to the two young men that got their legs crushed. Lets face it, this is yet another knee-jerk reaction by Washington because some bleeding heart moron got a bug up their butt about it. Why not make safer equipment?

Seriously... Lets cripple the family farm even more.

~TBS

[bipolarbears60]

01:54 PM on 08/25/2011

please cut and paste the part of this or the previous 2 articles published in HP that report these injuries as having happened on a FAMILY FARM as opposed to a CORPORATE FARM. I cant find that info on HP. Please help.

[Razpooten]

08:22 PM on 08/27/2011

Nah, lets cripple more kids.

[Viper1st]

08:45 AM on 08/24/2011

60 pages of new "proposed" child labor laws, which contain

"The following occupations in agriculture are particularly hazardous for the employment of
children below the age of 16: (1) Operating a tractor of over 20 PTO horsepower, or connecting or disconnecting an implement or any of its parts to or from such a tractor

"Minors who are at least 17 years of age may drive automobiles and trucks on public roadways
when all the following criteria are met: (1) The automobile or truck does not exceed 6,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, and the vehicle is equipped with a seat belt or similar restraining device for
the driver and for any passengers and the employer has instructed the employee that such belts
or other devices must be used; (2) The driving is restricted to daylight hours; (3) The minor holds
a State license valid for the type of driving involved in the job performed and has no records of
any moving violations at the time of hire;"

"$50,000 with regard to each such violation that causes the death or serious injury of any employee under the age of 18 years,"

[bipolarbears60]

01:21 PM on 08/25/2011

Where did you find it? The article says it still hasn't been released. Do you have a link?

Does this new rule distinguish between the family farm and the corporate farm? Does it distinguish between "employee" and "offspring of farmer"?

Do you know if the "public comment period" will allow the public to do more than comment? Is there any hope of revising this thing?

[Viper1st]

03:15 PM on 08/25/2011

First sentence of this Article, click on the blue-lettered "proposed rule"

Then just below the header on the Reginfo.gov page, click on the blue-lettered "29 CFR 570"

And 60 pages of new child law proposals will appear

[Razpooten]

10:21 PM on 08/27/2011

This "thing" contains some simple basic elements: Safety training - Id the hazards and show how to work safely - protection measures such as protective equiment - gloves, eye wear, etc. other safegurads; ie. covers or stops that keep you form puting your apendages into potentially hazardous places.
All the hype about "regulations" is just a relfection of the level of ingnorance from a bunch of hillbillies who have the comprehension level of a knat.

[aurora97]

01:21 AM on 08/24/2011

It took them this long for a proposed rule?! I wonder what their reaction would be if their children were involved. Children are children in the first place no matter the background they come from. They are vulnerable and sensitive and should be allowed to enjoy their childhood.

[Cold in Michigan]

04:40 AM on 08/24/2011

What is sad is that this ruling is even needed. If the adults in charge could run thier businesses in a safe manner we would not need so many regulations.

[AlabamaGuy31]

01:49 PM on 08/25/2011

This regulation is not needed I grew up on a farm working grain augers, tractors, bailers, you name it I ran it from the time i was 7 years old I was running this equipment. Now my son which is 2 has started driving the tractor with me he is already learning the safety aspects of aevery piece of equipment. The problem is that accidents happen every day. I see by your name that you are from Michigan possibly??? How young Americans do you read about dying everyday from gun shot wounds, stabbings, etc from Michigan?

[Common Sense Made Easy]

09:01 PM on 08/25/2011

Define enjoy? How can you make a statement that is so broad, and yet so narrow in mindedness! Did you grow up on a farm, or in the country? See open sky people have to fend for themselves. We don't rely on government or laws for our way of life. We take what we have and make what good we can out of it. I grew up on a farm and was taught lessons that no city person, or white collar born and breed politician can ever obtain even with an ethics/morals coach. I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything, not even for ignorant posts like this. Yes children are sensitive, and vulnerable, but how does growing up on a farm take that away from them. Do you even know? I learned to love nature, and care for it. To be good to my wife and listen to her needs, and respect my mother and father. To care for animals that in different ways would take care of me and my family. Unless you have been, born, raised and lived on a farm you, and no one else that lives in a city will ever understand the depths to which our childhoods define us as people!

[Cold in Michigan]

09:58 PM on 08/25/2011

Perhaps you did not learn patience and tolerance, or understand the meaning of being open minded. I grew up in a city, spent my summers on families farms and have seen both sides of the world you seem to paint. It is not a US vs THEM issue To write off all people that live is cities is the height of ignorance and intolerence to that which you seemingly know nothing about. People are people no matter where they live. I am so tired of this 'we are better because of where we live' B.S. that every time I see it I think of the Hatfields and the McCoys.

