Duane A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator,
Webster County
September 22, 2011 Edition
As I write this column I have just finished the first day of four that I will be spending in Omaha for Ak-Sar-Ben. It has changed over the years including a move from its old grounds on 72nd Street to its new digs at the Qwest Center on 10th Street. It first seemed weird to have your animals on cement with roofing paper for traction, but I am getting used to it. The facilities are wonderful as is the air conditioning, along with the filtration of the air. Many of you that had the opportunity to be at the old Ak-Sar-Ben settings would attest to the improvement in air quality that is evident. It is always fun to watch young people compete with their animals and Ak-Sar-Ben is considered the peak for 4-H exhibitors here in Nebraska. I am confident that the youth from our part of Nebraska will once again make us proud.
Farm Safety Week: The typical time frame for National Farm Safety Week corresponds with the start of fall and of course fall harvest. I hope that everyone knows that working in agriculture remains one of the more dangerous occupations in North America. That being said, our farmers, by exercising caution, getting rest and being safety-minded can go a long way toward making it safer for everyone involved. This year’s theme is “Safety Counts – Your Community Depends On It”. Of course we all want our neighbors and friends to keep themselves safe and all of the people around them. Our community truly does depend upon the agriculture industry and the people who work within. Child Ag Labor Laws: The topic of farm safety is a great segue into a topic that I started last week on the U.S. Department of Labor and its proposal to update federal child labor regulations that was just released a couple of weeks ago. I promised that I would give more information on this topic in this week’s column. I of course believe in supporting safety in agriculture and especially for our youth but sometimes things go a little too far. Let’s review this proposal as it is written.
The new regulations that will affect the agriculture industry will replace the latest regulations as set by the “Child Labor Requirements In Agricultural Occupations” under the “Fair Labor Standards Act (2007)”. This new notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) can be compared side by side with the existing regulations by going on the internet at: http://www.dol.gov/whd/CL/SidebySideNPRM.htm/ These new proposed rules are published in the Federal Register http://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/wage-and-hour-division/ if you would like to read them.
The Act establishes a minimum age of 18 for hazardous work in nonagricultural employment and 16 in agricultural employment. The Act also provides a complete exemption from these rules for a youth who is employed on a farm owned by his or her parent. As I mentioned last week, as I interpret this new proposal, I think it actually revokes certain exemptions for 14 and 15 year-old farm workers, even though the government explanation of the rule says that it does not compromise the statutory child labor parental exemptions involving children working on farms owned or operated by their parents. I want to point out what I consider one of the most disturbing aspects of the rule with so many family farms being incorporated or in LLC’s, the family farm exemption does not apply as universally as implied by this part of the new law:“Where the ownership or operation of the farm is vested in persons other than the parent, such as a business entity, corporation or partnership (unless wholly owned by the parent(s)), the exemption would not apply.” I wonder how many farms will actually be considered family farms since I know a lot of them that are incorporated, in partnership or LLC which would then by that definition kick them out of the exemption for their own kids to work on their farm.
It looks to me that it would also prohibit youth in both agricultural and non-agricultural employment from using electronic, including communication, devices while operating power-driven equipment. It prohibits hired farm workers under the age of 16 from operating almost all power-driven equipment. The department also is proposing to create a new non-agricultural hazardous occupations order that would prevent children under 18 from being employed in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials. Prohibited places of employment would include country grain elevators, grain bins, silos, feed lots, stockyards, livestock exchanges, livestock auctions/sale barns, and anything involving hoists. I can think of a lot of high school kids who work in those employments. In short, it will raise the age levels on some specific jobs they consider more hazardous than others. There are also more limitations on works hours.
UNL Extension used to take the lead in training those young people 14-15 to get a certificate so they could work on their farm or others with certain ag equipment. The new regulations also change that. Pages 54851 and 54852 of the NPRM provide a more detailed explanation of their proposal. In their opinion, the 20-24 hrs in the current certifications is insufficient. They are proposing a minimum of 90 hrs or the equivalent of an academic semester in agricultural education. Students must be enrolled in a Vocational Agriculture program at or above the eighth grade to receive certification. Cooperative Extension would no longer qualify as a certifying organization.
Public comment will be taken on this new rule until November 1. If you would like to mail in comments, they must be mailed to: Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. Those mailed-in comments must include the agency name (including "Wage and Hour Division") and the regulatory information number (1235-AA06). Please take the time to read the new law and respond accordingly!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/ome
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