Washington — A pair of House Democrats plan to introduce legislation they claim is “the most robust proposal yet” to combat illegal child labor.
Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who’s also a member of the committee, announced June 12 that the Protecting Children Act would provide federal worker protection agencies with the “tools and resources they need to deter violations and prevent harm to children from intensive work in dangerous jobs.”
The bill would:
- Increase civil and criminal penalties for child labor violations, unsafe workplaces, and workplace injuries and deaths experienced by young workers.
- Strengthen the Wage and Hour Division’s ability to prevent the sale and movement of goods produced in violation of child labor rules.
- Expand the Department of Labor’s enforcement, research and data capacity.
- Revise the process for updating child labor rules and prohibit any future weakening of those rules.
- Direct agencies to launch public information initiatives “to keep policymakers and the public informed about child labor enforcement and train young workers on their rights.”
According to data from the Wage and Hour Division, 736 child labor violations were recorded in fiscal year 2024. That total was 955 in FY 2023. DOL also issued more than $15 million and over $8 million in civil penalties in FY 2024 and FY 2023, respectively.
As recently as FY 2015 and FY 2016, fewer than 600 violations were recorded each year, resulting in a combined total of about $2.9 million in penalties.
“In 2025, oppressive child labor practices should be a lesson taught in history classes – not an ongoing crisis across America,” Scott said in a press release. “Regrettably, recent reporting has demonstrated that children continue to lose their lives and suffer devastating injuries because they work in hazardous jobs. Children should be learning and growing in schools, not risking their safety and lives in dangerous workplaces.
“The Protecting Children Act takes long-overdue steps to strengthen child labor laws and implement serious consequences for endangering children on the job. This is the bold solution we need to help finally put an end to abusive child labor in America.”
