Govt backs off new limits on child labor on farms - KTIV News 4 Sioux City IA: News, Weather and Sports

Under heavy pressure from farm groups, the Obama administration is dropping an effort to prevent children from doing hazardous work on farms owned by anyone other than their parents.

The Labor Department says it is withdrawing proposed rules that would ban children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment. The rules also would prevent those younger than 18 from working in feed lots, grain bins and stockyards.

The agency says thousands of comments have expressed concern about the impact of the changes on small family-owned farms. Many farm groups have complained that the rules would upset traditions in which children often work alongside relatives other than parents to learn how a farm operates.  Government officials have said their goal was to protect children from life-threatening injuries.

Child labor groups say they are stunned and disappointed at the news.  They say more children will die in farm accidents that could have been prevented.

The plan specifically excluded children on farms owned or run by their parents. But it became a popular political target for Republicans who called it a heavy-handed regulation that ignored the reality of small farms.

Government officials say they will work with farm groups to protect kids.