OMAHA (DTN) -- Changes to a child labor rule that give farm kids special permission to work for their families aren't enough to satisfy members of a House Small Business Subcommittee, who said they want the rule pulled completely.

In a Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, a Department of Labor official defended the need to update child-labor laws for farms, but highlighted changes made to ensure children can work for family members. Still, lawmakers criticized the proposal with one congressman saying he would block any funding to implement it.

Nancy Leppink, deputy administrator, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, testified that the proposed rule changes were meant to "promote the viability of agriculture while respecting and upholding the values and culture of our nation's rural communities."

"Agriculture is the most hazardous industry that either adults or children work in," Leppink said. "This regulation only targets the youngest children."

Still, several subcommittee members talked about the value of working on a farm and particularly what it meant to them in their own lives. Subcommittee Chairman Scott Tipton, R-Colo., noted 98% of domestic farms are family farms and 97% of those are defined as small businesses. The rule may have been "well-intentioned" but should have never been proposed.

"This is bad for agricultural small businesses and bad for the nation's future farming needs," Tipton said.

Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., told Leppink that the department hasn't heard the last of the backlash. A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rehberg said he will attach a rider to the Department of Labor's funding bill to block implementation of the rule. Rehberg noted he has hired children as young as 10 years old to help herd cattle with ATVs.

"I will do everything I possibly can to keep this regulation from being implemented as written," Rehberg said.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., also said the regulation should be withdrawn altogether. "Farming is whole different way of life. I don't know why you are meddling with it ... Can't you find something more productive to do than hassle farmers?"

In defense, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., highlighted the casualties and injuries that can occur on farms as justification for updating the rule. More than 100 children die each year in farm labor, she said.

After reviewing more than 10,000 comments, the department announced Wednesday the agency had expanded its parental exemption language. That exemption will apply in situations in which a parent "or person standing in place of the parent" is part owner of a farm as a partner or officer in a corporation which owns the farm "if the ownership interest in the partnership or corporation is substantial."

The Labor Department proposed changes to the law after citing the injury and fatality rates for children working in agriculture is four times greater than kids working in non-agricultural jobs. Further, the department had not changed its child-labor standards in 40 years and had been criticized as far back as the 1990s by the Government Accountability Office for failing to do so. Leppink noted the main bulk of language changes affect children under 16.

"We're not talking about kids who are 16 years or older who are employed on any farm, whether a family farm or a corporate farm," she said.

The rule would prevent children under age 16 from operating most power equipment on farms. The rule does include exclusions for children are working on their family's farm operation or taking classes in a vocational program. The rule largely would apply in situations where there is an employer-employee relationship involving a farmer and a child.

"We're not talking about neighbors helping neighbors in need," Leppink said. "We're not talking about kids participating in 4-H or FFA,"

She added, "In other words, a child of any age could, for example, assist a neighbor to round up loose cattle that have broken out of their fencing because that would not establish an employer-employee relationship," Leppink said.

Still, other prohibitions would prevent children from working with livestock, timber, manure pits, grain bins or pesticide handling. The regulation would not apply for children raising livestock for 4-H or similar organization.

Further, children under age 18 would be banned from working in areas involved with storing, marketing or hauling raw farm materials. So children could not work in grain elevators, silos, feedlots or stockyards.

Emphasizing training of children who are going to work on the farm, Leppink said the Department of Labor is cooperating with USDA to see what kind of programs can be developed.

"We're already in conversations with the Department of Agriculture on who we can work on those educational programs together," she said.

Full hearing testimony can be found at

http://smbiz.house.gov/…

Chris Clayton can be contacted at chris.clayton@telventdtn.com

(SK)

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