10 June 2008

Child Agricultural Labor

Environmental laws aren't the only laws agriculture receives exemptions from:

Federal laws permit a child aged 13 to work in 100-degree heat in a strawberry field, but do not permit that child to work in an air-conditioned office. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) the legal age to perform most farm work is only 12 if a parent accompanies the working child. Children who are 14 or older can work unlimited hours in the fields before or after school hours. The same law requires a minimum age of 14 years for non-agricultural work and limits such work to 3 hours per day while school is in session.

Furthermore, federal laws allow children to perform hazardous work in agriculture at age 16, while the minimum age for hazardous work in all other industries is 18.

1 comment:

Dex said...

so now we know that a 13-yr-old is essentially worth the price of three campaign commercials, or one two-way a ride on a corporate jet.