NCL strongly opposes the ‘Nullify Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act’ 

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Washington, DC – Today, the National Consumers League (NCL) voices its strong opposition to the newly introduced legislation, the Nullify Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act, which seeks to abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This legislation, introduced by Republican Congressman Andy Biggs, would repeal the landmark Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, eliminating vital federal workplace safety regulations. This would not only jeopardize the health and safety of millions of American workers but also threaten progress made in reducing workplace hazards.

“This bill would be a catastrophic step backward for worker safety in this country,” said NCL CEO Sally Greenberg. “Repealing OSHA would put workers at great risk by dismantling the very protections that have helped reduce workplace injuries and deaths for over 50 years. Without OSHA, many workers will be left vulnerable to unsafe conditions, and it will be the most vulnerable—low-income and minority workers—who will bear the brunt of dangerous rollbacks. Additionally, OSHA plays a crucial role in ensuring children’s safety in the workforce by holding corporations accountable and enforcing laws against dangerous, illegal labor practices. We need to build on the progress made in workplace safety, not dismantle it.”

For over fifty years, OSHA has been instrumental in safeguarding workers from hazardous conditions, significantly reducing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. When OSHA was founded in 1970, an estimated 14,000 workers were killed on the job each year, as compared with 5,283 fatal work injuries recorded in the U.S. in 2023, despite far more workers today. This is a remarkable track record of improving worker safety.

This is a direct result of OSHA’s regulations and oversight, saving countless lives. Mr. Biggs’ legislation threatens to undo these gains and will leave workers, including children, vulnerable to unsafe working conditions.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization, dedicated to workers’ safety and the protection of children from labor exploitation. Our mission is to promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

The Child Labor Coalition announces the 2024 Congressional Champions of Child Labor Protections for taking bold action against child labor exploitation

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October 31, 2024

Contact: Reid Maki (202) 207-2820, reidm@nclnet.org

WASHINGTON, DC – The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is proud to announce the 25 recipients of the 2024 Congressional Champions of Child Labor Protections who have taken a stand against the troubling rise of child labor exploitation during the 118th Congress. During a period in which child workers were increasingly found working illegally in factory settings across the U.S., these legislators responded by strengthening child labor protections – either by introducing new legislation or cosponsoring child labor bills endorsed by the Child Labor Coalition.

“Over the last two years, child labor protections have faced unprecedented threats as over 30 states sought to weaken regulations on the hours children can work and the types of hazardous work children can perform,” says Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy at the Child Labor Coalition.

“We are fortunate these stalwart lawmakers worked to strengthen child labor protections and enforcement,” says CLC chair Sally Greenberg, who is also the CEO of the National Consumers League. “These bills provide creative and much-needed solutions to our widespread child labor problem.”

Recent Department of Labor data show child labor violations have soared by 472% between 2015 and 2023, highlighting cases where minors are subjected to grueling hours, hazardous work environments, and, in some tragic cases, loss of limbs and fatalities. Against this backdrop, these 25 Congressional Champions have supported legislation aimed at protecting child laborers and ensuring compliance with federal child labor laws.

Congress responded robustly with at least eight pieces of legislation addressing child labor that the CLC has endorsed. “Much of this legislation would significantly increase civil monetary fines for child labor violations – not just by a little, but often by a factor of 10,” says CLC’s Maki. “We saw several innovative and comprehensive responses in bills like “Children Harmed in Life-Threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act of 2023, by Senator Casey (D-PA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Similarly, H.R. 4440, the “Protecting Children Act” by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), called for innovative and sweeping strategies against child labor.

Congress also sought to protect exploited child farmworkers with “The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety,” introduced by Raul Ruiz (D-CA) in the House and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) in the Senate. “This was the first Senate bill to protect vulnerable child farmworkers in two decades,” said Maki.

Child labor on U.S. tobacco farms would be banned by the “Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act,” from Senator Durbin and Rep. DeLauro.  “Child tobacco workers are subjected to toxic nicotine levels while they work. We’re so grateful that Senator Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) are trying to tackle this long-standing problem,” said Greenberg.

