Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Stop Child Labor Act”.
Stop Child Labor Act
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to apply child labor laws to independent contractors, increase penalties for child labor law violations, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
Private enforcement— Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended—
by inserting after the third sentence the following: “Any employer who violates the provisions of section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, shall be liable to any child harmed as a result of such violation for compensatory damages and punitive damages in an amount not more than $250,000.”;
in the fourth sentence—
by inserting “or, with respect to violations of the provisions of section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, children” after “more employees”; and
by inserting “or children, as the case may be,” after “other employees”;
in the fifth sentence, by inserting “or children, as the case may be,” after “employees”; and
by adding at the end the following: “The right provided by this subsection to bring an action by or on behalf of any child with respect to violations of the provisions of section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, and the right of any child to become a party plaintiff to any such action, shall terminate upon the filing of a complaint by the Secretary in an action under section 17 in which legal or equitable relief is sought as a result of alleged violations of such provisions.”.
Civil penalties— Section 16(e)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended—
in subparagraph (A)—
in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “not to exceed” and inserting “of an amount (subject to subparagraph (C)) that is”;
in clause (i), by striking “$11,000” and inserting “not less than $5,000 and not more than $132,270”; and
in clause (ii), by striking “$50,000” and inserting “not less than $25,000 and not more than $601,150”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(C) The dollar amounts referred to in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be increased annually, for fiscal year 2024 and every fiscal year thereafter, by the percent increase, if any, in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) for the most recent 12-month period for which applicable data is available.”
Criminal penalties— Section 16(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is amended—
by striking “Any” and inserting “(1) Any”;
by inserting “(other than subsection (a)(4) of such section)” after “section 15”;
by striking “subsection” each place it appears and inserting “paragraph”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section 15(a)(4) shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $50,000, or to imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.”
Effective date— The amendments made by subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall apply with respect to violations alleged to have occurred on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Sec. 3 Grant program for prevention of child labor violations
In general— The Secretary of Labor may award grants to eligible entities for purposes of education, training, and development of systems to help employers recognize, avoid, and prevent violations of section 12 or 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212, 213(c)).
Eligible entity— For purposes of this section, the term eligible entity means—
a nonprofit organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
a nonprofit trade industry or employer association;
a labor-management partnership; or
a labor organization.
Sec. 4 National advisory committee on child labor
Establishment— There is established the National Advisory Committee on Child Labor (in this section referred to as the “Committee”).
Membership—
Composition— The Committee shall be composed of 12 members of whom—
3 shall be representatives of management who are appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
3 shall be representatives of labor organizations who are appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
1 shall be a member of the public who is appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
2 shall be members of the public who are appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services; and
3 shall be child welfare professionals who are appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Date— The appointments of the members of the Committee shall be made not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
Period of appointment; vacancies—
In general— A member of the Committee shall be appointed for a term of 2 years.
Vacancies— A vacancy in the Committee—
shall not affect the powers of the Committee; and
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
Meetings— The Committee shall hold no fewer than 2 meetings during each calendar year.
Chairperson— The Secretary of Labor shall designate the Chairperson of the Committee from among the members of the Committee appointed under paragraph (1).
Duties of Committee— The Committee shall advise, consult, and make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on matters related to the recognition, avoidance, prevention, and enforcement of violations of section 12 or 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212, 213(c)).
Committee personnel matters—
Compensation of members— A member of the Committee who is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the Committee.
Travel expenses— A member of the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the Committee.
Staff—
In general— The Chairperson of the Committee may, without regard to the civil service laws (including regulations), appoint and terminate an executive director and such other additional personnel as may be necessary to enable the Committee to perform its duties, except that the employment of an executive director shall be subject to confirmation by the Committee.
Compensation— The Chairperson of the Committee may fix the compensation of the executive director and other personnel without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to classification of positions and General Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay for the executive director and other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that title.
Detail of government employees— A Federal Government employee may be detailed to the Committee without reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption or loss of civil service status or privilege.
Procurement of temporary and intermittent services— The Chairperson of the Committee may procure temporary and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that title.
Duration of Committee— Section 1013 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Committee.
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to the Committee to carry out this section $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.