In Nebraska, we’re known for having a strong work ethic and an eagerness to learn. For generations, farms and ranches have been a place where many of our young people have discovered these valuable life lessons. Memories of feeding cattle at sunrise, showing livestock at the county fair, and lending a hand during fall harvest have instilled lifelong values in young adults. So it’s no surprise that a proposed rule from the Department of Labor, which would ban teenagers under the age of 16 from working on a farm or ranch not owned by their parents, is striking a chord across the state. Hundreds of you have shared your concerns with me in recent weeks and I agree that this rule would go too far.
Richard and Lori Christy run a small detasseling business in Hastings. During the summer, they employ roughly 250 students from around the area. The Christys worry this rule may not only cripple their detasseling business, it could also keep their own children from earning money they often use to save for college.
“Not only has receiving a paycheck given our kids spending money, but it has also taught them to save, to prepare for the future,” Lori wrote me. “They now have an understanding of working hard and appreciating what their money buys.”
The learning opportunities provided to these young people are invaluable, as even teenagers themselves have asserted. In a recent Lincoln Journal Star article, 13-year-old Danae Welling of Ashland proclaimed, “When I saw that the Department of Labor was preventing me from having my summer job, I wanted to scream, cry and punch something, all at the same time…that may seem overly dramatic to you, but detasseling was the best job I ever had.”
We all want our children safe, and no one questions the importance of workplace safety. That’s obvious. But a proposed rule that fails to take into account all of the positive experiences teenagers can learn in an agriculture setting is deeply concerning. This broad-brush approach could even capture 4-H and livestock activities.
Last week, I wrote to the Obama Administration’s Labor Secretary asking for an overhaul of the proposed rule, taking into consideration all of the unintended consequences it could have on rural America and young people in agriculture. The public comment period to weigh in on the proposed rule ended December 1st, and I hope the Labor Department will take into account what Nebraskans and all those who shared their concerns had to say and redraft the rule.
The proposal raises serious questions about the Administration’s knowledge of rural America. I grew up on a farm, and I understand firsthand the potential downside of this regulatory overreach. I will continue encourage the Department of Labor to find a better solution that doesn’t disrupt the valuable experience our young people gain from the time honored tradition of working on the farm.