H.R. 6066

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6066 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6066

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to strengthen the 
provisions relating to child labor, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 17, 2025

Mr. Ruiz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to strengthen the 
provisions relating to child labor, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Children's Act for Responsible 
Employment and Farm Safety of 2025'' or the ``CARE Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:
(1) Across the United States, there are hundreds of 
thousands of children younger than 18 years old who are working 
in the agricultural industry. It is difficult to know exactly 
how many children are performing the grueling work that is 
required to plant, pick, process, and pack the food that people 
eat every day.
(2) For farmworkers, many of whom are immigrants, all of 
whom are poor, and some of whom are undocumented, it is 
challenging to capture accurate data that reflects both the 
percentage of children working in one of the Nation's most 
dangerous occupations, as well as the scope of the work that 
they are engaged in. One thing that is notable is that unlike 
virtually every other job in the labor market, Congress has 
made exceptions to allow children to lawfully work in this 
industry.
(3) Historically, children have been permitted to work in 
agriculture at younger ages, for longer hours, and under more 
hazardous conditions than other working children. Like most 
other agricultural workers, they remain excluded from basic 
protections provided to workers in other industries under 
Federal employment laws. Even where protections exist under 
Federal law, they are seldom ever enforced.
(4) Allowing children to engage in agricultural work from a 
young age can result in long-term negative consequences, 
especially when the child worker is not employed on a family 
farm where family members take precautions for their children 
and family members. Working in agriculture as a child can 
result in an early end to childhood, and long hours worked at 
unfair and unlawful wages can pose risks to their overall 
health and lives.
(5) Child farmworkers suffer work-related fatalities at 
over four times the rate of other young workers, often because 
exceptions are made that allow farmworker children to operate 
heavy, dangerous equipment and to be exposed to other hazards. 
Yet, great efforts have been taken to strictly limit the 
possibility of children in other industries from engaging in 
dangerous work activities or jobs. The demands imposed by doing 
agricultural work, coupled with the low pay and poor working 
conditions, result in shocking drop-out rates from school. 
Aside from these risks, farmworker girls are exceptionally 
vulnerable to sexual abuse and harassment by supervisors, 
company owners, crew leaders, co-workers, and others.
(6) While the focus of this Act is on improving the health 
and safety for all children engaged in agricultural labor, 
primarily through strengthened general wage and hour 
protections, the high rates of workplace sexual violence 
against farmworker women and girls should not be ignored, 
particularly given that they are susceptible to this violence 
due to the overall lack of workplace protections available to 
them.

SEC. 3. AMENDED DEFINITIONS.

Section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203(l)) is amended to read as follows:
``(l) `Oppressive child labor' means a condition of employment 
under which--
``(1) any employee who is 16 or 17 years of age is employed 
by an employer in any occupation found by the Secretary and by 
order declared to be particularly hazardous for the employment 
of children between such ages or detrimental to their health or 
well-being;
``(2) any employee who is 14 or 15 years of age is employed 
by an employer, unless the Secretary has determined that the 
employment is confined to periods which will not interfere with 
the schooling of the employee, and that the conditions of 
employment will not interfere with the health and well-being of 
the employee; or
``(3) any employee who is under 14 years of age is employed 
by an employer.''.

SEC. 4. REVISED AGE REQUIREMENT FOR CHILD AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT; 
REPEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION FOR HAND HARVEST LABORERS.

(a) Revised Age Requirement.--Section 13(c) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 213(c)) is amended by striking 
paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the following:
``(1) The provisions of section 12 relating to child labor 
shall not apply to any employee under 18 years of age who is 
employed in agriculture outside of school hours for the school 
district where such employee is living by his or her parent, or 
by a person standing in the place of the parent, on a farm 
owned by the parent or person.
``(2) The provisions of section 12 relating to child labor 
shall not apply to any employee under 16 years of age who is 
employed by his or her parent, or by a person standing in the 
place of the parent, in employment other than manufacturing, 
mining, or any other employment the Secretary finds to be 
particularly hazardous for the employment of a child 16 or 17 
years of age or detrimental to their health or well-being.''.
(b) Repeal of Waiver Provision.--Section 13(c) of such Act (29 
U.S.C. 213(c)) is further amended by striking paragraph (4) and 
redesignating paragraphs (5) through (7) as paragraphs (4) through (6), 
respectively.

SEC. 5. INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES FOR CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS.

Paragraph (1) of section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``person'' each place it appears and 
inserting ``employer'';
(2) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) by striking ``not to exceed'' and inserting 
``of''; and
(B) by amending clauses (i) and (ii) to read as 
follows:
``(i) not less than $500 and not more than $15,000 for each 
employee who was the subject of such a violation; or
``(ii) not less than $15,000 and not more than $60,115 with 
regard to each such violation that causes the serious injury, 
serious illness, or death of any employee under the age of 18 
years, which penalty may be doubled where the violation is a 
repeated or willful violation.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `serious illness' 
means any abnormal condition or disorder resulting from an event or 
exposure in the work environment. Illnesses which result from events or 
exposures on the employer's premises are presumed to be work 
related.''.

