Labor Department boosts penalties for child labor
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is sharply increasing the penalties against employers who illegally use child workers.

Anyone illegally employing 12- and 13-year-olds will now face a penalty of $6,000 for each violation. The maximum fine previously was $900. Those employing children under 12 will face a penalty of $8,000 per violation. That’s up from a previous maximum of $1,150.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the new fines are part of a stepped-up effort to crack down on illegal child labor. The penalties could go as high as $11,000 per violation in cases that involve injury or willful and repeated offenders.

The stiffer penalties are effective immediately and apply to any violation occurring on or after June 1.

In related news, the DOL said it’s stepping up enforcement of child-labor laws during Michigan’s blueberry harvest after last year finding violations including children as young as 6 working in a grower’s fields.

The department announced June 15 that its Wage and Hour Division would be checking on growers throughout the harvest, including during weekends and after regular working hours, to ensure rules are being followed.

Last year, the DOL said a check of 35 randomly selected farms in Michigan led to eight being fined about $36,000 in all for violating federal migrant-housing and child-labor laws. Ten others were cited but not fined.

USDA touts tighter meat industry antitrust rules

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) — The Obama administration on Friday proposed new antitrust rules for meat companies that reflect a willingness by the USDA to shift the balance of power between farmers and processors, and to regulate an industry long dominated by a handful of corporate giants.

The rules would place the sharpest limits on meat companies since the Great Depression, drastically lowering the bar that farmers and ranchers must meet to sue companies whom they accuse of demanding unfairly low prices.

They would limit the control chicken companies have over the farmers who raise birds for them. The law would also make it easier to file suits under the Depression-era Packers and Stockyards Act by stating that farmers don’t need to prove industrywide anticompetitive behavior to file a lawsuit under the act.

“I think it’s fair to say that what we’re proposing is aggressive,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in an interview with The Associated Press. “The reality is, the Packers and Stockyards Act has not kept pace with the marketplace ... Our job is to make sure the playing field is level for producers.”

“They’re basically trying to roll back time,” said Mark Dopp, policy director for the American Meat Institute. “This rule attempts on many levels to undercut all the progress that’s been made” in the meat industry.

Farmers and meat companies have until Aug. 23 to submit comments on the rules. Vilsack said there is no set date for implementing them after that deadline.

Fish farm drops Indiana site after opposition

KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — A Florida-based fish farm operator dropped the western Howard County community of Russiaville from its expansion plans Saturday after resistance from neighbors opposed to industrial expansion of any sort in their midst.

The Perfect Ocean Corp. no longer was considering the site about 45 miles north of Indianapolis, the Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance said.

“We have spent the past few months in positive negotiations with the prospect to position Howard County favorably,” the statement said. “Due to the company’s project needs, the site near Russiaville is no longer being considered as a possible location.”

Norm Schmitt, a leader among the opponents who said he was prepared to go to court to stop the project, expressed relief at the company’s change of heart. “It didn’t have anything to do with that company,” he said. “We don’t want an industry out here.”

He and other area residents feared the company’s plans could decrease property values or affect wells and septic systems. Alliance President Jeb Conrad said the company still was looking at other undisclosed Howard County sites.

Spokesman Austin Davis said Perfect Ocean was looking for locations for 50-60 facilities it plans to open over the next decade on several continents. The company has already identified a site in southwestern Kentucky, he said.

Farm accident kills 8-year-old Illinois boy

SULLIVAN, Ill. (AP) — An 8-year-old central Illinois boy is dead after a farm accident.

Moultrie County Coroner Lynn Reed said Nathaniel Graber died June 14 after a piece of farm equipment fell on him at the farm just east of Sullivan. The town is about 40 miles southwest of Champaign.
Reed said the boy was playing with his brother in his family’s yard at about 8:30 p.m. when a hay tedder fell on him from a trailer. Reed does not plan a coroner’s inquest.

Group files complaint against Indiana egg company

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Humane Society of the United States has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission to stop an egg producer from making what the animal welfare group claims are misleading statements about conditions at its egg farms.

The Humane Society filed the complaint June 16 against Seymour, Ind.-based Rose Acres Farms. It said Rose Acre falsely claims it provides a “humane and friendly” environment for hens. The group said an investigation at the company’s three Iowa farms showed hens trapped in wires of cages; hens unable to reach food or water; hens with broken bones; and dead hens in cages with live hens.
Rose Acre spokesman K.Y. Hendrix said he wasn’t aware of the complaint, but disputed the claims and said the company follows industry guidelines for animal welfare.