House Journal: Page 589: Monday, March 4, 2002
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE
A copy of the following communication was received and placed on
file:
March 1, 2002
The Honorable Mary Kramer
President of the Senate
State Capitol Building
L O C A L
Dear President Kramer:
I hereby disapprove and transfer Senate File 2121, an act relating to permitted and
prohibited occupations for certain child laborers involving motor vehicle cleaning,
washing, and polishing, and providing an effective date.
As it is drafted, Senate File 2121 would exempt businesses engaged in automobile
cleaning from the current child labor laws that prohibit youth from working with
dangerous or poisonous dyes or chemicals [Iowa Code 92.8(19)]. As written, this bill
would allow workers under 18 years old to come into contact with any chemical used in
the automobile cleaning, washing, and polishing processes-including those that are
corrosive, toxic, and even potentially fatal.
Our child labor laws were created to provide safeguards for young people in the
workplace. While I realize the important role that summer and after-school jobs play
to instill the value of hard work to our young people, we must strike a balance that will
afford our youth this opportunity for rewarding experience while also maintaining their
health and safety. Although this bill would require youth to use protective equipment,
I am not convinced that this requirement will always provide adequate protections
from toxic, corrosive, or potentially fatal chemicals.
Senate File 2121 was originally designed to provide businesses a vehicle through
which they could continue to employ teenagers in car washing jobs. No one disagrees
with the goal of continued employment for our young people in cleaning automobiles.
Unfortunately, the bill's language goes too far and could allow child laborers to be put
into dangerous work settings.
Realizing that the solution to this issue must be a two-prong approach that ensures
both employment access and worker safety, I have instructed the Iowa Division of
Labor to issued an official interpretation of "dangerous or poisonous dyes or chemicals"
as it relates to our child labor laws. This interpretation will clarify the chemicals that
child laborers may come into contact with while maintaining the safety that they need
in the workplace. Earlier today, the Labor Commissioner issued this official
interpretation of the definition of "dangerous or poisonous dyes or chemicals" as
reference in Iowa Code 92.8(19). Further, I have directed the Division of Labor to
continue to work with the automobile dealers in our state to ensure that we strike the
right balance to maintain both safety and employment opportunities for young Iowans.
© 2002 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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