SEC. 6. SPECIAL CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CERTAIN AGGRAVATED CHILD LABOR 
VIOLATIONS.

Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) 
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``Any person'' and 
inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (f), any person''; 
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates any of the 
provisions of section 12, if violations result in or cause the death or 
serious injury or serious illness of an employee under 18 years of age 
at the time of such violation, shall be subject to imprisonment for not 
more than 5 years or a fine under title 18, United States Code, or 
both.''.

SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS ON WORK-RELATED INJURIES TO CHILDREN AND 
RELATED MATTERS.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is amended by inserting after 
section 12 (29 U.S.C. 212) the following new section:

``SEC. 12A. DATA ON WORK-RELATED INJURIES TO CHILDREN AND RELATED 
MATTERS.

``(a) Data Analysis.--Using the sources specified in subsection 
(b), the Secretary shall analyze 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.
``(b) Sources Specified.--The sources referred to in subsection (a) 
are the following:
``(1) Sources within the Department of Labor, including the 
Wage and Hour Division, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the 
Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
``(2) State employment security agencies and other relevant 
State agencies.
``(3) The National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health.
``(c) Report.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall annually submit a 
report to Congress which shall include--
``(A) a summary of the data collected by the 
Secretary under this section and section 12B;
``(B) an evaluation, based on such data, that 
reflects the status of child labor and related safety 
and health hazards; and
``(C) any information, based on such data, that 
leads the Secretary to believe that children under 18 
years of age may have been employed in violation of 
section 12.
``(2) Publication.--The Secretary shall, on the date that 
the Secretary submits each report under paragraph (1) to 
Congress, publish each such report in the Federal Register and 
ensure that such reports are posted on the Department of Labor 
website.''.

SEC. 8. EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after the new section 12A the following new 
section:

``SEC. 12B. EMPLOYER REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

``(a) Report.--Not later than 5 days after an event specified under 
subsection (b), the employer involved in the event shall submit a 
report to the Secretary in accordance with subsection (c).
``(b) Events Specified.--An event referred to in subsection (a) 
is--
``(1) a work-related serious injury to an employee under 18 
years of age employed in agriculture;
``(2) the discovery of a work-related serious illness of an 
employee under 18 years of age employed in agriculture; or
``(3) the work-related death of an employee under 18 years 
of age employed in agriculture.
``(c) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
include--
``(1) the name and address of the employer;
``(2) the name, address, and age of the employee;
``(3) details relevant to the incident, to include 
environmental hazards, such as chemical or pesticide exposure, 
use of machinery or tools at time of incident, work tasks 
performed at time of incident, and other details relating to 
the incident; and
``(4) such other information as the Secretary of Labor may 
by regulation prescribe.
``(d) Failure To Report.--The Secretary may assess a civil penalty 
on any employer who fails to file a report as required by this section 
in an amount not less than $500 and not more than $7,000 per violation.
``(e) Definition.--In this section, the terms `serious injury' and 
`serious illness' have the meanings given such terms in section 
16(e)(1)(B).
``(f) Effective Date.--The requirements under this section shall 
take effect on the date that is the earlier of--
``(1) the date on which the Secretary issues a rule under 
section 10(a) of the CARE Act of 2025; or
``(2) the date that is 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of such Act.''.

SEC. 9. PESTICIDE-RELATED WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD.

(a) Congressional Finding.--Congress finds and declares that the 
employment of children under the age of 18 in the occupation of a 
pesticide handler, as such occupation is defined in the worker 
protection standard for workers exposed to pesticides in part 170 of 
title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, is particularly hazardous for, 
and detrimental to the health and well-being of, such children.
(b) Requirement for Secretary of Labor.--Not later than the date 
that is 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Labor shall revise part 570 of title 29, Code of Federal 
Regulations, to prohibit the employment of a child under the age of 18 
to perform any of the tasks or duties described in the definition of 
the term ``handler'' in section 170.3 of title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations.

SEC. 10. APPLICATION OF FAIR LABOR STANDARDS AMENDMENTS.

(a) Rulemaking.--Not later than the date that is 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor may prescribe 
rules as necessary to implement the amendments made by sections 3 
through 6 and the revision required by section 8. Any such rules issued 
shall take effect not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
rules are published in the Federal Register.
(b) Violations.--The amendments made by sections 3 through 6 and 
the revision required by section 9 shall apply to violations of the 
Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) that occur 
after the date on which the rules issued under subsection (a) take 
effect.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in the amendments made by 
section 4, 5, or 6 or in the revision required by section 9 shall be 
construed to preempt any State law that provides protections or 
remedies for employees that are greater than the protections or 
remedies provided under such amendments or such revision.
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