CLC Press Release

2000 CHILD LABOR STATE SURVEY

RESPONDENTS: Thirty-nine (39) state labor departments, (or equivalent) child labor contacts, responded to the 2000 survey.

ALABAMA, ALASKA, ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, HAWAII, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, MAINE, MASSACHUSETTS, MINNESOTA, MISSOURI, NEBRASKA, NEVADA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH DAKOTA, OKLAHOMA, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, UTAH, WASHINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN AND WYOMING

NON-RESPONDENTS: Twelve (12) state labor departments including the District of Columbia.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, IDAHO, LOUISIANA, MARYLAND, MICHIGAN, MISSISSIPPI, MONTANA, OHIO, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH DAKOTA, VERMONT, AND VIRGINIA

PERCENTAGE RESPONSE RATE: 78 percent

DATE OF SURVEY: August 2000

Prepared by the National Consumers League for the Child Labor Coalition,

1701 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006; 202-835-3323; (fax) 202-835-0747, November 2000.

CHILD LABOR ENFORCEMENT IN FY 1999

1. How many compliance officers enforce labor laws in your agency? (Count only those actually out conducting inspections). Breaking down the total, how many are responsible to inspect workplaces for child labor compliance/violations exclusively; how many are responsible to inspect workplaces for all labor compliance/violations (of which child labor is included).

State	Total Compliance Officers	Child Labor Exclusively	All Labor Compliance
AL	1	1	0
AK	12	0	12
AZ	1	1	0
AR	4	0	4
CA	81	0	81
CO	10	0	10
CT	3	0	3
DE	15	0	15
FL	21	7	14
GA	62	1	61
HI	13	3	10
IL	13	0	13
IA	2	1	1
IN*	12	5	7
KS	5	0	5
KY	25	0	25
MA	12	0	12
ME*	4	0	4
MN	7	0	7
MO	18	4	14
NE	4	0	4
NV	5	0	5
NH	10	0	10
NJ	40	5	35
NM	8	1	7
NY	100	0	100
NC	14	0	14
ND	8	3	5
OK	1	1	0
OR	16	0	16
PA	30	0	30
SC	11	0	11
TN	10	0	10
TX	7	7	0
UT	0	0	0
WA	20	0	20
WV	23	0	23
WI	13	0	13
WY	7	0	7

NOTES:

IN: Indiana also has 60 OSHA inspectors.

ME: FY runs 7-1-99 to 6-30-0

2. How many inspections were conducted by your agency in FY 1999 for labor law compliance (in which child labor law compliance would have been included)? Considering the above figure, how many resulted in your state's agency finding child labor violations?

State	Total Inspections	Inspections showing Violations	Total Illegally Employed Minors Found
AL	312	153	**
AK*	762	37	37
AZ	428	10	10
AR	3,197	110	51
CA	5,299	299	299
CO*	**	**	**
CT	**	259	150
DE	295	133	366
FL	851	503	**
GA	1,005	**	257
HI	21	14	**
IL	1,428	61	448
IN	4,289	**	**
IA*	2	2	9
KS	2	2	2
KY*	3,130	252	525
MA	132	295	128
ME*	3,902	**	**
MN	5	5	5
MO	6,581	4,398	183
NE	115	85	16
NV	0	0	0
NH	560	157	612
NJ	10,000	2,500	550
NM	250	0	0
NY	1,805	289	756
NC	891	142	708
ND	20	**	**
OK	178	68	**
OR*	158	40	**
PA	71	422	126
SC	2,207	97	145
TN	1,677	498	0
TX	2,662	127	435
UT	6	6	30
WA	**	19	**
WV	37	0	0
WI	121	80	250
WY	2	2	0

NOTES:

** No answer given.

AK: Fiscal Year 1999.

CO: Not separated.

IA: Our staff is small and neither person is dedicated fully to child labor; therefore, we are compliant-driven and rarely get to perform on-site inspections.

KY: 99-00 FY.

ME: Can’t track at this time.

OR: Total illegally employed minors found -- Unknown.

3. How many inspections were conducted by your agency in FY 1999 in which child labor compliance in agriculture was targeted? How many resulted in your agency finding child labor violations in agriculture?

