Sponsors (5)
The bill extends federal child-labor protections to tobacco-related farm work, improving safety and lowering health risks for children and families while imposing higher compliance costs on growers and potentially reducing income for some low-income rural families.
Children under 18 who work with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves are newly covered by federal child-labor protections, reducing their exposure to toxic nicotine and agricultural pesticides.
Employers in tobacco agriculture must follow federal child-labor standards for tobacco-related tasks, strengthening oversight and labor-safety compliance in rural farming communities.
Parents and families may face lower health risks and reduced long-term medical costs for children who would otherwise be exposed to hazardous conditions in tobacco work.
Tobacco growers and farm operators may incur higher compliance and staffing costs if minors can no longer perform certain tobacco-related tasks.
Low-income rural families that rely on income earned by working children could lose that source of earnings or see reduced hours for their children.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Makes direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves by under‑18 employees explicitly subject to FLSA child‑labor protections.
Official title: Amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit employment of children in tobacco-related agriculture as oppressive child labor.
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Richard Joseph Durbin · Last progress May 13, 2025
Makes any work by employees under 18 that involves direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s child-labor protections. It removes tobacco-related agricultural work from a prior exclusion so that under-18 employees with direct contact with tobacco are explicitly covered by the child-employment rules. The change narrows the child-employee exclusion in current law and would require employers and farms that involve children in tobacco handling to follow federal child-labor restrictions and protections.