Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Corporate Responsibility for Child Labor Elimination Act of 2023”.
Corporate Responsibility for Child Labor Elimination Act of 2023
A BILL
To require certain businesses to disclose and eradicate the use of unlawful child labor in their supply chain, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Required reporting on use of unlawful child labor from covered business entities
Definitions— In this Act:
Covered business entity— The term covered business entity means any issuer, as defined in section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)), that has annual, worldwide gross receipts that exceed $500,000,000.
Gross receipts— The term gross receipts has the meaning given the term in section 993(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
On-site service— The term on-site service means any service work provided on the site of a covered business entity or supplier of such entity, including food service work, catering services, cleaning, and maintenance.
On-site service provider— The term on-site service provider, with respect to a covered business entity, means any entity that provides workers who perform on-site services for the covered business entity or any supplier of such covered business entity.
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor.
Supplier— The term supplier, with respect to a covered business entity, means any entity that produces any input of a good produced by such covered business entity.
Supply chain— The term supply chain means the end-to-end process for producing and transporting goods beginning at the point of origin through a point of distribution to the destination, inclusive of suppliers and on-site service providers.
Unlawful child labor— The term unlawful child labor means any labor practice that violates child labor laws in the United States, including Federal and State child labor laws.
Audit and reporting requirements—
In general— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, each covered business entity shall—
conduct an audit of its supply chain, pursuant to the requirements of section 3, to investigate the presence or use of unlawful child labor by the covered business entity, suppliers of the covered business entity, and on-site service providers of the covered business entity;
submit a report to the Secretary containing the information described in paragraph (2) on the results of such audit and efforts of the covered business entity to eradicate unlawful child labor from the covered business entity, suppliers of the covered business entity, and on-site service providers of the covered business entity; and
publish the report described in subparagraph (B) on the public website of the covered business entity, and provide a conspicuous and easily understood link on the homepage of such website that leads to the report; or
in the case of a covered business entity that does not have a public website, provide the report in written form to any consumer of the covered business entity not later than 30 days after the consumer submits a request for the report.
Required report contents— Each report required under paragraph (1)(B) shall contain, at a minimum—
a disclosure of the policies of the covered business entity to prevent the use of unlawful child labor by the covered business entity and any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity;
a disclosure of what policies or procedures, if any, the covered business entity uses—
for the verification of suppliers of the covered business entity and on-site service providers of the covered business entity to evaluate and address risks of unlawful child labor and whether the verification was conducted by a third party;
to require suppliers of the covered business entity and on-site service providers of the covered business entity to provide written certification that inputs supplied or on-site services provided, respectively, comply with the child labor laws in the United States, including any Federal or State child labor law;
to maintain internal accountability standards and procedures for workers, including contractors, of the covered business entity failing to meet requirements regarding unlawful child labor; and
to provide training on recognizing and preventing unlawful child labor, particularly with respect to mitigating risks within the supply chain of the covered business entity, to workers, including management personnel, of the covered business entity who have direct responsibility for managing the supply chain of the covered business entity;
a description of the findings of each audit required under paragraph (1)(A), including the details of any instances of found or suspected unlawful child labor; and
a written certification, signed by the chief executive officer of the covered business entity, that—
the covered business entity has complied with the requirements of this Act and exercised due diligence in order to eradicate unlawful child labor from the supply chain of the covered business entity;
to the best of the chief executive officer’s knowledge, the covered business entity has found no instances of the use of unlawful child labor by the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity or has disclosed every known instance of such use of unlawful child labor; and
the chief executive officer and any other officers submitting the report or certification understand that section 1001 of title 18, United States Code (commonly known as the “False Statements Act”), applies to the information contained in the report submitted to the Secretary.
Report of violations to congress— Each year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit a report to Congress regarding covered business entities that—
have failed to conduct audits required under this Act for the preceding year or have been adjudicated in violation of any other provision of this Act; or
have been found to have used unlawful child labor, including the use of unlawful child labor in their supply chain.
Sec. 3 Audit requirements
In general— Each audit conducted under section 2(b)(1)(A) shall meet each of the following requirements:
Worker interviews— The auditor shall—
select a cross-section of workers to interview that represents the full diversity of all workplaces of the covered business entity or a supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity, and includes, if applicable, men and women, migrant workers and local workers, workers on different shifts, workers performing different tasks, and members of various teams;
if individuals under the age of 18 are working at a facility of the covered business entity or a supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity, interview a representative group of such individuals using age-sensitive interview techniques;
conduct interviews—
off-site of any facility of the covered business entity or a supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity and during non-work hours for the worker;
individually (except for purposes of subparagraph (B)) or in groups; and
using methods of communication that limit, to the greatest extent practicable, any reliance on devices or services provided to the worker by the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity;
use audit tools to ensure that each worker is asked a comprehensive set of questions;
collect from interviewed workers copies of the workers’ pay stubs, in order to compare the pay stubs with payment records provided by the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity;
ensure that all worker responses are confidential and are never shared with management personnel of the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity; and
interview a representative of the labor organization or other organization representing workers at a facility of the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity or, if no such organization is present, attempt to interview a representative of such workers from a local worker advocacy group.
