[Vision2020] Fwd: Helping young loggers get into to the woods

Fri Mar 13 12:14:15 PDT 2015

> Question:  Would a logging company employer be considered to be "a person
standing in the place of his parent" . . . much like a summer camp
supervisor?

The way I read it, the "logging company employer" would have to be the
parent for this exemption to take place.  That appears to be the whole
point - an owner of a logging company could train their kid to run the show
and wouldn't have to wait until they are 18 to have them gain experience in
areas that the FLSA would otherwise exempt them from based on their age.  I
took the "standing in the place of his parent" part to mean that another
employee in the company could hire the kid and/or pay them, as long as they
are delegated by the parent (who owns or operates the company).

You seem to be of the opinion that this opens it up for logging companies
to hire any 16 or 17 year old and work them into the ground.  This very
specifically exempts just the children of parents that own or operate such
a company from the FLSA rules for kids that age.  The child in question
would also have to want to work there, since they would have to get hired
by the company.

Anyway, I don't think this law is a great idea.  If it's OK to exempt your
own kid from the laws protecting 16 or 17 year olds from the dangers of the
job so they can learn the family business, then why not be able to exempt
other up-and-coming kids as well?  Can't the sons or daughters of owners of
logging outfits handle jobs for two years that aren't hazardous?  Does it
really set them back that much?

Paul

On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

> So, now we have Rep. Labrador slowly, but surely, disqualifying child
> labor laws by allowing logging companies to employ 16- and 17-year olds
> into the logging industry.
>
> A couple corrections concerning his newsletter . . .
>
> - The Future Logging Careers Act is neither HR 1215 nor S 694. It is . . .
>
> *Senate Bill 2335, The Future Logging Careers Act*
> http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113s2335is/pdf/BILLS-113s2335is.pdf
>
> - Senate Bill 2335 is quoted here:
>
>   ‘‘(8) The provisions of section 12 relating to child labor shall apply
> to an employee who is 16 or 17 years old employed in a logging or
> mechanized operation in an occupation that the Secretary of Labor finds and
> declares to be particularly hazardous for the employment of children ages
> 16 or 17, except where such employee is employed by his parent or by a
> person standing in the place of his parent in a logging or mechanized
> operation owned or operated by such parent or person.’’.
>
> Question:  Would a logging company employer be considered to be "a person
> standing in the place of his parent" . . . much like a summer camp
> supervisor?
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> *From:* Congressman Raul Labrador <raul.labrador at congressnewsletter.net>
> *Date:* March 13, 2015 at 8:05:04 AM PDT
> *To:* Thomas Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
> *Subject:* *Helping young loggers get into to the woods*
> *Reply-To:* 2100124448.153229.56 at congressnewsletter.net
>
> If you are having trouble viewing this message or would like to share it
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> .
>
>
>     *March 13, 2015*
>  [image: Congressman Raul Labrador, Representing the 1st District of
> Idaho]
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> Dear Friends,
>
> Last week I introduced the Future Logging Careers Act, a bill that would
> allow family-owned timber harvesters to train the next generation in one of
> Idaho’s most important natural resource industries.
>
> H.R. 1215 would extend an exemption already applied to agriculture and
> allow 16- and 17-year-old children to work for their parents in the woods.
>
> Like farming and ranching, timber harvesting is often a family business
> where the practice of felling and transporting timber from the forest to
> the mill passes from generation to generation. It’s only fair that the
> exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act for agriculture be applied to the
> timber industry.
>
> I first got the idea for this bill after meeting with two Idaho loggers
> from third-generation logging families, Tim Christopherson of Kamiah and
> Mark Mahon of Council. They worked in their family operations as teenagers.
>
> Christopherson started before he turned 18, thinking the ag exemption
> applied to logging. “If I hadn’t been able to work in the woods when I was
> young, I wouldn’t have chosen this career,” said Christopherson, whose
> family-owned DABCO Inc. employs 18 workers.
>
> Two years ago, Mahon’s son, J.T., was working for the family-owned Tom
> Mahon Logging when a U.S. Forest Service employee sent him home because of
> the lack of an exemption. J.T. plays football, basketball and runs track
> for the Council High School Lumberjacks.
>
> "He’s in better physical shape than I am,” said Mark Mahon, vice president
> of the Associated Logging Contractors of Idaho. “Working for their families
> provides a path for young people to get a taste of the industry. Once you
> get that in your blood, it’s kind of hard to get it out.”
>
> Tom Mahon Logging was started by J.T.’s great-grandfather, Joseph. Tom
> Mahon, 71, still works for the company, along with a second son, Joe. The
> company employs 12 people in Adams County, where unemployment reached 16
> percent during the Great Recession.
>
> “There are easier ways to make a living, but for us it’s a labor of love,”
> Mark Mahon said. “It’s who we are – loggers.”
>
> The Future Logging Careers Act is endorsed by the American Loggers
> Council, which represents harvesters in 30 states.
>
> “We strive to operate safely and want to be able to pass along this
> generation’s skills in professional harvesting to our next generation,”
> said Shawn Keough, executive director of the Associated Logging Contractors
> of Idaho. “This bill will allow us to train those who wish to follow in
> their family’s proud tradition. We applaud Congressman Labrador for his
> leadership.”
>
> My bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to allow 16- and
> 17-year-olds to work in mechanized logging operations under parental
> supervision. H.R. 1215 has nine original cosponsors from eight states,
> including Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho. This week, Idaho GOP Sens. Jim Risch
> and Mike Crapo introduced a companion bill in the Senate, S. 694.
>
> Thank you,
>
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