The CLC, representing 36 dedicated organizations, including Human Rights Watch and America’s largest union, the National Education Association, has named seven Senators and 18 members of the House Representatives as the 2024 Congressional Champions of Child Labor Protections.

We are recognizing five members of the Senate for introducing legislation to improve child labor enforcement efforts or increase child labor protections:

  • Corey Booker (D-NJ)
  • Robert Casey (D-PA)
  • Richard Durbin (D-IL)
  • Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)
  • Brian Schatz (D-HI)

Two senators are recognized for cosponsoring at least three bills endorsed by the CLC:

  • Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)
  • Jack Reed (D-RI)

In the House, the CLC recognizes six members for introducing child labor legislation endorsed by the coalition:

  • Greg Casar (D-TX)
  • Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
  • Dan Kildee (D-MI)
  • Raul Ruiz (D-CA)
  • Hillary Scholten (D-MI)
  • Bobby Scott (D-VA)

The coalition also recognizes 12 members for each cosponsoring five child labor five bills. These members are:

  • Alma Adams (D-NC)
  • Judy Chu (D-CA)
  • Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA)
  • Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (D-IL)
  • Seth Magaziner (D-RI)
  • Morgan McGarvey (D-KY)
  • James McGovern (D-MA)
  • Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
  • Mark Pocan (D-WI)
  • Linda Sanchez (D-CA)
  • Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
  • Shri Thanedar (D-MI)

The CLC’s endorsed child labor legislation in the 118th Congress can be found here. The congressional session also saw the creation of the Child Labor Prevention Task Force, under the leadership of Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI). “We very much hope to see this important legislative unit continue its work in the 119th Congress,” said Maki. “We encourage other members to join the Task Force and to lend their support to child labor legislation.”

The CLC looks forward to working with many of these congressional child labor heroes in the 119th Congress.

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About The Child Labor Coalition (CLC)

In its 35th year, The Child Labor Coalition strives to reduce exploitative child labor in the United States and abroad, bringing together 36 groups to create a powerful voice that promotes public education, research, and advocacy to end child labor, child marriage, and child trafficking.

A member list can be found here.

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Organizations urge Biden-Harris Administration to strengthen child labor protections amid rising workplace injuries and violations

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October 16, 2024

Media contact: Rachael Klarman, Executive Director, rachael.klarman@governingforimpact.org

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Governing for Impact (GFI), the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), and the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) released a set of executive action proposals the Biden-Harris administration can take to address the alarming rise in child labor violations and workplace injuries in the United States. The proposals, which are grounded in the Department of Labor’s (DOL) existing authority, include preventing children from working in hazardous occupations like milling operations, prohibiting children from handling toxic chemicals, and banning overnight shifts for kids.

The executive action proposals aim to fill a pressing gap in child labor enforcement. Since 2021, more than thirty states have taken steps to weaken child labor laws, including in Arkansas, Iowa, New Jersey, and Michigan. Extreme, industry-aligned groups like those behind Project 2025 have also proposed weakening federal regulations to let more young people work dangerous jobs, claiming that “young adults show an interest in inherently dangerous jobs.”

“Many assume that child labor is a thing of the past, and that there must already be a robust regulatory system in place to ensure that children are safe,” said Reed Shaw, Policy Counsel at GFI. “But the fact is, more and more children are getting injured every year due to unsafe working conditions. As we show in our analysis, the Department of Labor has the authority to fill the gap.”

Nearly a century has passed since Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which introduced critical protections for child workers in America. Despite this, too many children are still exploited. Injury rates for workers under 18 almost doubled between 2011 and 2020, particularly in agriculture where the risks are highest and the regulations are the weakest.

“At a time when child labor violations are on the rise and many states are simultaneously attempting to weaken child labor laws, there is an urgent need for the U.S. Department of Labor to use its authority to raise federal minimum standards to protect all children who work—no matter what state they live in,” said Nina Mast, Policy and Economic Analyst on EPI’s State Policy and Research team. 

“This release of executive action proposals stands as a call-to-action that more must be done to protect children from occupational dangers,” said Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy for the National Consumers League and coordinator of the CLC. “Recently, we’ve witnessed wildly expanding hazardous child labor in the U.S. with kids working in meat-packing plants and auto-supply factories. Many of them work throughout the night in grave-yard shifts that leave them with no time to sleep before they attend school completely exhausted. We can and must do more to protect our children.”

