MAJOR PROVISIONS OF THE HARKIN DOMESTIC CHILD LABOR BILL

Toughens penalties for willful violators up to $15,000, imprisonment of not more than five years or both in cases involving serious injury or death of a minor;

Establishes range of civil penalties from $500 -$15,000 for each under-age employee who was the subject of such violation;

Establishes a private right of action in cases where child labor violations result in serious bodily injury, serious illness, or death of a minor;

Preserves exemptions for children working on family farms;

Eliminates lesser protection and lower existing standards whereby children can work in large-scale commercial agriculture at younger age, for longer hours, and under more hazardous conditions than children in non-agricultural jobs;

Improves coordination and reporting among federal, state, and local governments and non-governmental organizations on injuries and deaths of minors on the job;

Improves collaboration between the U.S. Labor and Agriculture Departments in enforcement of federal child labor laws; and

Ensures full and fair consideration of the views of interested parties such as agricultural employers, workers, and injury prevention experts in the issuance of corresponding regulations.