CHILD Labor Act

This Act may be cited as the “Children Harmed In Life-threatening or Dangerous Labor Act” or the “CHILD Labor Act”.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

(a) Oppressive child labor.— Subsection (l) of section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203) is amended to read as follows:

“(l)

(1) Oppressive child labor means a condition of employment under which—

(A) any employee under 18 years of age is employed in—

(i) manufacturing;

(ii) mining;

(iii) trenching or excavation;

(iv) meat processing;

(v) demolition; or

(vi) explosives;

(B) any employee under 18 years of age is employed by an employer in an occupation, or in or around a place of work, that the Secretary shall find and by order declare to pose a danger or risk of injury or to be detrimental to the health, safety, or well-being of children under 18 years of age;

(C) any employee who is 14 or 15 years of age is employed by an employer (other than a parent or a person standing in place of a parent employing his or her own child or a child in his or her custody)—

(i) in an occupation, or in or around a place of work, that the Secretary shall find and by order declare to pose a danger or risk of injury or to be detrimental to the health, safety, or well-being of children who are such ages; or

(ii) in such employment that is not confined to periods that will not interfere with their schooling and to conditions that will not interfere with their health, safety, or well-being; or

(D) any employee is under 14 years of age employed by an employer (other than a parent or a person standing in place of a parent employing his or her own child or a child in his or her custody).

(2) For purposes of paragraph (1)—

(A) the term occupation means work performed by a person, including all jobs, duties, tasks, and tools or equipment typically utilized in that work; and

(B) the term place of work means the entire worksite, including any facility, factory, plant, grounds, campus, site, or physical location (whether fixed or mobile) where the work is performed.”.

(b) Hazardous occupations and places of work.— Section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Hazardous occupations and places of work.—

(1) In general.— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Children Harmed In Life-threatening or Dangerous Labor Act, the Secretary shall issue—

(A) regulations with respect to occupations in the industries described in subparagraph (A) of section 3(l)(1);

(B) regulations and orders with respect to occupations and places of work covered under subparagraph (B) of such section;

(C) regulations and orders with respect to occupations and places of work covered under subparagraph (C)(i) of such section; and

(D) regulations with respect to occupations covered under section 13(c)(2) as particularly hazardous for the employment of children below the age of 16.

(2) Updates.— Not less than every 5 years, the Secretary shall—

(A) review all regulations and orders issued under paragraph (1) to determine whether such regulations and orders need to be revised, which revisions may include updating such regulations or orders to include additional occupations or places of work, as applicable; and

(B) revise any such regulations or orders the Secretary so determines need to be revised.”.

(a) Accepting responsibility for companies in supply chain engaging in oppressive child labor.—

(1) Records related to prime contractors and subcontractors.— Section 12(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “In making investigations and inspections under section 11(a) with respect to the employment of minors, the Secretary may seek records related to any contractor or subcontractor at any tier of any person suspected of a violation of this section and may request any annual profit or loss statement of any such person or any contractor or subcontractor of such person.”.

(2) Secondary oppressive child labor.— Section 12(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is amended—

(A) by striking “No employer” and inserting “(1) No employer”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

“(2)

(A) No person shall produce, manufacture, or otherwise offer into commerce a good or service with respect to which an employer who is a contractor or subcontractor (at any tier) of the person employs oppressive child labor in the performance of the contract or subcontract for producing, manufacturing, or otherwise offering into commerce such good or service.

(B) A person shall not be in violation of subparagraph (A) if the person—

(i) entered into a prime contract in a good faith reliance on a written assurance from the contractor that the contractor and any subcontractor at any tier of the contract would not employ oppressive child labor in the performance of the contract or subcontract for producing, manufacturing, or otherwise offering into commerce the good or service;

(ii) had no notice that the employer described in subparagraph (A) would employ oppressive child labor in such performance; and

(iii) has taken meaningful and affirmative steps to ensure that all contractors and subcontractors of the person at any tier of the contract for such performance would not employ oppressive child labor in such performance.”.

(b) Hot goods.— Section 12(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212(a)) is amended—

(1) by striking “thirty” and inserting “180”; and

(2) by striking “and who acquired such goods for value without notice of any such violation,” and inserting “, who acquired such goods for value without notice of any such violation, and who has taken meaningful and affirmative steps to ensure that all producers, manufacturers, or dealers of the purchaser are in compliance with this section,”.