Management interviews— The auditor shall—
interview a cross-section of management personnel of the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity, including human resources personnel, production supervisors, and others; and
use audit tools to ensure that such individuals are asked a comprehensive set of questions.
Required information— The auditor shall conduct a thorough review of information regarding the covered business entity and any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity to provide tangible proof of compliance with child labor laws in the United States, including any Federal or State child labor law, and to corroborate or find discrepancies in the information gathered through the worker and management interviews under paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. At a minimum, such review shall contain, with respect to the covered business entity and any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity, a review of each of the following:
Procedures and documents with respect to verifying the age of workers.
A master list of juvenile workers or information related to juvenile workers.
Procedures regarding the selection and recruitment of workers.
Contracts with labor brokers, if any.
Worker contracts and other employment agreements.
Introduction program materials.
Personnel files of workers.
Worker communication and training plans, including certifications provided to workers including skills training, worker preparedness, government certification programs, and systems or policy orientations.
Collective bargaining agreements, including collective bargaining representative certifications, descriptions of the role of any applicable labor organization, and minutes of the meetings of such a labor organization.
Contracts with any security agency, and descriptions of the scope of responsibilities of the security agency.
Payroll and time records.
Production capacity reports.
Written human resources policies and procedures.
Occupational health and safety plans and records including legal permits, maintenance and monitoring records, injury and accident reports, investigation procedures, chemical inventories, personal protective equipment inventories, training certificates, and evacuation plans.
Disciplinary notices.
Grievance reports.
Performance evaluations.
Promotion or merit increase records.
Dismissal and suspension records of workers.
Records of workers who have resigned.
Worker pay stubs.
Closing meeting with management— The auditor shall hold a closing meeting with management personnel of the covered business entity to—
report violations of child labor laws in the United States, including any Federal or State child labor law, found in any facility of the covered business entity or any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity; and
determine the steps forward to address and remediate any such violations.
Report preparation— The auditor shall prepare a full report of the audit, which shall include—
a disclosure of the suppliers of the covered business entity and on-site service providers of the covered business entity;
documented processes and procedures of the covered business entity and any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity that relate to eradicating unlawful child labor;
documented risk assessment and prioritization policies of the covered business entity and any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity as such policies relate to eradicating unlawful child labor;
a description of the worker interviews, management interviews, and documentation review required under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively;
a description of all violations or suspected violations of child labor laws in the United States, including any Federal or State child labor law, by the covered business entity and any supplier or on-site service provider of the covered business entity; and
for each violation or suspected violation described in subparagraph (E), a description of any corrective or protective action recommended for the covered business entity, supplier, or on-site service provider consisting of, at a minimum—
the issues relating to, and any root causes of, the violation or suspected violation;
the implementation of a solution to remedy the violation or suspected violation; and
a method to check the effectiveness of such solution.
Additional requirements relating to audits—
No retaliation for audit cooperation— Any covered business entity, supplier of a covered business entity, or on-site service provider of a covered business entity shall not retaliate against any worker for participating in an interview under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a) or providing to an auditor information necessary for the audit requirements under subsection (a)(3).
Contract requirements— Each covered business entity shall include, in any contract with a supplier or on-site service provider, a requirement that—
the supplier or on-site service provider shall not retaliate against any worker for participating in an audit relating to unlawful child labor; and
worker participation in any such audit shall be protected through the same grievance mechanisms available to the worker for any other type of workplace grievance.
Sec. 4 Enforcement
In general— The Secretary may assess civil damages against a covered business entity in an amount of not more than $100,000,000 if, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary determines that the covered business entity has violated any requirement of section 2(b).
Prohibition on retaliation— The Secretary may assess civil damages against a covered business entity, supplier, or on-site service provider in an amount of not more than $500,000,000 if, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary determines the covered business entity, supplier, or on-site service provider has willfully violated section 3(b)(1).
Declarative or injunctive relief— The Secretary may request the Attorney General institute a civil action for relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or any other appropriate order, in the district court of the United States for any district in which the covered business entity conducts business, whenever the Secretary believes that a violation of section 2(b) constitutes a hazard to workers.
Sec. 5 Regulations
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to carry out this Act.