Sponsors (9)
Introduced June 12, 2025 by Robert C. Scott · Last progress June 12, 2025
The bill substantially strengthens protections, enforcement, and data-driven prevention for child labor and young-worker safety—but does so by imposing higher penalties, new criminal and civil liability, and administrative and fiscal burdens that fall on employers, agencies, and taxpayers.
Children and youth under 18 will receive stronger protections from hazardous work and exploitative child labor through higher penalties, expanded enforcement tools, and updated hazardous-occupation criteria.
Employers who violate child-labor laws face greater accountability—higher civil fines, new criminal liability for knowing violations, and a private cause of action for harmed children—creating stronger deterrence against exploitative practices.
A dedicated Child Labor and Safety and Health Fund, financed by civil penalties, will expand enforcement capacity, investigations, training, and research to prevent and address child labor harms.
Small businesses and other employers are likely to face materially higher compliance costs, fines, insurance premiums, and reporting burdens that could raise prices, reduce hiring, or shift costs to consumers.
Expanded criminal exposure, large statutory penalties (including corporate fines up to multi-millions and severe prison exposure in fatal cases), and broader private litigation risk may increase legal costs and encourage defensive corporate behavior.
New penalty rules that require estimating the 'economic benefit of noncompliance' plus expanded programs create administrative complexity and uncertainty for employers and agencies, increasing compliance and enforcement administrative burdens.
Based on analysis of 11 sections of legislative text.
Increases penalties for child-labor and workplace-safety violations, creates a national advisory committee, tightens hazardous-occupation rules for children, and mandates research and annual reports.
Raises penalties and strengthens federal protections for children in the workplace by increasing civil fines under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act, adding penalty multipliers for serious harm and child deaths, and requiring consideration of the economic benefit of noncompliance when setting penalties. Creates a 15-member National Advisory Committee on Child Labor, tightens procedures for hazardous-occupation orders with a precautionary focus for children's vulnerabilities, and establishes a coordinated research, training, and annual reporting framework (led by HHS/NIOSH in coordination with DOL and OSHA) to improve data and prevention for child labor and young-worker safety. The law takes effect 60 days after enactment.