Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - United States of America (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year as well as on the basis of the information at its disposal in 2019.

The Committee notes the observations of the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) received on 18 September 2019.

Articles 4(1), 5 and 7(1) of the Convention. Determination of types of hazardous work, monitoring mechanisms and penalties. Hazardous work in agriculture from 16 years of age. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 213 of the Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) permits children aged 16 years and above to undertake, in the agricultural sector, occupations declared to be hazardous or detrimental to their health or well-being by the Secretary of Labour. The Government, referring to Paragraph 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190), stated that Congress considered it as safe and appropriate for children from the age of 16 years to perform work in the agricultural sector. However, the Committee noted that work in agriculture was found to be “particularly hazardous for the employment of children” by the Secretary of Labour. According to the website of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), agriculture ranked among the most dangerous industries.

The Committee also noted the Government’s detailed information concerning the intensification of its efforts to protect young agricultural workers’ occupational safety and health. For example, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labour (DOL) developed strategy to use education and outreach to promote understanding of agricultural employers’ and workers’ rights and responsibilities alike. The WHD also strengthened the protection of young workers by making full use of the regulatory tools available to it, including the new “hot goods” provision and the Child Labour Enhanced Penalty Program, which enabled it to impose increased penalties on violators of child labour law. The Committee further noted the Government’s statement that the Environmental Protection Agency’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS) (40 C.F.R. Part 170) was revised to prohibit children under 18 from handling agricultural pesticides. The Committee encouraged the Government to continue taking measures to ensure that children under 18 years of age only be permitted to perform work in agriculture on the condition that their health and safety are protected and that they receive adequate specific instruction.

The Committee notes that the AFL–CIO indicates in its observations that there have not been significant improvements to the laws, related work rules or their enforcement. According to the report entitled “Working Children: Federal Injury Data and Compliance Strategies Could be Strengthened” published by the US Government Accountability Office in November 2018, while 5.5 per cent of working children toiled on farms, agriculture was responsible for more than half of child occupational deaths. Between 2003 and 2016, 237 children died in farm-related work accidents, representing four times the number of deaths of any other sector. The AFL–CIO also states that the DOL found only 34 violations per year over a several year period and that the extremely low number of violations detected shows the weak enforcement. The AFL–CIO further indicates that, according to the Farm Labour Organizing Committee (FLOC) reports, there are still children under 16 years of age doing hazardous work in the tobacco fields. The failure to update the Agricultural Hazardous Occupations Orders means that the DOL plays no role in enforcing minimum work ages (except for the age of 12 which is still legally the minimum age across agriculture).

The Committee notes the Government’s information in its report that the amendment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Worker Protection Standard (WPS), which prohibits pesticide usage by young workers under 18 years of age (except for those in the immediate family of the farmer), came into effect in January 2017. The Government indicates that OSHA and the WHD continue to conduct extensive outreach and education campaigns to ensure that young workers are aware of their rights, have accurate safety information and know where to find helpful resources. The WHD also conducts numerous investigations during the reporting period. When violations occur, the WHD pursues effective penalties and resolutions to protect young workers. The Committee also notes the supplementary information provided by the Government in 2020, according to which, in 2019, the WHD found child labour violations in 858 concluded cases. In those cases, WHD found that 3,073 minors were working in violation of the Fair Labour Standards Act. In 240 of the cases, violations of Hazardous Occupation Orders (HOs) were found, with a total of 544 minors employed in violation of HOs. The most common violations often involve the failure to comply with the hours standards for 14- and 15-year-olds in non-agricultural industries, and the failure to comply with HOs in non-agricultural industries for 16- and 17-year-olds. The Committee observes that the above information only concerns violations of HOs in non-agricultural industries.

The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to the surveys related to children working in agriculture carried out by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). According to the report “Young Worker Injury Deaths: A Historical Summary of Surveillance and Investigative Findings” published in 2017, agriculture production is ranked as the sector with both the highest fatality number (389 deaths) for all youth under 18 and the highest fatality rate (19.7 per cent) for youth aged 15–17 from 1994 to 2013 (page 16). Between 1982 and 2010, there were 31 investigations conducted by the State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) for youth fatalities that occurred in the agriculture production industry. In almost half of the 31 investigations, the youth was working in a business owned by a family member; and in 14 investigations, the employer was reported to be the youth’s parent or guardian. Documentation of formal training was rare, with two of the 31 investigated fatalities reporting that the youth received formal training. Moreover, most of the 31 investigated fatalities occurred on operations not covered by child labour regulations or on operations where coverage could not be determined (pages 57–58). In addition, according to the 2019 Fact Sheet on Childhood Agricultural Injuries in the US, from 2001 to 2015, 48 per cent of all fatal injuries to young workers occurred in agriculture. Since 2009, the number of youth worker fatalities in agriculture has been higher than in all other industries combined. In 2016, young workers were 7.8 times more likely to be fatally injured in agriculture when compared to all other industries combined. Transportation incidents were the most common fatal event, with tractors and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) as the primary vehicle sources.

While taking note of the measures taken by the Government to protect the health and safety of young persons working in agriculture, the Committee must note with concern that a significant number of children under 18 years still suffer injuries, some serious, while engaged in farm work. Moreover, the statistical information shows that agriculture production remains the most dangerous sector for children, with the highest number of fatal injuries, especially for those who work for family-owned businesses or perform operations not covered by child labour regulations. In this regard, the Committee once again recalls that work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out was likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children, constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour and, therefore, Member States are required to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. While Article 4(1) of the Convention allows the types of hazardous work to be determined by national laws or regulations or the competent authority, after consultation with the social partners, the Committee notes that in practice, the agricultural sector, which is not on the list of hazardous types of work, remains an industry that is particularly hazardous to young persons. The Committee therefore urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure that children under 18 years of age only be permitted to perform work in agriculture on the condition that their health and safety are protected and that they receive adequate specific instruction. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the child labour regulations apply to all children working in agriculture, and to strengthen the capacity of the institutions responsible for the monitoring of child labour in agriculture, to protect child agricultural workers from hazardous work. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing detailed statistical information on child labour in agriculture, including the number of work-related injuries of children working in agriculture, as well as the extent and nature of child labour violations detected, investigations carried out, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied.