Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 13, 1990 TAG: 9007130176
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
A special joint subcommittee studying child labor laws held the first of three public hearings on the issue at the Continuing Education Center.
Virginia's decades-old laws are outmoded for today's business economy, state officials say. Numerous discrepancies between state and the more stringent federal regulations also confuse and mislead employers.
A three-day nationwide sweep by federal investigators earlier this year turned up 47 companies in Virginia in violation of federal laws, involving more than 250 children.
The main problem is that companies doing interstate business are subject to federal laws, even though they comply with state laws, said Marilyn Mandel, research analyst with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. .
"Business today is not isolated within a locality or a state anymore," Mandel said. "You've got to assume that almost everybody is engaging in interstate business."
Department Commissioner Carol Amato told the legislators that the number of Virginia employers not subject to federal laws is minimal - primarily mom-and-pop grocery stores and small rural shops.
The subcommittee is studying ways to conform to the federal law, including cutting back on the hours 14- and 15-year-olds can work during the school year.
Federal law allows those teens to work only 18 hours per week, while Virginia allows a 40-hour week. Studies have shown a drop in grades among high school students who work more than 20 hours a week.
Violators of Virginia laws are subject to a $250 fine per violation, with no criminal sanctions. Federal laws allow criminal charges and fines up to $10,000 per violation.
Del. Joan Munford, D-Blacksburg, who heads the subcommittee, said the group hopes to propose new rules at the next General Assembly session early next year.
However, revisions in the child labor laws appear headed for political controversy on several levels. For instance, much to the concern of agribusiness, the subcommittee is considering regulating youths working on their family's farms, currently exempt.
Glen Hetzel, a Tech extension agent, told the subcommittee there are far more bicycle, sports and other types of accidents among children than occur in agricultural work.
He said there are no known cases in Virginia of children dying from exposure to pesticides while working on a farm, and only two or three child fatalities a year on the farm - usually unrelated to actual work.
Farm Bureau Association representative Mike Beahm told the lawmakers that children ought to be encouraged to work on their parents' farms. "I do not think you can legislate accidents out of existence," Beahm said.
Hetzel also said it would be hard to get farmers to report injuries. "You darn near have to kill a farmer to get him to see a doctor. They lick off the blood and go back to work."
Another speaker, Carl McDaniel with Virginia View which matches jobs and workers, stressed the importance of job experience for young workers in the service industry. McDaniel also said that some teens work to help support their low-income families.
Margaret Robinson, New River Valley health district director, said teens are exposed to many occupational hazards in the work place - burns and cuts in restaurants, carcinogenic fumes in gasoline at service stations, formaldehyde in the garment industry and pesticides.
But the extent of the problem is uncertain because of insufficient data on injuries among child laborers. Robinson urged the legislators to include children working on family farms in the revised laws, and to require the farms to report all injuries.
"That would be a very difficult thing to get passed," said Sen. William Fears, D-Accomack. "That's an American ethic, that children work on the farm. But I know it's dangerous."
The other public hearings are scheduled for Sept. 11 on the Eastern Shore and Oct. 10 in Fairfax County.
by CNB