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  • From: Richard Stewart <rstewart AT zoomtown.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Federal Department of Labor stopped by to look around...
  • Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2011 22:04:50 -0400

Andy

We are talking about child labor and interstate commerce.  Unless your members work more than 500 man hours, collective in a quarter then the CSA does not matter even if you do engage in some form of interstate commerce.

States have different laws in this case the State of Ohio and our insurance company has ZERO problem with what we are doing also, as does the Department of Labor.

They simply gave me some information to avoid and warned that the children accompanying the adults CSA members COULD violate the law if they were actually providing ANY labor.  Our CSA members work in general areas not just on their specific harvest.  They will weed a bed of fennel and will never harvest all the fennel for themselves.  Today we had two members help us harvest for market.  If children did any of these tasks OR our man hours went over 500 in a quarter the CSA portion of our business would be in violation of federal law.

Its all about that interstate commerce.  You can disagree with me all you want, but when a Fed comes onto my farm and tells me this is what I need to watch for so as not to be in violation of federal law...well, I have a business to run and do not plan on being the poster child for dumb farmers that ignore federal laws.  :)

I am simply sharing my experience.  Take it or leave it.

Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm Est. 1855

(513) 967-1106

On Jun 15, 2011, at 3:38 PM, Andy Fellenz wrote:

I guess we must be doing something different than you.  I offer my members a $50 rebate if they do 12 hours of work on the farm and when I asked the question to both my insurance and NY several years ago I was told that this would be considered like PYO, not employment.

Andy




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