State	Total Inspections	Inspections with Violations	Total Illegally Employed Minors Found
AL	0	**	**
AK	0	0	0
AZ	17	0	0
AR	**	**	**
CA	914	36	36
CO*	**	**	**
CT	3	2	4
DE	0	**	**
FL*	3,027	17	*
GA	0	**	**
HI	0	0	**
IL	0	0	0
IN	0	0	0
IA	0	0	0
KS	0	0	0
KY	**	**	**
MA	0	0	0
ME	0	**	**
MN	0	0	0
MO	0	0	0
NE	0	0	0
NV	0	0	0
NH	0	0	0
NJ	400	200	100
NM	0	0	0
NY	9	7	9
NC*	**	**	**
ND	**	**	**
OK	0	**	**
OR	107	7	**
PA	0	0	0
SC	0	0	0
TN	**	**	**
TX	0	0	0
UT	0	0	0
WA	0	0	0
WV	0	0	0
WI	0	0	0
WY	0	0	0

NOTES:

** No answer given.

CO: Not counted.

FL: Number of minors unknown.

NC: Agriculture exempted from the Wage and Hour Act.

PENALTIES IN FY 1999

4. What is the total amount of dollars your state assessed for child labor violations in 1999?

State	Civil Money Penalties Assessed for Child Labor Violations ($$)	Other ($$)
AL*	**	10,200
AK*	0	0
AZ*	26,927	**
AR	**	**
CA	264,020	**
CO	**	**
CT	120,900	**
DE	96,530	**
FL	68,275	**
GA	0	0
HI	0	**
IL*	67,435	154,000*
IN	91,300	**
IA	0	0
KS*	**	**
KY	**	**
MA	0	*
ME*	**	214,150
MN	5,700	**
MO	145,250	**
NE*	**	0
NV*	**	**
NH	326,750	**
NJ	180,000	**
NC	97,275	**
NM	0	**
NY	122,450	**
ND	**	**
OK	23,600	**
OR	84,930	**
PA	0	0
SC	22,800	**
TN*	321,300	**
TX	42,890	**
UT	0	0
WA	20,970	**
WV	0	0
WI	79,140	**
WY	0	0

NOTES:

** No answer given.

AL: Other: District Court.

AK: No CMP Authority.

AZ: 126 penalties involving 156 youths.

IL: Other: Administrative findings upheld in court.

KS: Referred case to Court Attorney.

MA: No civil sanctions.

ME: Other: Consent decrees negotiated through AG’s office in civil fines.

NE: Child labor violations are penalized by U.S. Department of Labor

as reported to that agency.

NV: Agency does not have the authority to assess monetary penalties.

TN: From 7/99-12/99=$9,900, which was assessed by the Administrator

after Informal Conferences. Labor Standards Director started

assessing penalties in Jan. 00. From 1/00-6/00, we have assessed

$302,400 in penalties.

5. What is the total amount your state collected for child labor violations in 1999?

State	Civil Money Penalties Collected for Child Labor Violations ($$)	Other ($$) Collected
AL*	**	10,200
AK	0	0
AZ*	26,327	**
AR	**	**
CA	169,712	**
CO	**	**
CT	53,500	**
DE	91,530	**
FL	54,348	**
GA	0	0
HI	0	0
IL*	133,644	23,000
IN	78,250	**
IA	0	0
KS	0	**
KY	81,650	**
MA	0	0
ME	**	214,150
MN	4,225	**
MO*	59,215	**
NE	0	0
NV	0	0
NH	204,715	**
NJ	171,459	**
NC	92,600	**
NM	0	0
NY	193,396	**
ND	**	**
OK	17,410	**
OR	82,107	**
PA	0	0
SC	15,700	**
TN*	143,150	**
TX	27,350	**
UT	0	0
WA	16,970	**
WV	0	0
WI	79,140	**
WY	0	0

NOTES:

** No answer given.

AL: Other: District Court.

AZ: Two penalties not paid.

IL: Some have payment plans than extend into next year.

MO: Many assessed penalties not collected are from cases

overlapping the two years.

