Idaho Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo this week introduced a bill that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 so that 16- and 17-year-olds would be allowed to work in mechanized logging operations under parental supervision, extending benefits enjoyed by others in the agriculture industry by allowing family members to learn the trade of logging from a younger age so that they may carry on the family business.
“In the logging industry, as in many other agricultural industries, family business is a way of life,” said Risch. “By lowering the age that young adults are able to begin helping their parents operate safe and modern machinery, we are helping to bolster the entire logging industry. These young loggers will help restore Idaho forests and all national forest lands into healthy, fire-tolerant forests and bring much-needed natural resources into the marketplace to make paper and build homes.”
“This legislation offers tomorrow’s leaders the family training to become the future of the industry and assist in the restoration of our national forests,” said Crapo. U.S. Congressman Raul Labrador has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
To learn more about the bill or to find out how to help, contact American Loggers Council President Danny Dructor.