(c) “Unlawfully manufactured; child labor” tags.— Section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212), as amended by section 101(b), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

“(f) “Unlawfully manufactured; child labor” tags.—

(1) In general.— The Secretary shall have the authority, in accordance with a process determined by the Secretary through regulations, to affix to any goods produced by a person in violation of subsection (c) a tag of not more than 6 inches in length bearing the words “Unlawfully manufactured; child labor”.

(2) Prohibition.— No person (other than the Secretary, an authorized representative of the Secretary, or the consumer with respect to the goods) shall remove, alter, deface, or otherwise interfere with a tag affixed to goods under paragraph (1).”.

(d) Successors in interest.— Section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216), as amended by subsection (c), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

“(g) Successors in interest.—

(1) In general.— Notwithstanding any other provision in this Act, for purposes of this section and any other provision in this Act administering or enforcing this section, the terms “employer” and “person” include a successor in interest of the employer or person, respectively.

(2) Joint and several liability.— An employer or other person that is a successor in interest of another employer, or other person, in violation of this section shall be jointly and severally liable under this Act with such other employer or person, respectively, for such violation.

(3) Definition of successor in interest.— In this subsection, the term successor in interest, with respect to an employer or other person, means any person who—

(A) uses substantially the same facilities or workers to offer substantially the same goods or services as the employer or other person;

(B) employs as a managing agent any individual who was responsible for wages, hours, or working conditions as the employer or other person; or

(C)

(i) has an owner, partner, officer, or director who is an immediate family member of an owner, partner, officer, or director of the employer or other person; and

(ii) is in the same industry as the employer or other person.”.

(e) Authority To issue stop work orders.— Section 12(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212(b)), as amended by subsection (a)(1), is further amended—

(1) by striking “The Secretary of Labor” and inserting “(1) The Secretary of Labor”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(2)

(A) In addition to the authority of the Secretary to bring an action under section 17 as described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may issue a stop work order to any person that the Secretary has found to be in violation of this section.

(B) Such stop work order may apply to one or more worksites of the person (without regard to whether all such worksites involve a violation of this section).

(C) A stop work order issued under this paragraph shall remain in effect until the person issued the order provides the Secretary with adequate evidence that the person is no longer in violation of this section.

(D)

(i) A person shall compensate any individual engaged to perform work for remuneration for the person and who does not perform such work as a result of a stop work order issued to the person under this paragraph. Such compensation shall be at the regular rate at which the individual is so engaged for all hours the individual would have worked but for the stop work order.

(ii) For purposes of administration and enforcement of a violation of clause (i)—

(I) a violation of such clause shall be deemed a violation of section 6 and not a violation of this section;

(II) any amounts owing to an individual which have been withheld in violation of such clause shall be deemed to be unpaid minimum wages or unpaid overtime-time compensation under this Act; and

(III) any reference in section 16 to an “employer” or “employee” shall be deemed a reference to a person or an individual, respectively, without regard to whether the person or individual is an employer or employee, respectively.”.

(a) In general.— Section 16(e)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended—

(1) in subparagraph (A), by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following:

“(i) $160,350 for each employee who was the subject of such a violation, which penalty may be doubled in the case of a violation described in subparagraph (C); or

(ii) $728,760 with regard to each violation of section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section, that causes the death or serious injury of any employee under the age of 18 years, which penalty may be doubled in the case of a violation described in subparagraph (C).”; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

“(C) For purposes of penalties that may be doubled under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (A), a violation described in this subparagraph is a violation—

(i) that is a repeated or willful violation;

(ii) that involves an occupation or place of work described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 12(e)(1);

(iii) that has occurred within 10 years of the final disposition of another violation of section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section; or

(iv) for which the employer that committed the violation is found, during the period in which the person was investigated for such violation, to have employed more than 10 children in such a violation.”.

(b) Anti-Retaliation violations.— Section 16(e)(2) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “Any person who violates section 15(a)(3) with respect to any complaint or proceeding related to section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $75,000, for each such violation, in addition to such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of such section 15(a)(3), as described in subsection (b).”.