To develop regulatory recommendations for the Biden-Harris administration, GFI, EPI, and CLC reviewed the DOL’s existing legal authority and identified steps to better protect child workers. Findings and recommended actions were sent to DOL and outlined in a new report, Protecting Children from Dangerous Work. The executive action proposals include:

  1. Making nonagricultural occupations safer: Expanding the list of nonagricultural occupations deemed too hazardous for workers under 18, such as jobs in security services and milling operations.
  2. Making agricultural occupations safer: Increasing protections for child agricultural workers under 16, including prohibiting children from handling toxic chemicals or operating dangerous machinery.
  3. Regulating working hours: Implementing restrictions on working hours, including a ban on overnight shifts for minors and mandatory rest breaks.

Young workers are being harmed every day. This report urges the Biden administration and the DOL to immediately update and enforce regulations and protect children from harm.

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About Governing for Impact

Governing for Impact (GFI) is a regulatory policy organization dedicated to ensuring the federal government works for working Americans, not corporate lobbyists. The policies we design and the legal insights we develop help increase opportunity for those not historically represented in regulatory policy implementation work: working people. For additional information about GFI, please visit https://governingforimpact.org/.

About Economic Policy Institute

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank working for the last 30 years to counter rising inequality, low wages and weak benefits for working people, slower economic growth, unacceptable employment conditions, and a widening racial wage gap. For additional information about EPI, please visit https://www.epi.org/.

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

About the Child Labor Coalition

The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) is chaired and coordinated by the National Consumers League and strives to reduce exploitative child labor in the United States and abroad, bringing together over 35 groups to create a powerful voice that promotes public education, research, and advocacy to reduce the most harmful forms of child labor, as well as end child slavery, child trafficking, and child marriage. For additional information about CLC, please visit https://stopchildlabor.org/.

Labor Day’s dark reality: The alarming rise in child labor in America (Op-ed by NCL CEO Sally Greenberg was first published in USA Today, Sep 2, 2024)

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By Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League and Chair of the Child Labor Coalition

It may seem counterintuitive to suggest that, on Labor Day, we devote our attention to a subset of the American population who should not be working, or at least not working in jobs that are entirely inappropriate for them.

According to the Department of Labor, the number of minors involved in documented child labor violations (not including the ones that are never reported) increased a mind-boggling 472 % between 2015 and 2023, with teenagers working late night shifts, too many hours, and working in hazardous environments. It can be speculated that, as labor shortages have worsened in this country, employers are turning to those under 18 to fill those gaps.

It’s not supposed to be this way.

Back in the early 20th-century industrialization era, children made up a large portion of the labor force in factories and mines.  This led to inhumane abuses and demands by groups like the National Consumers League to institute legal protections. Congress responded by passing the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938, which, among other provisions, limited the number of hours a minor could work, reduced their exposure to unsafe jobs, and ensured they didn’t have to work during the hours they should be in school.

This was a historic achievement for the National Consumers League, now celebrating its 125th anniversary. However, it’s a bitter reality that the organization is once again having to make child labor reforms an urgent priority.

Despite the safeguards of the FLSA, recent news reports highlight the alarming rise of child labor violations across the U.S., accompanied by a predominantly Republican and industry-led effort to attack state labor laws with the goal of weakening the FLSA. Over the past three years, twenty-eight states have introduced legislation undermining crucial protections for child laborers.

What is incomprehensible is that, instead of trying to correct a situation that is so obviously wrong, efforts have been made to weaken restrictions on hazardous work for teenagers and to extend the number of hours they can be called upon to work. Instead of trying to protect children, lawmakers are answering the calls of industry to make it easier for them to be exploited.

Children fall asleep in school today because they’ve come straight to class from working graveyard shifts. Teachers have contacted authorities when they found chemical burns on students’ limbs. A teenager had to have both legs amputated after an industrial accident while working for a construction company. And, most recently, a 16-year-old was electrocuted while working a roofing job.

