Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown, Reed, Feinstein Call On Department Of Labor To Regulate Child Labor On Tobacco Farms
Children as young as 12 can work on tobacco farms despite research showing that this exposure to nicotine can have long-term impacts on brain development
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) today sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Deputy Secretary Julie Su urging them to use the rulemaking process to protect child workers from the dangers of working in tobacco fields. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, children at the age of 12 can begin working unlimited hours on tobacco farms with parental permission as long as they are still attending school. However, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2018 that children working in agriculture, including on tobacco farms, account for more than half of work-related fatalities, despite the fact that fewer than six percent of child workers are employed on farms.
“We are gravely concerned about the dangers that children face while working in tobacco fields in our country, and urge you to initiate a new rulemaking process to update the list of hazardous agricultural occupations prohibited for hired child workers under the age of sixteen to include tobacco,” the Senators began their letter.
The Senators reminded the Department of Labor (DOL) of the occupational health risks of tobacco farming and emphasized the long-term impacts this labor can have on brain development.
“Research has shown that children working in tobacco farming experience common symptoms of nicotine poisoning while handling tobacco, including nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. Nicotine is a neurotoxin, and the U.S. Surgeon General has warned that nicotine exposure is especially dangerous during adolescence due to its impact on brain development,” the Senators wrote.
The Senators concluded their letter by urging DOL to implement new regulations that would prohibit children under the age of 16 from working on tobacco farms and noted that installing new restrictions is a matter of racial justice, as children of color are disproportionally impacted by agricultural exemptions in U.S. labor law.
“We urge the Department of Labor to defend the rights and dignity of children working in tobacco fields by updating regulations to better protect workplace safety on farms. This is not just an imperative matter of protecting children from exploitative work, but also of defending racial justice and equity—the agricultural exemptions in U.S. labor law have continued to disproportionately harm children of color,” the Senators wrote.
“We believe a new rulemaking effort that bans child labor on tobacco farms and enhances protections in existing Hazardous Occupations Orders is critical. We therefore request that the Department of Labor move forward to protect children working on tobacco farms from injury and illness,” the Senators concluded.
Since 2015, Durbin has introduced the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act, along with Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI-01). The legislation amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields by categorizing this work as oppressive child labor.
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
February 8, 2023
Dear Secretary Walsh,
We are gravely concerned about the dangers that children face while working in tobacco fields in our country, and urge you to initiate a new rulemaking process to update the list of hazardous agricultural occupations prohibited for hired child workers under the age of sixteen to include tobacco.
We know from decades of research that child farmworkers face serious occupational safety and health risks, and experience high injury rates. On tobacco farms, children are exposed to toxic tobacco plants containing nicotine. Research has shown that children working in tobacco farming experience common symptoms of nicotine poisoning while handling tobacco, including nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. Nicotine is a neurotoxin, and the U.S. Surgeon General has warned that nicotine exposure is especially dangerous during adolescence due to its impact on brain development.
The tobacco industry has recognized the risks to children of nicotine exposure—several industry leaders have adopted policies to prohibit or oppose hired work by younger children on farms, but these commitments lack the enforcement mechanisms of regulations. In addition, research has shown that the implementation of company policies is inconsistent, and found that some children under the age of sixteen have continued to work on tobacco farms even after these commitments were made.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended in 2002 that the Department of Labor update the list of hazardous agricultural occupations prohibited for children under sixteen. It is clear that additional measures are needed to protect the lives and health of children.
We urge the Department of Labor to defend the rights and dignity of children working in tobacco fields by updating regulations to better protect workplace safety on farms. This is not just an imperative matter of protecting children from exploitative work, but also of defending racial justice and equity—the agricultural exemptions in U.S. labor law have continued to disproportionately harm children of color, as the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recently noted.
We believe a new rulemaking effort that bans child labor on tobacco farms and enhances protections in existing Hazardous Occupations Orders is critical. We therefore request that the Department of Labor move forward to protect children working on tobacco farms from injury and illness.
Sincerely,
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