[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4450 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4450

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reform the provisions 
                        relating to child labor.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 6, 1998

  Mr. Gephardt (for himself and Mr. Lantos) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
                               Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to reform the provisions 
                        relating to child labor.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCE.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Act for 
Responsible Employment'' or the ``CARE Act''.
    (b) Reference.--Whenever in this Act an amendment or repeal is 
expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other 
provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or 
other provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 
et seq.).

SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT.

    Section 13(c) (29 U.S.C. 213(c)) is amended--
            (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
    ``(1) The provisions of section 12 relating to child labor shall 
not apply to any employee employed in agriculture outside of school 
hours for the school district where such employee is living while such 
employee is so employed, if such employee is employed by such 
employee's parent or legal guardian, on a farm owned or operated by 
such parent or legal guardian.''; and
            (2) by striking paragraphs (2) and (4).

SEC. 3. YOUTH PEDDLING.

    (a) Finding.--The last sentence of section 2(a) (29 U.S.C. 202(a)) 
is amended by inserting after ``households'' the following: ``and the 
employment of employees in youth peddling''.
    (b) Oppressive Child Labor.--Section 3(l) (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is 
amended in the last sentence by striking ``manufacturing and mining'' 
and inserting ``manufacturing, mining, and youth peddling''.
    (b) Definition.--Section 3 (29 U.S.C. 203) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(y) `Youth peddling' means selling goods or services by employees 
under the age of 16 to customers at their residences, places of 
business, or public places such as street corners or public 
transportation stations. The term `youth peddling' does not include--
            ``(1) the activities of individuals who, as volunteers, 
        sell goods or services on behalf of not-for-profit 
        organizations; or
            ``(2) certain categories of employment, such as seasonal 
        employment, which the Secretary may by regulation exclude from 
        such term.''.
    (c) Prohibition of Youth Peddling.--Section 12(c) (29 U.S.C. 
212(c)) is amended by inserting after ``oppressive child labor in 
commerce or in the production of goods for commerce'' the following: 
``, in youth peddling,''.

SEC. 4. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS.

    (a) Civil Money Penalties.--Section 16(e) (29 U.S.C. 216(e)) is 
amended in the first sentence--
            (1) by striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$15,000'';
            (2) by inserting after ``subject to a civil penalty of'' 
        the following: ``not less than $500 and''.
    (b) Criminal Penalties.--Section 16(a) (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ``Any person who violates 
the provisions of section 15(a)(4), concerning oppressive child labor, 
shall on conviction be subject to a fine of not more than $15,000, or 
to imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both, in the case of a 
willful or repeat violation that results in or contributes to a 
fatality of a minor employee or a permanent disability of a minor 
employee, or a violation which is concurrent with a criminal violation 
of any other provision of this Act or of any other Federal or State 
law.''.

SEC. 5. GOODS TAINTED BY OPPRESSIVE CHILD LABOR.

    Section 12(a) (29 U.S.C. 212(a)) is amended by inserting after 
``notice of any such violation'' the following ``or any other such 
shipment or delivery for shipment that the Secretary determines may be 
allowed to be shipped or delivered for shipment in interstate 
commerce''.

SEC. 6. COORDINATION.

    Section 4 (29 U.S.C. 204) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(g) The Secretary shall encourage and establish closer working 
relationships with non-governmental organizations and with State and 
local government agencies having responsibility for administering and 
enforcing labor and safety and health laws. Upon the request of the 
Secretary, and to the extent permissible under applicable law, State 
and local government agencies with information regarding injuries and 
deaths of employees shall submit such information to the Secretary for 
use as appropriate in the enforcement of section 12 and in the 
promulgation and interpretation of the regulations and orders 
authorized by section 3(l). The Secretary may reimburse such State and 
local government agencies for such services.''.

SEC. 7. REGULATIONS AND MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

    (a) Regulations.--The Secretary of Labor shall issue such 
regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act.
    (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary of Labor and the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall, not later than 180 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, enter into a memorandum or understanding to 
coordinate the development and enforcement of standards to minimize 
child labor.
                                 <all>