We implore lawmakers to toughen existing penalties for employers who choose to ignore the law and exploit and endanger children.

On this Labor Day, it is right and necessary to ask our policymakers to renew their commitment to the health, safety, and well-being of all our children and recognize their value as a part of this country’s future instead of as a cheap source of labor.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

Guest blog: My background in farmwork

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By Luz Vazquez Hernandez, NCL Child Labor Coalition Summer Intern

Coming from a background of farmwork, I know the struggle against heat. At 14 years old, I began picking blueberries in Michigan during the summer, and from there on I learned to pick a variety of crops all over Michigan and my home base in Florida. I spent my weekends and any school days off – including summers – picking strawberries, squash, pickles, peppers, and jalapeños.

I learned to push my body and to handle extreme weather conditions. I suffered pains and aches that my parents felt every day. Complaining to my parents was not an option, and my body adapted.

Working in the fields during intense heat were the worst moments. Covered in layers from head to toe, with pants, a long-sleeve shirt, a hoodie, and a bandana was my daily attire. Covering most of my face, the bandana made it hard for me to breathe in extreme heat; at times, I felt my body, head, and eyes just shutting off. I felt I could not go any longer, but seeing my parents endure the heat and hold it in, I tried to do the same and distract myself from my thoughts.

It was common to see workers faint, as taking breaks in the shade and drinking water were not enough. I witnessed my mom, dad, and brother faint more than twice in 100-plus-degree weather, which always made me scared; somehow, we all managed to continue our 12 to 13-hour shifts because our paycheck depended on how many crops we picked.

We could not afford to take long lunch breaks – we often had a bite or two of lunch and a Gatorade, and then immediately went back into the fields. Before I turned 19, I stopped working as a harvester because I knew that I had greater opportunities than my parents and that farmwork was not the only job I could have.  I have made it a goal of mine to share my story and continue my education so that I can help create the changes that my community needs.

I am now a rising senior at Michigan State University, and I am interning with the National Consumers League (NCL) and the Child Labor Coalition (CLC). I am grateful because I get to work closely on policies affecting my community and interests. However, knowing that I get to work inside an office with air-conditioning makes me feel guilty because I know that my parents and younger siblings are in Michigan picking crops in this summer heat, sweating, thirsty, and hoping for a cloud to bring shade to them.

As a nation, the United States needs to take immediate action to protect farmworkers from extreme heat exposure. As temperatures rise, farmworkers’ suffering is increasing. Farmworkers feed America and deserve protection.

A current legislative effort addressing heat protection is the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act, which sets standards needed to protect workers from heat, such as having drinking water accessible, requiring rest breaks, and providing access to shade. The bill would require employers to educate and train workers to recognize and prevent heat illness and mandate emergency protocols.

In a separate initiative, the Biden administration recently proposed a set of regulations to protect workers in extreme heat. The rules focus on including heat safety regulations at work, and they direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to help establish a nationwide protection standard. These two initiatives are vital if we want to protect farmworkers from heat illness.

After years of seeing my parents toil in the fields and working beside them, I feel the need to be an advocate for my community. Interning with the NCL and CLC, I have become acquainted with numerous congressional bills, but the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness and Fatality Prevention Act is one that would affect me and fellow farmworkers. The work of the National Consumers League and Child Labor Coalition and groups like the National Heat Network, organized by Public Citizen, gives me hope that soon farmworkers and other outdoor workers who work in extreme heat will have safer working conditions.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

NCL’s Child Labor Coalition praises the Biden Administration’s proposed rule to protect indoor and outdoor workers from extreme heat

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July 3, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

WASHINGTON, DC – The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) strongly supports the Biden Administration’s proposed rule to protect indoor and outdoor workers from extreme heat. The U.S. Department of Labor announced the rule on July 2. The CLC is chaired by the National Consumers League (NCL) and has 37 organizational members, including numerous farmworker organizations and nonprofits. Both the CLC and NCL are members of the national Heat Stress Network, organized by Public Citizen.

Read the full proposed rule.

While the proposed rule does not recommend age-specific guidelines for child or teen workers, they would benefit greatly from OSHA-mandated heat-related safety protections. Extreme heat can lead to heat stroke, injuries, illnesses, and even death.

