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U.S. seeks to protect migrant farmworkers
WASHINGTON, (UPI) -- The Obama administration has stepped up enforcement of laws to guarantee U.S. farm workers get paid the minimum wage and to prevent child labor, officials say.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, whose parents were migrant farm workers, told The New York Times larger fines are being levied against farmers who break the law and more inspectors have been hired. Migrant workers are usually paid by the amount harvested but are supposed to get at least $7.25 an hour.
For more than 60 years, farmers have been exempt from limits on child labor that apply in other industries. While children can work unlimited hours from the age of 12 on, as long as they attend school, younger children have also been found in the fields.
The enforcement effort got a test in the blueberry harvest in North Carolina, which began in May. Some farmers were so concerned they hired no children.
"I picked blueberries last year, and my 4-year-old brother tried to, but he got stuck in the mud," Miguel, 12, the child of migrant farm workers. "The inspectors fined the farmers, and this year no kids are allowed."
WASHINGTON, (UPI) -- The Obama administration has stepped up enforcement of laws to guarantee U.S. farm workers get paid the minimum wage and to prevent child labor, officials say.
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, whose parents were migrant farm workers, told The New York Times larger fines are being levied against farmers who break the law and more inspectors have been hired. Migrant workers are usually paid by the amount harvested but are supposed to get at least $7.25 an hour.
For more than 60 years, farmers have been exempt from limits on child labor that apply in other industries. While children can work unlimited hours from the age of 12 on, as long as they attend school, younger children have also been found in the fields.
The enforcement effort got a test in the blueberry harvest in North Carolina, which began in May. Some farmers were so concerned they hired no children.
"I picked blueberries last year, and my 4-year-old brother tried to, but he got stuck in the mud," Miguel, 12, the child of migrant farm workers. "The inspectors fined the farmers, and this year no kids are allowed."