TN: 7/99-12/99 = $10,950.

1/00-6/00 = $132,300

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT AGRICULTURE

6. What is the youngest age a child may legally perform agricultural labor (i.e., migrant and seasonal farmwork) in your state?

State	Youngest Age
AL	No minimum
AK	14
AZ	No minimum
AR	12
CA*	12
CO	12
CT	14
DE*	No minimum
FL	14
GA*	No minimum
HI	10
IL	10
IN	12
IA	12
KS*	No minimum
KY	No minimum
MA	No minimum
ME*	No minimum
MN	12
MO	12
NE	12
NV	14
NH	12
NJ	12
NM*	14
NY	12
NC*	No minimum
ND*	14
OK	No minimum
OR*	9
PA	14
SC	12
TN	No minimum
TX	No minimum
UT*	No minimum
WA*	14
WV	No minimum
WI	12
WY	No minimum

NOTES:

CA: Except minors of any age employed in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture

or domestic labor by their parents or guardians upon or in connection

with premises the parent or guardian owns, operates, or controls are exempt

from these restrictions. (LC 1394).

DE: Delaware’s Child Labor Act exempts, “Farm work performed on a farm in a

non-hazardous occupation.”

GA: Does not regulate agriculture in child labor.

KS: Agriculture not employment under the Kansas law. See KSA 38614, attached.

MA: Federal standards apply.

NM: 14 with a work permit.

16 without a work permit.

NC: FLSA agriculture provisions apply since agricultural employers are exempted

under the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act.

ND: Employment may begin at 14. We do not take work permits for agricultural

Labor.

OR: Minors ages 14 and 15 may work outside school hours in jobs not declared hazardous by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Minors ages 12 and 13 may work in jobs not declared hazardous outside school hours either with written parental consent or on the same farm where their parents are employed. Minors ages 9 through 11 may pick berries and beans outside school hours if the child has the written consent of his/her parents or guardians and ONLY if the farm has used less than 500 man days of labor in all calendar quarters of the preceding year, OR the produce is sold within the state AND the produce is not transported outside the state in any form. Minors of any age may work in any job on a farm owned or operated by their parents.

UT: No minimum age with consent of the minor’s parent, guardian or custodian.

WA: 12 if hand harvest of berries, bulbs, cucumbers, spinach.

7. Were there changes to your state child labor law related to coverage for children working in agriculture?

FY 1998:

Yes: OR*

No: AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MA, ME, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NM, NC, ND, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

No Answer: AL, GA*, OK

Not Available: TN

FY 1999:

Yes:

No: AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MA, ME, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

No Answer: AL, GA, OK

Not Available: TN

Expected in FY 2000:

Yes:

No: AK, AZ, AR, CA, COL, CT, DE, FL, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, MA, ME, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

No Answer: AL, GA, OK

Not Available TN

Notes:

GA: Georgia does not regulate agriculture child labor.

OR: Oregon’s child labor rules were amended to conform to the 10/98 amendments to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act regulating the operation of motor vehicles by minors. Although the federal hazardous occupation orders have been adopted in Oregon for both agricultural and non-agricultural employment, the 1998 rule amendment exempted 16 and 17 year olds employed in agriculture from the motor vehicle driving restrictions/provisions.

8. In your state, farmworkers are eligible for:

Workers Compensation:

Yes: AZ, CA, CT, FL, IL, IN, MO*, NV, NH, NY, ND*, OR, TX, UT*, WA

No: AL, AK, AR, CO, DE, GA, IA, KY, MN, NE, NJ, NC, OK, PA, SC, TN, WV, WI, WY

Unknown: HI, KS, ME, MA*, NM

Notes:

MO: Employer may elect coverage, but not required.

ND: Optional coverage.

UT: Full time workers.

Overtime Compensation:

Yes: AZ*, CA, HI, MN, NV

No: AL, AK, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MO*, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WV, WI, WY

Notes:

AZ: Per Federal Law.

MO: Agriculture is exempt from Missouri minimum wage. However, employers covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act are not covered under Missouri minimum wage and overtime laws.