Exemptions to U.S. child labor law allow children in agriculture to work at age 12, and, in some cases, even younger, and those exemptions allow them to work unlimited hours, when school is not in session.

Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy at the Child Labor Coalition, emphasizes the dire conditions faced by outdoor workers: “Farm workers perform physical labor in high heats without the benefit of shade. They work long hours under the hot sun with temperatures well exceeding 90 degrees, sometimes over 100 degrees without a break. They risk passing out, heat stroke, and death. We are most worried about children and teens. There is no doubt that putting rules in place will save lives.”

“President Biden and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su have taken an important first step,” says Maki. “The proposed rule provides a pivotal opportunity to have a national conversation and develop comprehensive OSHA regulations to protect workers across many industries. We strongly urge the Department to add specific protections for children working in agriculture. We know that children are at increased risk of heat illness.”

The Protect Indoor and Outdoor Workers from Extreme Heat rule proposes several critical measures to address worker safety:

  1. Heat Risk Evaluation: Employers would be required to evaluate heat risks and develop comprehensive plans to mitigate these risks, especially when temperatures exceed 90 degrees.
  2. Rest Breaks and Hydration: Mandatory rest breaks and access to drinking water are key components to ensure workers stay safe and hydrated.
  3. Acclimatization Protocol: Employers must develop protocols to help new employees or those returning from vacation or sick leave adjust to the heat during their first week back.
  4. Heat Illness and Emergency Response Plan: This includes appointing individuals to implement heat emergency procedures, instructions for transporting affected employees to emergency medical facilities, and procedures for responding to signs of heat-related illness or heat stroke.

The proposed rule extends to indoor work environments as well, ensuring that workers in hot indoor settings are also protected. However, the proposed rule specifically excludes professions such as firefighters and emergency response teams.

Employers would also be required to provide training, implement procedures to respond to heat-related illnesses and take immediate action to assist workers experiencing symptoms of heat emergencies.

Summer heatwaves are upon us, and while many of us retreat to air-conditioned spaces, countless workers endure the blistering sun and soaring temperatures. For those laboring in the fields, on construction sites, and in other outdoor environments, extreme heat can be deadly. Record-breaking temperatures across the United States create life-and-death situations for outdoor workers, and each year, thousands of workers suffer from heat-related illnesses and hundreds die.

Whether working indoors or outdoors in high heat, the signs and symptoms of heat-related illness are the same and include weakness, dizziness, headaches, nausea, fevers, overheating, and muscle cramps. According to the Mayo Clinic, workers are encouraged to exercise caution when temperatures are between 80 and 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) and extreme caution when they are between 90-103 degrees. Temperatures higher than that are considered dangerous.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

Child Labor Coalition lauds Wage and Hour’s Child Labor Enforcement Strategies that includes creating a fund for victims and use of “hot goods” provisions

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March 27, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Reid Maki, reidm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2820

Washington, DC – The Child Labor Coalition (CLC), representing 37 groups engaged in the fight against domestic and global child labor, expresses support for the innovative enforcement strategies in this week’s enforcement action by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The action, announced March 25th, involved fines of $296,951 for a Tennessee parts manufacturer, Tuff Torq, and required the company to set aside $1.5 million as “disgorgement” of 30 days’ profit related to the company’s use of child labor. Disgorgement is a legal term for remedy requiring a party that profits from illegal activity to give up any profits that result from that activity.

Tuff Torq, which makes components for outdoor, power-equipment brands such as John Deere, Toro, and Yamaha, illegally employed 10 children, including a 14-year-old, for work that was hazardous—an identified task involved permitting a child to operate a power-driven-hoisting apparatus, which is a prohibited occupational task.

The Department employed several new or recent strategies in the case, including employing the Fair Labor Standards Act’s “hot goods” provision, which was used to stop the shipment of goods made with oppressive child labor.

“The use of the ‘hot goods’ enforcement tool is also an important new strategy, which Wage and Hour announced it would use last year,” said Reid Maki, director of Child Labor Advocacy for the National Consumers League (NCL) and the CLC. “It’s another critical tool in DOL’s arsenal. Once companies realize that the shipment of goods has been stopped, they feel an immediate impact of the violation.”

