Murray, DeLauro Introduce Legislation to Protect Kids as Child Labor Violations Surge and Trump Undermines Enforcement

The Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act would strengthen labor law, give Department of Labor greater enforcement power “In fiscal year 2025, more cases of federal child labor violations were uncovered than during any other year since the Great Recession, and hazardous work violations ticked up again after declining in the year prior.” – MORE from the Economic Policy Institute Murray and DeLauro’s legislation is more urgent than ever as child labor law violations spike and the Trump administration has undermined existing enforcement efforts while Republicans push for even weaker standards Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray, former chair and senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education reintroduced legislation to protect children from exploitative child labor practices and hold the companies and individuals who take advantage of them accountable. The Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act strengthens our ability to combat child labor by cracking down on employers who violate child labor laws with stronger penalties and allowing children who have been seriously injured to sue their employers. The bill also expands child labor provisions to hold suppliers and subcontractors throughout the supply chain responsible. According to recent reporting , the number of child labor violations has risen fivefold in the last 10 years and Republican-led state legislatures are continuing to propose and pass legislation at the state level that rolls back child labor regulations with the goal of eroding federal standards– as outlined in Project 2025 . “It should never be cheaper for a company to break child labor laws than to follow them—but right now, it is. Violations are at their highest level in years, Republicans are gutting protections in state after state, and the Trump administration has all but stopped enforcing the laws on the books,” said Senator Murray. “Children should not be subjected to abusive and dangerous work environments—they should not be working the night shift operating heavy equipment and in unsafe conditions with no consequences. My bill would deliver real penalties, real accountability for giant corporations, and real recourse for kids who get hurt.” “No child should have to risk their life or their future because of a job,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “Yet across this country, children are being put to work in dangerous jobs that threaten that future while companies reap massive profits from their labor , and this Administration weakens the agencies responsible for enforcing labor laws and protecting children from abusive labor practices. Corporations cannot cut corners – especially not when it comes to our children. The CHILD Labor act will put a stop to this by holding companies accountable and ensuring our children’s futures are protected.” The CHILD Labor Act would protect children by enhancing the Fair Labor Standards Act to hold liable contractors or subcontractors for child labor violations in the same manner as the employer who employs the child in oppressive child labor; increase the civil penalty amount for child labor violations from $16,000 to $160,350—or 10 times the inflation-adjusted amount; increase the criminal penalty fine from $10,000 to $750,000; require any person who violates child labor provisions to be liable to each employee affected by the violation in an amount no less than $75,000; and require federal contracts to contain child labor provisions that prohibit the use of oppressive child labor. The legislation would also require the Secretary to report to Congress data and recommendations concerning overall trends for work-related injuries, illnesses, or deaths to Congress on an annual basis. In the Senate, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). In the House, the legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), Danny Davis (D-IL-7), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), Seth Magaziner (D-RI-2), Jim McGovern (D-MA-2), Mark Pocan (D-WI-2), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-2), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14). The legislation is endorsed by the National Employment Law Project, and the Center for Law and Social Policy. A one-pager on the bill is available HERE . A section by section of the bill is available HERE . Full text of the legislation is available HERE . ###