House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade Chairman Scott Tipton (R-CO) yesterday issued the following statement on the Department of Labor decision to re-propose their “parental exemption” portion of their proposed regulation on youth employment in agriculture. DOL’s decision comes less than a day before the current head of the Department’s Wage and Hour Division is scheduled to testify about the rule before the Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade. The hearing, entitled, The Future of the Family Farm: The Effect of Proposed DOL Regulations on Small Business Producers, is scheduled for today at 10am.
“After much pressure from Congress and producers, DOL has finally acknowledged serious flaws with the parental exemption part of their regulation,” said Tipton. “However, this is only half a victory. There remains great concern about other parts of the rule pertaining to youth access to safety training programs and on-farm education and employment opportunities.
“I believe, as the majority of American farmers do, that this rule altogether should never have been proposed. The rule as offered would change long-standing and proven programs that provide training to young people who are interested in pursuing careers in agriculture. This is bad for agricultural small businesses and it is bad for the future of our nation’s farming needs.
“We will discuss this more in depth at tomorrow’s House Small Business Subcommittee hearing and continue to persuade DOL to reconsider the rule in its entirety.” |