# Understanding the CARE Act of 2022

This bill makes significant changes to child labor laws, particularly focusing on protecting young workers in agriculture. Right now, farming is one of the few industries where children can legally work at younger ages and under more dangerous conditions than in other jobs. This bill aims to tighten those rules and make penalties much stricter for employers who violate child labor protections.

The core changes raise the minimum age for agricultural work. Children under 14 can no longer work in agriculture at all, except on their own family farm. Teenagers aged 14 and 15 can only work in agriculture if the Department of Labor determines the job won't interfere with school or harm their health. For 16 and 17-year-olds, they're banned from any agricultural work deemed particularly hazardous—like handling pesticides, operating heavy machinery, or working with dangerous chemicals. The bill also eliminates a current exception that allows younger teenagers to do hand-harvesting work under certain conditions.

The bill dramatically increases financial penalties for companies that break child labor laws. Currently, fines are relatively modest, but under this bill, violations could result in penalties of $500 to $15,000 per child affected. If a violation causes serious injury, illness, or death of a child worker, penalties jump to $15,000 to $60,115 per violation and can be doubled if the violation was repeated or intentional. The bill also creates criminal penalties—employers who repeatedly or willfully violate child labor laws in ways that cause death or serious injury to a child could face up to five years in prison.

Additionally, the bill requires agricultural employers to report any serious injuries, illnesses, or deaths of workers under 18 within five days to the Department of Labor, providing details about what happened and any hazards involved. The government must also collect and publish annual reports on child worker injuries and deaths in agriculture. These transparency measures aim to expose problems and help enforce the law more effectively. The bill also specifically prohibits anyone under 18 from working as a pesticide handler, recognizing that pesticide exposure is particularly dangerous for developing bodies.

CARE Act of 2022

Roybal-Allard, Lucille

Children's Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety of 2022 or the CARE Act of 2022 This bill revises labor provisions for protecting child workers, including those employed in agriculture, and increases the civil penalties for violations of such provisions and imposes new criminal penalties for violations resulting in the death or serious injury or illness of a child worker. Specifically, the bill revises the definition of oppressive child labor to prohibit the employment of children under 14 years of age and imposes new employer reporting requirements for work-related injuries or deaths of agricultural employees under the age of 18. The Department of Labor must analyze, collect, and report on data concerning children under the age of 18 who are employed in agriculture and each work-related injury, illness, or death of any such child. Labor must also revise regulations to prohibit the employment of a child under the age of 18 as a pesticide handler.