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Department of Labor


USDA Takes Steps to Prevent Illegal Child Labor

April 12, 2023 USDA Office of Communications

Since 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has seen a 69 percent increase in children being employed illegally by companies. In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In February...

Equity Initiatives

Veterans Returning to Civilian Life Bring Skill and Talent to Farm and Ranch

November 10, 2016 Lanon Baccam, Deputy Under Secretary, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services and Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison

In honor of Veterans Day, Deputy Under Secretary Lanon Baccam provided Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with an overview of USDA’s support for veterans. Baccam, a proud army veteran, also serves as the Department’s Military Veterans Agriculture Liaison.

Initiatives Conservation Research and Science

From Camouflage to Crops - USDA Offers Veterans New Career Opportunities

November 09, 2016 Karen T. Comfort, Deputy Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service

At USDA, we are thankful for the military men and women who are serving or have served this nation. We are committed to providing them with opportunities for their next career to be in agriculture. USDA employs more than 11,000 veterans and since 2009 have provided more than $505 million in direct...

Initiatives

Seizing the TechHire Opportunity in Rural America

June 27, 2016 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Jeffrey Zients, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy

Cross-posted from the WhiteHouse.gov blog: There’s an exciting trend underway across the country. More and more, major companies are leaving offshore hubs and turning to rural communities in America for high-quality IT talent. In addition to a narrowing wage gap and higher quality of work in these...

Technology

Rural Means Business: Bringing Tech Jobs to rural America

May 24, 2016 U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez

A group of coders in hooded sweatshirts and big headphones stare intently at their computer screens. In the corner, staff take a break at the foosball table, while a young woman in an oversized beanbag chair types away on her laptop. You might be picturing the headquarters of a Silicon Valley...

Technology

USDA Marks 50th Anniversary of the Job Corps

September 26, 2014 Meryl Harrell, Chief of Staff, Natural Resources and Environment

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Economic Opportunity Act. This Act, part of the government effort to wipe out poverty, created the Job Corps program, which has had a positive effect on countless young lives, giving them a chance to break multi-generational cycles of...

Conservation Forestry

Engaging the Next Generation with the Help of our Partners in Conservation

November 07, 2013 Robert Bonnie and Rhea Suh

When President Obama launched the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative in 2010, one of the top priorities included connecting our youth and veterans to our nation’s cultural and natural resources. President Obama wanted to foster a new generation of stewards to carry on our nation’s proud...

Conservation

Secretary's Column: Following Through to Keep Our Youth Safe on the Farm

September 27, 2013 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

It’s no secret that agricultural work is tough work – and as America’s farm families know, it can be dangerous. Last year, agriculture recorded the highest fatal injury rate of any industry, with the rate of on-the-job fatality in agriculture nearly seven times the rate for all U.S. workers. Adding...

Initiatives Conservation

Clarifying the Department of Labor's Child Labor Proposal

December 12, 2011 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Recently there has been some concern and confusion in rural America over the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed regulations on child labor and I’d like to help clarify how this regulation will impact our farmers. We all know that kids benefit from good old-fashioned farm work. It’s a longtime way...

Conservation
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