(c) Damages for victims.—

(1) In general.— Section 16 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216) is amended—

(A) in subsection (b)—

(i) by inserting after the third sentence the following: “Any person who violates section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section, shall be liable to the employee or employees affected for compensatory damages and, as appropriate, punitive damages or legal or equitable relief as described in subsection (f).”;

(ii) in the sentence beginning “An action to recover”, by striking “employer” and inserting “employer (or person as applicable in the case of a violation of section 12(c) or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section)”; and

(iii) in the last sentence—

(I) by striking “or (2) legal” and inserting “, (2) legal”; and

(II) by inserting before the period at the end “, or (3) compensatory damages and, as appropriate, punitive damages or legal or equitable relief is sought for a violation of section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section”;

(B) in subsection (c)—

(i) by inserting after the second sentence, the following: “The Secretary is authorized to supervise the payment of any compensatory damages, punitive damages, or legal or equitable relief owed to an employee or employees under subsection (b) for a violation of section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section, and the Secretary may bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction to obtain such damages or relief.”; and

(ii) in the sentence beginning “The right provided by subsection (b)”—

(I) by striking “the first sentence of”;

(II) by inserting “or relief” after “other damages”; and

(III) by striking “an employer” and inserting “a person”;

(C) in subsection (d), by striking “employer” and inserting “person”; and

(D) by adding at the end the following:

“(f) Legal and equitable relief for child labor violations.—

(1) In general.— A person who violates section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section—

(A) shall be liable to each employee affected by the violation—

(i) except as provided in clause (ii), in an amount that is not less than $75,000 in compensatory damages, which penalty shall be doubled in the case of a violation that involves an occupation or place of work described in any of subparagraphs (A) through (D) of section 12(e)(1); or

(ii) in the case of a violation of section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section, that causes death or serious injury, in an amount that is not less than $750,000 in compensatory damages, which penalty may be doubled in the case of such a violation that is a repeated or willful violation; and

(B) may, as appropriate, be liable to each employee affected by the violation—

(i) in an amount that is not less than $1,000,000 in punitive damages in the case of a violation that causes death or serious injury; or

(ii) for legal or equitable relief, including injunctive relief or disgorgement of profits.

(2) Relation to other laws.— Nothing in this subsection shall preempt a State or municipal law that provides greater penalties or remedies for violations of child labor requirements than those provided under this subsection.

(3) Definition of serious injury.— For purposes of paragraph (1), the term serious injury has the meaning given such term in subsection (e)(1)(B).”.

(2) Statute of limitations.— Section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act (29 U.S.C. 255) is amended—

(A) in the matter preceding subsection (a), by inserting “(or any compensatory damages, punitive damages, or legal or equitable relief for a violation of section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, of such Act, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section)” after “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938”; and

(B) in subsection (a), by inserting “and except that a cause of action for a violation of section 12(c) or section 13(c), relating to child labor, of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, or any regulation issued pursuant to such a section, may be commenced within 10 years after the cause of action accrued” before the semicolon.

(d) Criminal penalties.— Section 16(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is amended—

(1) by striking “Any” and inserting “(1) Any”;

(2) by inserting “(other than subsection (a)(4) of such section)” after “section 15”;

(3) by striking “subsection” each place it appears and inserting “paragraph”; and

(4) by adding at the end the following:

“(2)

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any person who violates section 15(a)(4) shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $750,000, or to imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.

(B) Any person who violates section 12(f)(2) shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $500,000, or to imprisonment of not more than 1 year, or both. No person shall be imprisoned under this subparagraph except for an offense committed after the conviction of such person for a prior offense under this subparagraph.”.

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 18D (42 U.S.C. 218d) the following:

“18E. Training and engagement with respect to child labor violations.— The Secretary shall, directly or by grants or contracts, provide for the establishment and supervision of programs for—

(1) education and training with respect to recognition, avoidance, and prevention of violations of section 12;

(2) education and training of professionals providing services to children on identifying and responding to oppressive child labor and incorporating into their activities knowledge about risk factors for exposing children to oppressive child labor; and

(3) identification of potential violations of section 12 and support for victims of such violations.”.

