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FINGERS TO THE BONE:
UNITED STATES FAILURE TO PROTECT CHILD FARMWORKERS
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Copyright © June 2000 by Human Rights Watch
All Rights Reserved
ISBN 1-56432-249-1
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 00-104893


TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I. SUMMARY

II. RECOMMENDATIONS
To The United States Congress
To the Wage and Hour Division, United States Department of Labor
To The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), United States Department of Labor, and to "State-Plan" States
To The Environmental Protection Agency
To All States

III. ADOLESCENT FARMWORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES: ENDANGERMENT AND EXPLOITATION
Introduction
Farmworker Poverty
Vulnerability of Farmworkers
Farm Labor Contractors
Health and Safety Risks

Hazardous Conditions; Work-Related Illnesses Hazardous Equipment; Work-Related Injuries
Depression and Substance Abuse
Underage Workers
Wage and Hour Concerns The Effect of Farmwork on Education
Special Risks to Girls
Sexual Harassment

IV. U.S. LAWS AND THEIR ENFORCEMENT: AN ONGOING FAILURE TO PROTECT CHILDREN WORKING IN AGRICULTURE
The Fair Labor Standards Act and Enforcement by the Department of Labor

The Worker Protection Standard and other Environmental Protection Agency Regulations and their Enforcement Field Sanitation Standards: Federal OSHA and OSHA-Approved State Plans and their Enforcement V. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL LAW
Violation of International Non-Discrimination Laws
ILO Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention)
The Convention on the Rights of the Child

APPENDIX A: Selected Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 - 219

APPENDIX B: International Labor Organization Convention 182 and Recommendations

APPENDIX C: Excerpts from the Convention on the Rights of the Child
 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was researched and written by Lee Tucker, consultant to the Children's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. It was edited by Lois Whitman, Executive Director of the Children's Rights Division, and Michael McClintock, Deputy Program Director of Human Rights Watch. Other Human Rights Watch staff who assisted substantially in the review or preparation of this report were: Dinah PoKempner, Deputy General Counsel of Human Rights Watch; Jo Becker, Children's Rights Division Advocacy Director; Shalu Rozario, Children's Rights Division Associate; and Lance Compa, Program Researcher.

We are grateful to the many people and organizations who offered their assistance and expertise in connection with this report, not all of whom can be named. In particular, we thank: Diane Mull of the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs; Darlene Adkins of the National Consumers League Child Labor Coalition; Emma Torres, Coordinator of Bridges in Friendship: A Project of the Border Health Foundation; Gary Restaino, former staff attorney of Community Legal Services in Phoenix; Rupert Sandoval, Coordinator of the Arizona Interagency Farmworkers Coalition; David Dick and Maria Elena Badilla of Pinal-Gila Legal Aid Society; Janice Porter and Sister Emily Gezich of Aguila, Arizona; Blanca Rodriguez, United Farm Workers attorney in Sunnyside, Washington; Gina Lombardi of the National Center for Farmworker Health; Michelle Gonzalez Arroyo of the Labor Occupational Health Program at the University of California in Berkeley; and Dr. Marion Moses of the Pesticide Information Center. Dr. John Arnold of Project PPEP in Tucson offered great assistance by putting us in touch with several other Project PPEP staff members-teachers Karen Lowe, Jimmy Pruitt, and Doug Davidson, and regional directors Augie Zaragoza and Raoul Salazar-all of whom were extremely helpful and to whom we give our heartfelt thanks.

Many government officials gave graciously of their time, sharing information and responding to our queries. Our thanks to: Corlis Sellers, Libby Hendrix, and Esther LaPlante of the U.S. Department of Labor; Marcos Cordoba of the Arizona Department of Economic Security; Art Morelos of the Industrial Commission of Arizona; Frank Zamudio of the Arizona Department of Agriculture; Kevin Keaney of the Environmental Protection Agency; and Cindy O'Hara of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Natural Resources Defense Council's excellent report, "Trouble on the Farm: Growing up with Pesticides in Agricultural Communities," was invaluable to our report and is cited numerous times. We gratefully acknowledge the NRDC and author Dr. Gina Solomon for this outstanding contribution, as well as their ongoing work aimed at protecting children from pesticides. We also acknowledge the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine for their comprehensive 1998 book, Protecting Youth at Work, cited frequently in our report

Above all, Human Rights Watch would like to thank all of the children and youth who shared their experiences with us, making this report possible. In order to protect their privacy, all of their names have been changed except where otherwise noted.