Support Senate Bill 707: Family Farms/Child Labor Amendment

Bill Sponsors

• Sen. Floyd B. McKissick, Jr. (D-Durham, Granville)
• Sen. Eleanor Kinnaird (D-Orange, Chatham)

Background

Agriculture is one of the most dangerous industries in the United States. Working with farm machinery, chemicals, livestock and other hazards create an environment that is particularly hazardous for children. While children make up only a tiny fraction of the agricultural work force, they account for 20% of all deaths on the job in agriculture. Under current laws, children are allowed to work as paid employees at agricultural operations beginning at age 10.  As an industry, agriculture is exempt from most child labor laws.    

Read the bill here.

Goals

1. Remove the exemption for agriculture from child labor laws, in order to provide the same protections for children who work in agriculture as in all other industries.
2. Preserve the exemption for children who are employed by their parent, or by a close family member.

Take Action

1. Contact the NC Commissioner of Labor and your legislator to ask them to support SB 707.

Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry

NC Department of Labor

919-807-2796

Commissioners.Office@labor.nc.gov

To find your legislator, go to:

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.aspx

2. Ask the Senate Rules Committee Chair to let the bill be heard.

Sen. Tom Apodaca

(919) 733-5745

Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net

(Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania)

3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper in favor of SB 707.

Download FAN’s letter to the editor toolkit: http://www.ncfan.org/write-to-your-newspaper.  If you do write a letter, please let us know at harvestofdignity@gmail.com.