“Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety of 2019

Children's Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety of 2019 or the CARE Act of 2019

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.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov