Washington — The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division has encountered several challenges when it comes to enforcing child labor laws, the DOL Office of Inspector General concludes in a recent audit.
After reviewing WHD investigations from fiscal years 2019 to 2023, DOL OIG found that the number of child labor law violations jumped to 7,624 from 3,748 – a 103% increase.
Interviews with WHD investigative officials and staff helped DOL OIG identify the hurdles to enforcing those laws:
- Resource constraints, including “insufficient investigative staff to meet the current volume of child labor complaints” as well as “insufficient financial resources to modernize outdated information technology systems and invest in technological tools to create efficiencies.”
- Communication barriers with workers.
- Confusion caused by differences in state and federal child labor laws.
Although the audit report – issued on Sept. 30 – has no recommendations, “it was provided to agency officials for technical comments.”
In a Sept. 12 response, acting WHD administrator James R. Macy wrote: “Combating egregious and exploitative violations of federal child labor laws is a high priority for this administration. WHD investigates all claims of illegal child labor brought to its attention and will continue to take seriously its responsibility to protect children from exploitation and harm from illegal child labor, including those children who are forced or asked to perform hazardous jobs.”
