More help from Big Government:
A proposal from the Obama administration to prevent children from doing farm chores has drawn plenty of criticism from rural-district members of Congress. But now it’s attracting barbs from farm kids themselves.
Under the rules, children under 18 could no longer work “in the storing, marketing and transporting of farm product raw materials.”
Which, in suburban terms, means the kids can’t do anything on the farm actually related to farming. What’s left? If we take the “family” out of family farm, we’re done. I grew up driving tractors, baling hay, harvesting crops, repairing equipment, and mowing grass (lots of grass) on our farm that we worked on the weekends we escaped from suburbia and I’m far better for it. Yes there were dangers involved and it was up to my parents, not the Federal, to decide when I was ready to tackle the big jobs.
Work ethic, responsibility, accountability – farm kids learn this stuff at an early age and we are to believe that this is a bad thing they must be protected from?
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Just saw this from Beth Donovan. In-freaking-credible. More help from the Labor Department…”Government”.
I just saw this article. I was livid. I don’t have kids, but if I did, they would be working on the farm right along side me, as my ancestors have done. Even our foster children use to do farm chores, and the DHS thought it was “great” for them. It’s about time the government leaves us family farms alone.
I just reread the rule. According to the The FLSA it ” also provides a complete exemption for youths employed on farms owned by their parents.”
Kids working on family farms are exempt.
Good catch Clover, I should have done more reading. Even so, this will have a huge impact on summer employment for rural kids. My parents would have a tough time without the high school kids they hire every summer.
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