This bill significantly strengthens child labor protections under federal law by expanding definitions of oppressive labor, increasing penalties, enhancing supply chain accountability, and imposing new requirements on federal contractors.
Rosa DeLauro
Representative
CT-3
The CHILD Labor Act significantly strengthens protections against child labor by expanding the definition of oppressive child labor and requiring updated regulations for hazardous work under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It enhances enforcement through supply chain accountability, extended "hot goods" restrictions, liability for successor businesses, and increased civil and criminal penalties for violations. Furthermore, the Act imposes strict child labor requirements on federal contractors and recipients of federal financial assistance.
CHILD Labor Act Proposes $160,000 Fines and Supply Chain Crackdown to End Underage Exploitation
The CHILD Labor Act aims to overhaul how the U.S. handles child labor by dramatically increasing the costs of breaking the law and expanding who is held responsible when kids are put in harm's way. Under the bill, the basic fine for a child labor violation would jump to $160,350 per employee—a massive increase from current levels—and could double to over $320,000 for repeat offenders or hazardous work. If a violation leads to a death or serious injury, the penalty can reach nearly $730,000 per incident. Beyond just fines, the bill allows the Department of Labor to issue stop-work orders at job sites and even tag goods with labels reading "Unlawfully manufactured. Child labor." to prevent them from being sold.
Accountability Beyond the Factory Floor
One of the biggest shifts in this bill is how it handles supply chains. Currently, a major retailer or brand might claim they didn't know a third-tier subcontractor was using underage workers. This bill changes the game by expanding "hot goods" restrictions from 30 days to 180 days, making it much harder to move products made illegally (Sec. 102). It also introduces a "successor in interest" rule, which prevents owners from simply closing a business caught using child labor and reopening under a new name with the same facilities to avoid penalties. For a manager at a large distribution center or a buyer for a national chain, this means the "I didn't know" defense only works if you've taken "meaningful and affirmative steps" to audit your suppliers.
New Rules for Federal Contractors
If you run a business that handles federal contracts—whether it’s construction under the Davis-Bacon Act or services under the Service Contract Act—the stakes are getting higher. The bill requires contractors to establish labor-management committees specifically to review child labor policies and encourage reporting (Sec. 202). If a contractor or any of their subcontractors are caught using oppressive child labor, they could face a three-year ban from receiving any new federal contracts or financial assistance. This creates a massive financial incentive for prime contractors to police their own partners, as a single violation by a small subcontractor could potentially blacklist a large firm from government work for years.
Real-World Recourse for Victims
The legislation doesn't just focus on punishing companies; it creates a path for the victims to get paid. It establishes a 10-year statute of limitations for filing lawsuits, giving young workers plenty of time to seek justice once they reach adulthood. Victims would be entitled to at least $75,000 in compensatory damages, which can skyrocket to $1,000,000 in punitive damages if the violation caused a death or serious injury (Sec. 103). For a teenager working an illegal night shift at a meatpacking plant or a 15-year-old injured on a demolition site, this provides a legal hammer to hold employers accountable for long-term health and safety impacts that might not be fully understood until years later.