“This is the first use of victim’s fund that we have noticed in a child labor enforcement action,” added Maki. “Teens employed in factory settings are often unaccompanied minors and typically very impoverished. When enforcement agents find teens working illegally, they are dismissed with no resources to survive, move forward, and reassemble their lives. A victim’s fund is something the CLC and the Campaign to End US Child Labor – the CLC is a founding member – has touted as desperately needed.”

A third innovation involves how DOL calculates child labor fines. DOL recently announced it planned to change formulas for calculating fines, which previously had been capped at $15,000 per child involved in violations at a specific work site. The new strategy involves applying the maximum fines for each violation, not limited to the number of children involved.

“It’s clear they have used the new formula in the Tuff Torq fines,” said Maki. “Fines levels came in at an average of $30,000 per child—almost double what we would have seen under the old formula. With Congress unable, at this point, to pass into law any of several bills that would increase fines by a factor of ten, DOL’s creativity here is most welcome. Fines must be raised to inflict some real pain on corporate perpetrators. We’re not where we want to be yet, but it’s good to inch closer.”

“Wage and Hour also deserves praise for directing its enforcement action at Tuff Torq,” noted Maki. “In the past, corporations that benefited from child labor have often not been held accountable, as they blamed staffing agencies for illegal hires. Holding beneficiaries accountable is something DOL said it would do when it announced its meatpacking investigation results in February 2023—it’s great to see it happening.”

The Wage and Hour Division faces a big challenge in that its inspectorate, estimated at below 750 inspectors, is too small for a country the size of the U.S. The CLC has called for a doubling of the inspectorate over the next five years and is working to help increase congressional appropriations for that purpose.

Wage and Hour has noted a sharp increase in child labor in recent years, having found 5,792 minors working in violation of child labor laws. The Economic Policy Institute indicates the increase in violations is 300 percent since 2015.

“We are especially troubled by the prevalence of children in hazardous work,” said CLC Chair Sally Greenberg, who is also the CEO of the National Consumers League. “Far too many children are working illegally in meatpacking, auto supply factories, and other hazardous work sites. The U.S. can and must do more to protect these vulnerable children.”

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

Child Labor Coalition welcomes the Senate Introduction of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety Act of 2024 (CARE Act)

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March 25, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Reid Maki, reidm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2820

Washington, DC – With the beginning of Farmworker Awareness Week today, the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), representing 37 groups engaged in the fight against domestic and global child labor, applauds Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and for introducing the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE). The legislation, introduced on March 21, would close long-standing loopholes that permit children in agriculture to work for wages when they are only 12 and 13—younger than other teens can work. The bill would also ban jobs on farms labeled “hazardous” by the U.S. Department of Labor if workers are under the age of 18. Current U.S. law allows children to perform hazardous work at age 16.

“With their whole future ahead of them, our country must do better protecting children working in the agriculture industry,” said Senator Luján. “Across the country, thousands of children are working under hazardous conditions in the agriculture sector, risking their health and education. I’m introducing the CARE Act to raise the floor and bring our agricultural labor lines in with other industries to better protect children and improve the working conditions they operate in.”

“It’s amazing to us that discriminatory loopholes, which allow very young kids to work 70- and 80-hours a week, performing back-breaking labor on farms, have been allowed to exist since the 1930s,” said Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy for the National Consumers League and the Child Labor Coalition. “The impact of the exemptions on farmworker children educationally is harmful and their health is at significant risk on farms.”

“We’re grateful for Senator Luján’s tremendous leadership on this issue.” said the CLC’s Chair Sally Greenberg, also the CEO of the National Consumers League. “It’s been 22 years since we’ve had a Senate bill that would fix our weak child labor laws that discriminate against farmworker children and leave them unprotected from farm dangers. This day was long overdue. We applaud Senator Lujan for taking action to protect child farmworkers.

