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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary

 
Bureau of International Labor Affairs; Notice of Public Hearing

    This document is a notice of public hearing to be held by the 
Department of Labor to gather information regarding products that might 
have been mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured 
child labor, for the purpose of implementing Executive Order No. 13126 
(``Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or 
Indentured Child Labor''). This Executive Order was published in the 
Federal Register on June 16, 1999 (64 FR 32383-32385).
    The hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 10, 1999, in Room N-
3437 at the Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, 
Washington, DC, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The hearing will be open to the 
public. This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the 
public.
    The Department of Labor is now accepting requests from all 
interested parties to provide oral or written testimony at the hearing. 
Each presentation will be limited to ten minutes. The Department is not 
able to provide financial assistance to those preparing written 
submissions. The Department is not able to provide financial assistance 
to those wishing to travel to attend the hearing. Those unable to 
attend the hearing are invited to submit written testimony. Parties 
interested in testifying at the child labor hearing should call Cortney 
Oren of the International Child Labor Program, (202) 208-4843 ext. 112, 
to be put on the roster.
    Pursuant to Section 2 of Executive Order No. 13126, and in 
consultation and cooperation with the Department of the Treasury and 
the Department of State, the Department of Labor is now taking steps to 
enable it to ``publish in the Federal Register a list of products, 
identified by their country of origin, that those Departments have a 
reasonable basis to believe might have been mined, produced, or 
manufactured by forced or indentured child labor.'' In compliance with 
the Executive Order, such a list will be published within 120 days of 
the date of publishing of the Executive Order or no later than October 
10, 1999.
    The Executive Order provides that ``[t]he Department of Labor may 
conduct hearings to assist in the identification of'' products to be 
included on the list required by the Executive Order. Information 
provided at the hearing will be considered by the Department of Labor 
in preparing the list.
    Testimony at the hearing should be relevant to the topic of 
products ``mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part by forced 
or indentured child labor.'' With respect to industries where forced or 
indentured child labor may occur, but where programs have been 
implemented to eliminate child labor, the Department is also seeking 
testimony regarding the effectiveness of such programs.
    Under section 6(c) of the Executive Order, ``forced or indentured 
child labor'' is defined as:

all work or service (1) exacted from any person under the age of 18 
under the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which 
the worker does not offer himself voluntarily; or (2) performed by 
any person under the age of 18 pursuant to a contract the 
enforcement of which can be accomplished by process or penalties.

    This definition is consistent with the Tariff Act of 1930, 19 
U.S.C. 1307.
    Among the products and countries that may be examined by the 
Department are those mentioned in the following Department of Labor 
reports on child labor: By the Sweat and Toil of Children (Volume I): 
The Use of Child Labor in U.S. Manufactured and Mined Imports, and By 
the Sweat and Toil of Children (Volume II): The Use of Child Labor in 
U.S. Agricultural Imports and Forced and Bonded Child Labor. These 
reports can be accessed on the

[[Page 36923]]

Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/
childnew.htm or can be obtained from the International Child Labor 
Program. The Department of Labor will examine other recent 
developments, including additional products and countries where forced 
and indentured child labor has been identified as a problem.

DATES: The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 10, 1999. The 
deadline for being placed on the roster for oral testimony is 5 p.m. on 
August 3, 1999. Presenters will be required to submit five (5) written 
copies of their oral testimony to the International Child Labor Program 
by 5 p.m., August 3, 1999. The record will be kept open for additional 
written testimony until 5 p.m., August 17, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Written testimony should be addressed to the International 
Child Labor Program, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-
5303, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, 
Washington, DC 20210, fax: (202) 219-4923.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cortney Oren, International Child 
Labor Program, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Room S-5303, U.S. 
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210; 
telephone: (202) 208-4843; fax (202) 219-4923. Persons with 
disabilities who need special accommodations should contact Cortney 
Oren by August 3, 1999.
    All written or oral comments submitted pursuant to the public 
hearing will be made part of the record of review referred to above and 
will be available for public inspection.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 30th day of June, 1999.
Andrew J. Samet,
Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 99-17239 Filed 7-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-28-P