Rules Seek to Improve Safety for Child Farmworkers

The Department of Labor is proposing revisions to child labor laws that would strengthen safety standards for young agricultural workers, the government said on Wednesday.

The rules would ban children less than 18 years of age from working in or around grain elevators, feed lots and other areas deemed unsafe. The plan would also prohibit farmworkers under the age of 16 from operating most power-driven equipment.

Labor secretary Hilda Solis says children working in agriculture are among the most vulnerable workers in the nation. Child labor regulations relating to agricultural have not been updated since they were written more than 40 years ago.

The proposed rules do not cover children on farms owned or operated by their parents.

A complete list of the proposed revisions is available in the Federal Register at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-09-02/html/2011-21924.htm. Comments will be received until Nov. 1.