Unemployment Insurance:

Yes: AZ, CA, CT, DE, FL, IN, MO*, NV, NH*, NY, OR*, UT*

No: AL, AK, AR, CO, GA, IL, IA, KY, ME*, MN, NE, NJ, NM, NC, ND*, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, WA, WV, WI, WY

Unknown: HI, KS, ME, MA

Notes:

MO: Only when the owner operator reaches a threshold of $20,000 gross wages per calendar quarter or 10 or more workers in 20 different calendar weeks in a calendar year are employed.

NH: Depending on the individual circumstances.

ND: Generally not.

OR: Some employees qualify.

UT: With restrictions.

Minimum wage:

Yes: AZ*, CA, FL, HI, IL, IA*, MA*, MN, NV, NJ, NY, NC*, ND, OR*, UT*, WA, WI

No: AL, AK, AR, CO, CT, DE, GA, IN, KS, KY, ME, MO*, NE, NH, NM, NC*, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, WV, WY

Notes:

AZ: Per Federal Law.

IA: Only if they meet same criteria as is described in the FLSA.

MA: $1.60/hour

MO: Agriculture is exempt from Missouri minimum wage. However, employees covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act are not covered under Missouri minimum wage and overtime laws.

OR: However, there are exemptions.

UT: Unless exempt.

What is the minimum wage in your state for agricultural work and non-agricultural work?

State	Ag. Minimum Wage	Non-Ag. Minimum Wage
AL	**	**
AK*	0	5.65
AZ*	**	**
AR	**	**
CA	5.75	5.75
CO	**	5.15
CT*	6.15-6.40	6.15 on 1/1/01
DE	**	5.65 6.15 as of 10/01/00
FL	5.15	5.15
GA	**	**
HI	5.25	5.25
IL	5.15	5.00
IN	**	5.15
IA*	5.15 4.25 for first 90 calendar days	5.15 4.25 for first 90 calendar days
KS*	0	2.65
KY	**	5.15
ME	0	5.15
MA	1.60	6.00
MN*	5.15 large employers 4.90 small employers	5.15 large employers 4.90 small employers
MO	0	0
NE	4.25	5.15
NV	5.25	5.25
NH*	**	5.15
NJ	5.15	5.15
NM*	**	4.25
NY	5.15	5.15
NC*	5.15	5.15
ND	5.15	5.15
OK	**	**
OR*	6.50	6.50
PA*	5.15	5.15
SC	**	N/A
TN*	**	**
TX	**	3.35
UT*	5.15	5.15
WA	6.50	6.50
WV	**	**
WI	4.05	5.15
WY	**	**

NOTES:

** No answer given.

AK: Agriculture exempt from state minimum $$.

AZ: Does not have a minimum wage or overtime law for agricultural workers.

CT: Minors between 14-18 years old employed in agriculture may be paid 85 percent of minimum wage ($5.23).

IA: If the federal minimum wage is increased, Iowa’s minimum wage will be increased to equal it.

KS: Agriculture exempt from minimum wage and overtime. Agriculture not employment under Child Labor Law.

MA: $6.75/hour as of 1/1/01 for non-ag.

MN: Exemption for under 18 under certain conditions.

NH: New Hampshire has an exemption for farm labor under its minimum wage statutes.

NM: No set minimum for agricultural employment. Employers are excluded from coverage by the New Mexico minimum wage laws; if such employee is employed by an employer who did not, during any calendar quarter during the preceding calendar year use more that 500 man days of agricultural labor.

NC: Agricultural workers are exempt from the minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping protections of the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act.

PA: Agriculture minimum wage is for seasonal farm labor (Migrants) only.

TN: N/A – not within our jurisdiction.

UT: In Ag.: $5.15 unless exempt.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

9. What is the minimum age for general employment of minors in your state?

Are there any exceptions to allow youth to engage in specific work at a younger age? If yes, what are the ages and occupations?

State

Minimum Age

Exceptions

Occupations

Age

(Years)

Yes

Delivery of newspapers

Yes

Domestic work

Babysitting

Newspaper delivery & sales

Casing Cans by hand in a cannery

Entertainment industry

No minimum

Age

No minimum