Section 6502 of title 41, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking “A contract made by an agency” and inserting “(a) In general.—A contract made by an agency”;

(2) in subsection (a)(3), by striking “No individual under 16 years of age and no incarcerated individual” and inserting the following:

“(A) Incarcerated individuals.— No incarcerated individual”;

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(B) Children.— No individual under 16 years of age will be employed by the contractor, or any subcontractor or supplier of the contractor, in any activity at any tier under the contract, including any activity under a subcontract at any tier of the contract. No individual 16 or 17 years of age will be employed by the contractor, or any subcontractor or supplier of the contractor, in oppressive child labor, as defined under section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)), in any activity at any tier under the contract, including any activity under a subcontract at any tier of the contract.”; and

(4) by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Children.—

(1) Good faith defense for secondary liability.— A contractor shall not be in breach or violation of a representation or stipulation required under subsection (a)(3)(B) due to the actions of a subcontractor or supplier at any tier of the contract if the contractor—

(A) entered into a contract with the prime subcontractor or supplier in a good faith reliance on a written assurance from the subcontractor or supplier that all subcontractors and suppliers at any tier of the contract would not, in any activity under the contract, including any activity under a subcontract at any tier of the contract, employ an individual under 16 years of age or employ an individual 16 or 17 years of age in oppressive child labor (as defined under section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938);

(B) had no notice that a subcontractor or supplier would so employ an individual; and

(C) has taken meaningful and affirmative steps to ensure that all subcontractors and suppliers at any tier of the contract would not so employ an individual.

(2) Successors in interest.—

(A) In general.— Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter, for purposes of subsection (a)(3)(B) and any other provision in this chapter administering or enforcing a stipulation or representation required under such subsection—

(i) the term “contractor” includes a successor in interest of the contractor;

(ii) the term “party responsible for a breach or violation”, in the case of a contractor, includes a successor in interest of the contractor; and

(iii) the term “person”, in the case of a contractor, includes a successor in interest of the contractor.

(B) Joint and several liability.— A contractor that is a successor in interest of another contractor in breach or violation of a representation or stipulation required under subsection (a)(3)(B) shall be jointly and severally liable under this chapter with such other contractor for such breach or violation.

(C) Definition of successor in interest.— In this paragraph, the term successor in interest, with respect to a contractor, means any person who—

(i) uses substantially the same facilities or workers to offer substantially the same goods or services as the contractor;

(ii) employs as a managing agent any individual who was responsible for wages, hours, or working conditions as the contractor; or

(iii)

(I) has an owner, partner, officer, or director who is an immediate family member of an owner, partner, officer, or director of the contractor; and

(II) is in the same industry as the contractor.”.

(a) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) Applicable contract or assistance.— The term applicable contract or assistance means—

(A) a contract or subcontract entered into after the date of enactment of this Act to which subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code (commonly known as the “Davis-Bacon Act”), applies;

(B) any form of financial assistance (including through a grant or loan) awarded by the Federal Government—

(i) for which the terms of such assistance were agreed to by the Federal Government and the recipient of such assistance after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(ii) that requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors in the performance of construction work financed in whole or in part by such assistance to be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on projects of a similar character in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States Code; and

(C) a contract entered into after the date of enactment of this Act to which chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code (commonly known as the “Service Contract Act”), applies.

(2) Contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance.—

(A) In general.— The term contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance includes a successor in interest of the contractor or recipient, respectively.

(B) Joint and several liability.— A contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance that is a successor in interest of another contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance in violation of this section shall be jointly and severally liable under this section with such other contractor or recipient for such violation.

(3) Oppressive child labor.— The term oppressive child labor has the meaning given such term in section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)).

(4) Successor in interest.— The term successor in interest, with respect to a contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance, means any person who—

(A) uses substantially the same facilities or workers to offer substantially the same goods or services as the contractor or recipient;

(B) employs as a managing agent any individual who was responsible for wages, hours, or working conditions as the contractor or recipient; or

(C)

(i) has an owner, partner, officer, or director who is an immediate family member of an owner, partner, officer, or director of the contractor or recipient; and

(ii) is in the same industry as the contractor or recipient.

