Capitol Notebook: Iowa lowers fines for businesses that violate law limiting hours kids can work

DES MOINES — Iowa businesses that allow children to work longer hours than allowed under the state’s relaxed child labor laws will face lower fines.

A bipartisan panel of Iowa House and Senate lawmakers met Monday to review administrative rules adopted and filed by the Iowa Labor Services Division. The rules, which take effect Wednesday, cap civil penalties for businesses that violate restrictions governing when and how long children may work to $2,500 per instance. That's down from the current fine of $10,000 per instance.

The changes also increase the amount by which the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing can reduce penalties based on the size of the business. For example, a business with 25 or fewer employees could receive a 35 percent reduction.

The new rules do not apply to violations that result in a child's death and do not change penalties for workplace safety or hazardous conditions violations.

The new rules are the result of a Republican-led law passed in 2023 that loosened work requirements for teens as young as 14. The new law allows teens to work longer hours and at more jobs, including some that were previously considered hazardous.

A spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing told The Gazette last month the adopted rules provide “a reasonable penalty,” and that employers “should not be subject to the same fine as an employer that is unlawfully subjecting a minor to hazardous conditions.”

Statehouse Democrats and Iowa labor union leaders argued that reducing penalties rewards bad behavior and further weakens protections for Iowa teens working longer hours.

Peter Hird with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, noted the rules also remove a requirement that a parent be present when the child is working at a parent's business.

“Most family businesses have the best intentions in mind. We are concerned with the potential of bad actors,” Hird told lawmakers. “For example, we have seen children on (construction) job sites and working night shifts in (meat) packing plants.”

The federal government has imposed hefty fines on several Iowa businesses found violating child labor laws in the last two years, including those involved in meatpacking plants where minors were tasked with overnight sanitation shifts, handling dangerous machinery, and using corrosive chemicals.

“If a parent owned a contracting business such as these examples … the parent will be permitted to leave a child unsupervised, which would place a child in a precarious position,” Hird said.

“We believe the law should act as a deterrent to discourage employers from employing children at times when they should be receiving education or getting the necessary rest,” he said. “ … If anything, we should be increasing penalties for this type of behavior.”

Democratic lawmakers echoed the sentiment.

Iowa’s governor and all-Republican congressional delegation last summer called on the U.S. Department of Labor under former President Joe Biden to reassess its enforcement of teen labor laws in the wake of issuing fines to several Iowa restaurants that allowed teens to work later than permitted under federal rules.

The Iowa Restaurant Association said several Iowa restaurant owners faced fines ranging from $50,000 to $180,000 for following the new state law loosening work requirements for teens that conflicts with federal child labor regulations.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa’s federal lawmakers called the fines “excessive.”

Federal labor officials explicitly warned lawmakers and the governor that employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act who follow the less-restrictive Iowa law would be subject to penalties.

Rally against pesticide company legal shield law

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During a rally held in the Iowa Capitol Rotunda Monday, attendees urged lawmakers to oppose a bill they referred to as the “cancer gag act,” which would shield pesticide manufacturing companies from lawsuits over failure to warn consumers about the health risks of their products.

Senate Study Bill 1051, which was advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee last week, would shield agriculture chemical manufacturer Bayer from lawsuits claiming the company failed to warn consumers of health risks if the product label complies with federal labeling requirements. Bayer argues that since the Environmental Protection Agency has determined glyphosate is not carcinogenic, the company should not be required to put cancer warnings on Roundup.

Although the EPA has cleared glyphosate of posing cancer risks, a federal district court requested that the agency review that decision in 2022, according to Reuters. The International Agency for Research on Cancer determined it is "probably carcinogenic to humans."

The Monday rally, organized by Food and Water Watch, had more than 150 attendees, according to the organization.

During the rally, attendees held a vigil for cancer victims and shared stories of family members impacted by cancer in Iowa. They pointed to Bayer pesticides as the main reason for their family's history with the disease and said the shield law would make it more difficult for them to take legal action against chemical manufacturing companies.

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Iowa has the fastest-growing rate of new cancers and ranks second-highest in cancer rates compared to other states, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry.

Nick Schutt of Alden spoke about how cancer has touched nearly all of his family members, including himself. He comes from a farming family and currently grows corn and soybeans while also working for the Hamilton County Solid Waste Commission. He placed party hats on the vigil table for his and his sister’s birthday on Monday. She passed away from cancer at the age of 56.

“It's obvious our legislators are not fighting for me. They’re fighting for Monsanto. They're fighting for that campaign contribution. When do they start fighting for us? When do they start fighting for people?” Schutt told the Gazette-Lee Des Moines bureau.

“This is out of my realm to want to do this, and so it shows how very important it is to me and my family.”

Bayer purchased Monsanto, the company that created Roundup, in 2018. Roundup is primarily produced in Muscatine and Bayer has multiple crop science plants across Iowa.

Nancy Huisinga, a former public health and hospice nurse, said she lost a lot of her patients and family members to cancer, including her 11-year-old nephew. She said farmers should have the right to take companies like Bayer to court over failure to warn about a product’s health risks.

“Farming is the lifeblood of this state,” Huisinga said. “Do we make chemical manufacturers be responsible for all cancer in the state? No. Do we stand up for people who have an illness related to manufactured carcinogens and protect their right to be able to take the manufacturer to court for damages? Absolutely.

“All we are asking is the right to recourse, the right to sue if someone threatens our lives.”

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House Republicans’ school funding proposal advances

House Republicans’ proposal to increase general state funding to public K-12 schools by 2.25 percent advanced through the chamber’s subcommittee and budget committee on Monday.

House Republicans expect to debate their proposal, House Study Bill 138, later this week; Senate Republicans have scheduled to debate their proposal for a 2 percent increase on Tuesday.

Lobbyists representing education groups on Monday expressed their preference for House Republicans’ proposal, which includes a higher general funding increase, a one-time general funding infusion to help districts account for inflationary costs, increases to address per pupil funding and transportation inequities, and funding to help districts’ operational sharing budgets.

Lobbyists for state school boards, administrators, and urban schools all testified that they prefer the House proposal. A lobbyist for the statewide teachers union agreed, but also said the union believes the House proposal still falls well short of what school districts need, citing a need for a 5 percent general funding increase.

Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau