S 4817
CHILD Labor Act
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119th CONGRESS — 2d Session
S. 4817
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
A BILL
To strengthen protections against child labor violations, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Children Harmed In Life-threatening or Dangerous Labor Act CHILD Labor Act
or the
.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Oppressive child labor means a condition of employment under which—
Section 12 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Children Harmed In Life-threatening or Dangerous Labor Act
, the Secretary shall issue—regulations and orders with respect to occupations and places of work covered under subparagraph (B) of such section;
regulations with respect to occupations covered under section 13(c)(2) as particularly hazardous for the employment of children below the age of 16.
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.
.
Section 12(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is amended—
No employerand inserting
(1) No employer; and
by adding at the end the following:
A person shall not be in violation of subparagraph (A) if the person—
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.
Section 12(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212(a)) is amended—
by striking thirty
and inserting 180
; and
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,
.
Unlawfully manufactured; child labortags
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:
Unlawfully manufactured; child labortags
Unlawfully manufactured; child labor.
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:
employerand
personinclude a successor in interest of the employer or person, respectively.
In this subsection, the term successor in interest, with respect to an employer or other person, means any person who—
employs as a managing agent any individual who was responsible for wages, hours, or working conditions as the employer or other person; or
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
The Secretary of Laborand inserting
(1) The Secretary of Labor; and
by adding at the end the following:
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.
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.
employeror
employeeshall 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.
$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
$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).
by adding at the end the following:
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—
that is a repeated or willful violation;
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
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.
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).
.
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).;
An action to recover, by striking
employerand 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
in the last sentence—
or (2) legaland inserting
, (2) legal; and
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
;
in subsection (c)—
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
in the sentence beginning The right provided by subsection (b)
—
the first sentence of;
by inserting or relief
after other damages
; and
by striking an employer
and inserting a person
;
in subsection (d), by striking employer
and inserting person
; and
by adding at the end the following:
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
may, as appropriate, be liable to each employee affected by the violation—
for legal or equitable relief, including injunctive relief or disgorgement of profits.
Section 6 of the Portal-to-Portal Act (29 U.S.C. 255) is amended—
(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
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.
Anyand inserting
(1) Any;
by inserting (other than subsection (a)(4) of such section)
after section 15
;
subsectioneach place it appears and inserting
paragraph; and
by adding at the end the following:
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:
The Secretary shall, directly or by grants or contracts, provide for the establishment and supervision of programs for—
education and training with respect to recognition, avoidance, and prevention of violations of section 12;
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
identification of potential violations of section 12 and support for victims of such violations.
Section 6502 of title 41, United States Code, is amended—
by striking A contract made by an agency
and inserting (a) In general.—A contract made by an agency
;
in subsection (a)(3), by striking No individual under 16 years of age and no incarcerated individual
and inserting the following:
No incarcerated individual
by adding at the end the following:
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.
by adding at the end the following:
had no notice that a subcontractor or supplier would so employ an individual; and
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.
contractorincludes a successor in interest of the contractor;
the term party responsible for a breach or violation
, in the case of a contractor, includes a successor in interest of the contractor; and
the term person
, in the case of a contractor, includes a successor in interest of the contractor.
In this paragraph, the term successor in interest, with respect to a contractor, means any person who—
employs as a managing agent any individual who was responsible for wages, hours, or working conditions as the contractor; or
has an owner, partner, officer, or director who is an immediate family member of an owner, partner, officer, or director of the contractor; and
In this section:
Davis-Bacon Act), applies;
any form of financial assistance (including through a grant or loan) awarded by the Federal Government—
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
Service Contract Act), applies.
The term contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance includes a successor in interest of the contractor or recipient, respectively.
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.
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)).
The term successor in interest, with respect to a contractor or recipient of an applicable contract or assistance, means any person who—
employs as a managing agent any individual who was responsible for wages, hours, or working conditions as the contractor or recipient; or
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
The terms of any applicable contract or assistance shall include the following representations and stipulations:
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).
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.
had no notice that a subcontractor or supplier would employ oppressive child labor in such performance or work; and
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
may consult with any relevant State agencies.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Labor shall—
a summary of the data collected and analyzed by the Secretary under subsection (a) for the previous year;
an evaluation, based on such data, that reflects the status of work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths; and
any recommendations for the President and Congress as a result of such evaluation;
publish such report in the Federal Register; and