(b) Child labor provisions.—

(1) In general.— The terms of any applicable contract or assistance shall include the following representations and stipulations:

(A) Oppressive child labor shall not be employed by the contractor or recipient of such applicable contract or assistance, or any subcontractor or supplier of the contractor or recipient at any tier of the applicable contract or assistance, in the performance of or work funded by the applicable contract or assistance.

(B) The contractor or recipient of the applicable contract or assistance shall provide to any subcontractor or supplier under the applicable contract or assistance training on the requirement under subparagraph (A).

(C) The contractor or recipient of the applicable contract or assistance, and any subcontractor or supplier under any tier of the applicable contract or assistance, shall each establish a labor-management committee to review the policies with respect to child labor of the contractor, recipient, subcontractor, or supplier, respectively, and promote the reporting of any violations of such policies.

(2) Good faith defense for secondary liability.— A contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance shall not be in breach or violation of a representation or stipulation under paragraph (1)(A) due to the actions of a subcontractor or supplier at any tier of the applicable contract or assistance if the contractor or recipient—

(A) entered into a contract with the prime subcontractor or supplier in a good faith reliance on a written assurance from the subcontractor or supplier that all subcontractors and suppliers at any tier of the applicable contract or assistance would not employ oppressive child labor in the performance of or work funded by the applicable contract or assistance;

(B) had no notice that a subcontractor or supplier would employ oppressive child labor in such performance or work; and

(C) has taken meaningful and affirmative steps to ensure that all subcontractors and suppliers at any tier of the applicable contract or assistance would not employ oppressive child labor in such performance or work.

(c) Breach or violation.—

(1) Applicable breach or violation.— This subsection applies in the case of a breach or violation of a representation or stipulation required under subsection (b)(1)(A) in an applicable contract or assistance.

(2) Liquidated damages.— In addition to damages for any other breach of the applicable contract or assistance, the party responsible for a breach or violation described in paragraph (1) is liable to the Federal Government for liquidated damages in an amount equal to the sum of $20 per day for each individual employed in oppressive child labor in the performance of or work funded by the applicable contract or assistance.

(3) Cancellation and alternative completion.— In addition to the Federal Government being entitled to damages described in paragraph (2), the Federal Government may cancel the contract or assistance and make open-market purchases or make other contracts or award other assistance for the completion of the original contract or terms of the original assistance, charging any additional cost to the original contractor or recipient.

(4) Recovery of amounts Due.— An amount due to the Federal Government because of a breach or violation described in paragraph (1) may be withheld from any amounts owed to the contractor or recipient under the applicable contract or assistance or may be recovered in a suit brought by the Attorney General.

(d) Three-Year prohibition on new contracts in case of breach or violation.—

(1) Distribution list.— The Comptroller General of the United States shall distribute to each agency of the Federal Government a list containing the names of persons found by the Secretary to have breached or violated a representation or stipulation included in an applicable contract or assistance under subsection (b)(1)(A).

(2) Three-year prohibition.— Unless the Secretary recommends otherwise, the Federal Government may not award any contract or other financial assistance to a person named on the list under paragraph (1), or to a firm, corporation, partnership, or association in which the person has a controlling interest, until 3 years have elapsed from the date of the determination by the Secretary that a breach or violation occurred.

(e) Enforcement and administration.— Sections 6506 and 6507 (other than subsection (a) of such section) of title 41, United States Code, govern the Secretary's authority to enforce this section, including the Secretary's authority to prescribe regulations, issue orders, hold hearings, make decisions based on findings of fact, and take other appropriate action under this section.

(a) Analysis of data.—

(1) In general.— The Secretary of Labor, in consultation as described in paragraph (2), shall collect and analyze data concerning overall trends for work-related injuries, illnesses, or deaths and trends related to enforcement under Federal or State law with respect to such injuries, illnesses, or deaths.

(2) Consulting entities.— In collecting and analyzing data under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor—

(A) shall consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and

(B) may consult with any relevant State agencies.

(b) Reports.— Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Labor shall—

(1) submit a report to Congress that includes—

(A) a summary of the data collected and analyzed by the Secretary under subsection (a) for the previous year;

(B) an evaluation, based on such data, that reflects the status of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths; and

(C) any recommendations for the President and Congress as a result of such evaluation;

(2) publish such report in the Federal Register; and

(3) post such report on the website of the Department of Labor.