DOL Nixes Ag Youth Rule

Posted by Chad Vorthmann on Apr 27, 2012 in Ag/Food Industry, Featured, Regulatory, Rural Life | 2 comments

The Labor Department yesterday announced that they would pull their proposed agriculture youth labor rule saying,

“The Department of Labor is announcing today the withdrawal of the proposed rule dealing with children under the age of 16 who work in agricultural vocations. The decision to withdraw this rule – including provisions to define the ‘parental exemption’ – was made in response to thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms. To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama Administration.”

Hearing the news, CFB President Don Shawcroft released the following statement,

“The withdrawl of the proposed rule is another huge win for Colorado agriculture. Farm Bureau members across Colorado have sent a clear message to Washington: Stay away from our kids. We can all now sleep a little better knowing that our advocacy efforts have helped to save our industry and our rural way of life.”

The proposed rule created a firestorm of controversy since it was introduced earlier in the year and thousands of concerned farmers and ranchers submitted comments in opposition. The rule would have prevented rural youth from participating in many agricultural activities and farm related work.