[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2383 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2383

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 30, 1998

Mr. Harkin (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Kerry, and Ms. Moseley-Braun) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                 Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
    ``(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 he or 
she is so employed, if such employee is employed by his or her 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) Fair Labor Standards Act Coverage.--
            (1) 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 under the age of 
        16 years in youth peddling,''.
            (2) 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 to customers 
at their residences, places of business, or public places such as 
street corners or public transportation stations. `Youth peddling' does 
not include the activities of persons who, as volunteers, sell goods or 
services on behalf of not-for-profit organizations.''.
    (b) Definition of Oppressive Child Labor.--Section 3(l) (29 U.S.C. 
203(l)) is amended in the last sentence by insert after ``occupations 
other than'' the following: ``youth peddling,''.
    (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: 
``, or 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 striking the period 
at the end and inserting the following: ``: And provided further, that 
the Secretary shall determine the circumstances under which such goods 
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.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Labor 
such sums as may be necessary for to carry out this Act and the 
amendments made by this Act.
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