“Growing up as a migrant farmworker child, I saw first-hand the detrimental consequences of our inequitable child labor laws,” says Norma Flores López, Chair of the Child Labor Coalition’s Domestic Issues Committee. “Working 70 hours a week, performing back-breaking work did not prepare me for a career in agriculture. Rather, it robbed me of my childhood and my health. Working children must be protected from dangerous work that is not age-appropriate, and the CARE Act provides this critical change in our labor laws.”

In the House, Rep. Raul Ruiz introduced a version of the CARE Act, H.R. 4046, earlier in the congressional session; it has 45 cosponsors.

The Senate bill, which does not have a number yet, has been endorsed by 46 organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the Economic Policy Institute, the UFW, Farmworker Justice, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Farm Medicine Center. The House version has been endorsed by 200 national, regional, and state-based organizations, noted Maki.

“The US will not fix the country’s child labor problem until Congress provides children working in agriculture with the same protections as all other working children. Congress should pass this bill without delay to protect children from dangerous work that harms their health and development,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director, Human Rights Watch.

In addition to raising the minimum age at which children could work in agriculture, CARE would significantly increase minimum fines for employers who violate agricultural child labor laws; the bill would also establish minimum fines for the first time. The legislation would also codify a ban on children applying pesticides and increase data collection and analysis of child farmworker injuries.

The children of farm owners working on their parents’ farms would not be covered by the protections of the CARE Act—this aligns with the wishes of organized farmer groups.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

National Consumers League condemns legislation in Florida that preempts local ordinances to protect workers from heat exposure

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March 15, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League is condemning a vote by the Florida House of Representatives to approve legislation that will upend Miami-Dade’s proposed local workplace standards requiring drinking water, cooling measures, recovery periods, posting or distributing materials informing workers how to protect themselves, and requiring first aid or emergency responses. The Florida Senate approved the measure yesterday.

This measure rushed through the state legislature ahead of adjournment on Friday, March 8th and will prevent local governments throughout Florida from requiring water, shade breaks or training so workers can protect themselves from heat illness, injury, and fatality.

Reid Maki, director of child labor advocacy for the Child Labor Coalition under the National Consumers League, made this statement:

“Not only is the Florida legislature usurping the duty of local government to protect workers from heat stress in one of the hottest states in America, but by denying workers access to water and protection this Dickensian measure ignores the reality of heat and heatstroke among Florida’s workers. Indeed, hundreds of workers die across the U.S. from heat exposure each year. The legislation also forbids the posting of educational materials to help workers protect themselves from the heat.

NCL has throughout its history worked to eradicate child labor and abusive labor practices, including protecting children in America working in the fields from exposure to heat, dangerous chemicals, and long hours. U.S. law allows children to work at younger ages in the agricultural sector despite its significantly increased danger. It also allows teens to do work known to be dangerous at younger ages—16 versus 18. NCL works to close both of those loopholes and protect children from agricultural dangers and exploitation. These vulnerable teen workers in agriculture are at great risk from heat exposure.

NCL is urging Governor Ron DeSantis to veto this legislation. NCL also urges the United States Congress to enact the Asuncíon Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act, which would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to adopt interim heat standards, while the agency continues its years-long slog of adopting a final heat protection rule. NCL is a member of the national Heat Stress Network, which works to protect outdoor works from heat dangers.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.

NCL expresses support for ending the subminimum wage for tipped workers in the state of Connecticut

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March 4, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, 202-207-2831

Washington, DC – NCL CEO Sally Greenberg recently testified to the members of the Committee on Labor and Public Employees of the Connecticut General Assembly urging the inclusion of ending the subminimum wage for tipped workers in SB 221. In Connecticut, the subminimum wage for tipped workers is currently at $6.38 per hour.

The restaurant industry in Connecticut “needs to stop basing its business strategy on a 150-year-old system that is the direct legacy of slavery and join the modern working world,” says Greenberg. “It is time to raise the wage and ensure Connecticut’s restaurant industry does not get left behind.”

Greenberg cited One Fair Wage’s recent report claiming the current restaurant industry isn’t facing a worker shortage but rather a wage shortage. One Fair Wage recently published a fact sheet showing a comparative analysis of small business restaurants in Connecticut vs in California.

Greenberg’s full testimony can be found here.

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About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization.  Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad.  For more information, visit nclnet.org.