[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER:
  S. 2579. A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to 
permit certain youth to perform certain work with wood products; to the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


           legislation amending the fair labor standards act

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to 
introduce legislation designed to permit certain youths (those exempt 
from attending school) between the ages of 14 and 18 to work in 
sawmills under special safety conditions and close adult supervision. 
While I realize that this legislation cannot be enacted so late in the 
session, I believe it is important to introduce the bill and promote a 
serious discussion on this issue.
  As Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education 
Appropriations Subcommittee, I have strongly supported increased 
funding for the enforcement of the important child safety protections 
contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act. I also believe, however, 
that accommodation must be made for youths who are exempt from 
compulsory school-attendance laws after the eighth grade. It is 
extremely important that youths who are exempt from attending school be 
provided with access to jobs and apprenticeships in areas that offer 
employment where they live.
  The need for access to popular trades is demonstrated by the Amish 
community. Earlier this week I toured an Amish sawmill in Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania, and had the opportunity to meet with some of my 
Amish constituency. They explained that while the Amish once made their 
living almost entirely by farming, they have increasingly had to expand 
into other occupations as farmland disappears in many areas due to 
pressure from development. As a result, many of the Amish have come to 
rely more and more on work in sawmills to make their living. The Amish 
culture expects youth upon the completion of their education at the age 
of 14 to begin to learn a trade that will enable them to become 
productive members of society. In many areas work in sawmills is one of 
the major occupations available for the Amish, whose belief system 
limits the types of jobs they may hold. Unfortunately, these youths are 
currently prohibited by law from employment in this industry until they 
reach the age of 18. This prohibition threatens both the religion and 
lifestyle of the Amish.
  The House has already passed by a voice vote H.R. 4257, introduced by 
my distinguished colleague, Representative Joseph R. Pitts, which is 
similar to the bill I am introducing today. I am aware that concerns to 
H.R. 4257 exist: safety issues have been raised by the Department of 
Labor and Constitutional issues have been raised by the Department of 
Justice. I have addressed these concerns in my legislation.
  Under my legislation youths would not be allowed to operate power 
machinery, but would be restricted to performing activities such as 
sweeping, stacking wood, and writing orders. My legislation requires 
that the youths must be protected from wood particles or flying debris 
and wear protective equipment, all while under strict adult 
supervision. The Department of Labor must monitor these safeguards to 
insure that they are enforced.
  The Department of Justice has stated that H.R. 4257 would ``raise 
serious concerns'' under the Establishment Clause. The House measure 
confers benefits only to a youth who is a ``member of a religious sect 
or division thereof whose established teachings do not permit formal 
education beyond the eighth grade.'' By conferring the ``benefit'' of 
working in a sawmill only to the adherents of certain religions, the 
Department argues that the bill appears to impermissibly favor religion 
to ``irreligion.'' In drafting my legislation, I attempted to overcome 
such an objection by conferring permission to work in sawmills to all 
youths who ``are exempted from compulsory education laws after the 
eighth grade.'' Indeed, I think a broader focus is necessary to create 
a sufficient range of vocational opportunities for all youth who are 
legally out of school and in need of vocational opportunities.
  I also believe that the logic of the Supreme Court's 1972 decision in 
Wisconsin v. Yoder supports my bill. Yoder held that Wisconsin's 
compulsory school attendance law requiring children to attend school 
until the age of 16 violated the Free Exercise clause. The Court found 
that the Wisconsin law imposed a substantial burden on the free 
exercise of religion by the Amish since attending school beyond the 
eighth grade ``contravenes the basic religious tenets and practices of 
the Amish faith.'' I believe a similar argument can be made with 
respect to Amish youth working in sawmills. As their population grows 
and their subsistence through an agricultural way of life decreases, 
trades such as sawmills become more and more crucial to the 
continuation of their lifestyle. Barring youths from the sawmills 
denies these youths the very vocational training and path to self-
reliance that was central to the Yoder Court's holding that the Amish 
do not need the final two years of public education.
  At this stage in the legislative process, so close to the end of the 
105th Congress, passage of my bill requires a unanimous consent 
agreement. I have already been notified that there are Senators who 
would object to such an agreement, and I do understand that a measure 
of this nature cannot be rushed through the Senate. Nevertheless, I 
offer my legislation in the hope of beginning a dialogue on this 
important issue.
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