Future Logging Careers Act
The Future Logging Careers Act would modify federal child labor rules in the Fair Labor Standards Act to create a new framework for 16- and 17-year-olds working in logging. It adds new definitions so that many logging-related jobs—especially those done with machinery—could fall under a logging operation. It also carves out two activities from that definition (manual chainsaw use and cable skidder use). Importantly, the bill does not grant a blanket exemption from all child labor laws; instead, it says that for 16- and 17-year-olds working in logging in occupations that the Secretary of Labor identifies as particularly hazardous, the existing child labor protections still apply, with an exception for certain parental employment. In short, the bill would broaden which logging tasks are treated as subject to looser rules, but keep safety protections in place for the identified hazardous occupations and for some parental employers.
Key Points
- 1Defines “Logging operation” to include mechanized activities and a wide range of timber-related tasks, such as bucking, loading, transporting, and maintaining roads or equipment used in logging.
- 2Explicitly excludes manual use of chainsaws to fell/process timber and the use of cable skidders from the definition of a logging operation.
- 3Adds new language in Section 13(c) stating that for 16- and 17-year-olds employed in a logging operation, the child labor protections apply only to occupations the Secretary of Labor finds and designates as “particularly hazardous” for youth, with a key exception for parental employment.
- 4Includes a parental exception: if the minor is employed by a parent or someone standing in the place of a parent at a logging operation owned or operated by that parent or person, certain hazard protections do not apply.
- 5Status and sponsor information: Introduced in the Senate on February 11, 2025, sponsored by Mr. Risch and co-sponsors, referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.