The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division announced yesterday that it would re-propose the portion of its regulation on child labor in agriculture interpreting the “parental exemption.”  Following the president’s historic executive order on regulation, issued in January 2011, this re-proposal reflects the department’s careful attention to public comments and its conclusion that it is appropriate to provide the public with further opportunities to participate in the regulatory process. 

 

The parental exemption allows children of any age who are employed by their parent, or a person standing in the place of a parent, to perform any job on a farm owned or operated by their parent or such person standing in the place of a parent. The re-proposal process will seek comments and inputs as to how the department can comply with statutory requirements to protect children, while respecting rural traditions. 

The department published and invited public comments on its proposed rule on child labor in agriculture on Sept. 2, 2011. The proposed rule aimed to increase protections for children working in agriculture while preserving the benefits that safe and healthy work can provide. The Wage and Hour Division was driven to update its 40-year-old child labor regulations by studies showing that children are significantly more likely to be killed while performing agricultural work than while working in all other industries combined. The department’s child labor in agriculture statutory authority extends only to children employed in agriculture who are 15 years of age or younger.

 

The department will continue to consider feedback from the public, Congress and the Department of Agriculture on portions of the rule outside of the parental exemption before it is finalized.