[aurora97]

05:03 AM on 08/26/2011

You seem pretty angry. Isn't everyone entitled to his or her opinion? Obviously you are tense. Relax and accept the fact that we all want children to be children.. You seem to have to spend some more time in the country to relax and broaden your horizons.

[TiredOfNo]

06:54 PM on 08/23/2011

These new rules are going to pi$$-off the conservative Republicans. They want more cheap "slave" labor, not less, and with no regulations.

[dwpfff]

11:41 PM on 08/23/2011

This is not about wages. What do you consider to be "slave labor" wages in Oklahoma these days? I didn't think you knew what these two young men were earning or why you would make such a thoughtless statement. Why do you even talk?

[Cold in Michigan]

04:42 AM on 08/24/2011

It is not about wages, with that I agree...but anything that comes out of Obama is opposed. Wait and see. The Republicans will be all over this.

[bipolarbears60]

01:58 PM on 08/25/2011

assumes facts not in evidence. farm work is some of the highest paid work a teenager can do.

In 1975, when minimum wage was $3.35 an hr, a kid could make $6. an hr. detasseling corn.

Come to farm country some time and attend the high school of your choices first school dance and note the number of kids flush with cash after a summer of farm work.

[dollyllama10]

09:02 PM on 08/26/2011

At best farm work pays minimum wage. To be sure if they can get away with it (and they often can) it pays far less. I LIVE in farm country.

[Razpooten]

08:25 PM on 08/27/2011

Ahum, lets not forget this is about safety.
According to the National Ag. Safety Database: In the United States last year, more than 300 children died in agriculture-related accidents. No other industry includes children in its injury and death rates. In the United States last year, more than 300 children died in agriculture-related accidents. No other industry includes children in its injury and death rates.

[ncqueenxox]

03:43 PM on 08/23/2011

Kids raised on a farm for years , My husband missed the first 3 months of school each year because his father was a tobacco farming and kept his kids out of school until the tobacco was done! Many farmers did this for years so they could feed their family during the winter!

[Razpooten]

08:27 PM on 08/27/2011

And they had to walk to school up hill, both ways.

[josie klapper]

02:21 PM on 08/23/2011

Lovely, new farm regulations written by people that think Cattle Guards wear guns...

[theepoxyman]

03:14 PM on 08/23/2011

That sounds like it was meant to be funny, but it isn't.
Several years ago there was a senator that was whining about pork spending. He whips out a paper to prove his statement.............."they have more than a quarter million cattle guards in NM, (a state of only 2million people at the time). This is clearly a case of unnecessary pork spending, paying all those cattle guards. He was totally serious and totally outraged. "this has to stop".

[Ang Thiel]

03:22 PM on 08/23/2011

It is funny and it's an ol' time joke that has circulated for years.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/humor/cattleguards.asp

[Razpooten]

08:28 PM on 08/27/2011

Jos, your ingnorance on this topic is alarming. Labor safety is not within your grasp.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:42 PM on 08/23/2011

What more regulations? Republicans keep telling me the free market solves all ills. What is it waiting for? Or are they just full of BS and really don't know what they are talking about??

[rtgmath]

01:37 PM on 08/23/2011

The best way to force government to act appropriately is to shine the light on their doings (or not doings!). This is the value of a Free Press, and news organizations that are large enough to investigate and report to large numbers of people, but small enough so that several organizations can bring different points of view to bear.

The problems with the Murdoch empire of Fox News and its media associates is that they have a one-sided approach, even if it means lying. The Murdoch empire is huge, and Murdoch's influence has corrupted every media outlet he has acquired.

There was worry when AOL acquired the HuffingtonPost that HP would be effectively silenced. To the credit of AOL, Arianna Huffington, and the Editors of HP, reporting has been balanced, with people of various political identities allowed to blog. News reporting has been accurate. And HP gets to a great many viewers.

That the Obama Administration was sitting on rules that could have made the workplace safer for children and was delaying publishing them was shameful. But they never would have released the rules had their delay not been exposed.

Obama does not manage the day to day operations of all its departments. But he needs to know when when wrong influences endanger our children. We could hope for a well-placed kick in the kiester to the officials who hesitate to put the best interests of the people over the interests of business.

Bravo HP for publicizing this!

[McGyver1]

03:50 PM on 08/23/2011

"To the credit of AOL, Arianna Huffington­, and the Editors of HP, reporting has been balanced,... LOLOLOLOLOL hahahahahah

[Cold in Michigan]

04:45 AM on 08/24/2011

I'll say it again...what is shameful is that the adults in charge need laws and regulations to keep children, and all workers, out of harm's way. The people who need the well deserved kick are those that let kids do this...with or with out regulation. I keep hearing the the Repubs want smaller government, then I hear them complain when it takes to long...go figure.

[Razpooten]

08:29 PM on 08/27/2011

Xactly, the original story here was that the feds (Obama Administration) was sitting on the regs. Now they are being intrusive.