The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), which had sought in 2011 to increase protections for children working in agriculture, has agreed to ”re-propose the portion of its regulation on child labor in agriculture interpreting the ‘parental exemption.’” The original proposal sought to update a 40-year-old rule in light of data showing that “children are significantly more likely to be killed while performing agricultural work than while working in all other industries combined.” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack applauded the action, saying, “The Labor Department listened to farmers and ranchers across the country. This announcement and the additional opportunity for comment represent a common-sense approach to strengthen our agricultural economy while keeping kids safe.” Critical responses from a number of lawmakers and the agricultural sector led DOL to reconsider its action. Under the revised rule, children of any age employed by their parent or a person standing in the place of the…
Category Archives Issue 425
A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association claims that a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages would reduce consumption by 15 percent among adults ages 25 to 64 years. Y. Claire Wang, et al., “A Penny-Per Ounce Tax on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Would Cut Health and Cost Burdens of Diabetes,” Health Affairs, January 2012. Researchers apparently used data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2003-06) to estimate that, between 2010 and 2020, the tax would “prevent 2.4 million diabetes person-years, 95,000 coronary heart events, 8,000 strokes, and 26,000 premature deaths, while avoiding $17 billion in medical costs.” In addition, the scheme would purportedly raise $13 billion in annual tax revenue. In particular, the study notes that the “low price of these beverages, along with their mass marketing, has undoubtedly fueled their widespread overconsumption by both adults and children,” who allegedly drink as much…
The Association of National Advertisers’ 2012 Advertising Law & Public Policy Conference will reportedly target how best “to navigate today’s complex marketing landscape and remain on the cutting edge in an ever-challenging legal and regulatory environment.” Slated for March 28-29, 2012, in Washington, D.C., the conference will include sessions on (i) global views of online behavioral advertising and self regulation, (ii) coping with changes in class-action law, (iii) expectations from the U.S. Supreme Court, (iv) “how the long arm of criminal law is increasingly reaching into marketers’ boardrooms and impacting in-house counsel,” and (v) key issues facing federal agencies.
The Center for Progressive Reform has issued a paper titled “Protecting the Public from BPA: An Action Plan for Federal Agencies.” Contending that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which is used extensively in food contact materials, has negative health effects in low doses and that federal agencies have failed, to date, to regulate it, the center outlines short-term and long-term actions they should take. Among other matters, the paper suggests that the Food and Drug Administration use its new mandatory recall authority under the Food Safety Modernization Act to “recall certain foods containing toxins such as BPA, if the health hazard concerns become too great and traditional regulatory methods ineffective at protecting the public.” The paper also recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) update its Integrated Risk Information System, which contains toxicological profiles on industrial chemicals, “to include current data to reflect the risks that have recently come to light,…
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