Enough Is Enough: NCL Child Labor Coalition Calls for Tougher Penalties as Violations Soar

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June 18, 2026: Washington, DC – The Child Labor Coalition (CLC) applauds Senator Patty Murray and Representative Rosa DeLauro for reintroducing the Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act. According to recent reporting, the number of child labor violations has risen fivefold in the last 10 years. 

“Children belong in classrooms and safe communities—not in dangerous workplaces,” said Sally Greenberg, Co-Chair of the Child Labor Coalition and CEO of the National Consumers League. “At a time when child labor violations are surging, the CHILD Labor Act provides the stronger penalties and accountability needed to protect vulnerable young workers and ensure that companies putting profits ahead of children’s safety face real consequences.”

This legislation would strengthen enforcement, increase penalties for employers that exploit children, hold contractors and subcontractors accountable throughout the supply chain, and provide meaningful recourse for young workers who are seriously injured on the job.

“It should never be cheaper for a company to break child labor laws than to follow them,” said Senator Patty 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 their 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 to $160,350—or 10 times the inflation-adjusted amount; increase the criminal penalty fine 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 need for stronger child labor protections has deep historical roots. NCL has been at the forefront of the fight against child labor and worker exploitation for more than a century. Under the leadership of Florence Kelley, one of the nation’s most influential labor reformers, NCL helped expose abusive child labor practices, mobilize public support for workplace reforms, and advocate for stronger labor protections. Frances Perkins, who served as head of the National Consumers League’s New York office before becoming U.S. Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was instrumental in advancing New Deal labor reforms, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938.

 The landmark law established the first federal protections against oppressive child labor, set a national minimum wage, and limited excessive working hours. As child labor violations surge across the country today, the CHILD Labor Act builds on that legacy by strengthening enforcement and ensuring that penalties are strong enough to deter employers from exploiting children.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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About the Child Labor Coalition

The Child Labor Coalition is a leading alliance of 38 labor, human rights, consumer, faith-based, and child advocacy organizations working to eradicate child labor in the United States and around the world. Together, coalition members advance policies and partnerships that protect children from exploitation and promote opportunities for every child to thrive. 

When the Wrong Messenger Delivers the Right Message

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[A LinkedIn post Carolyn Kitto OAM, Freedom Rights Activist and Modern Slavery Abolitionist]

When the wrong messenger delivers the right message

There are moments in advocacy when you have to sit with serious discomfort.

This is one of them.

The Trump administration is proposing a 12.5% tariff on Australia for failing to ban imports of goods made with forced labour. The motivation is protectionism, not compassion. The White House is not losing sleep over the 50 million people trapped in forced labour, child labour and bonded servitude.

And yet. The underlying finding is correct.

Australia has no laws preventing forced labour goods from entering our market. A solar panel, a tin of tuna, a cheap T-shirt – if made by someone who couldn’t leave or refuse – can sit on an Australian shelf with no questions asked. The same goods are banned in the US, Canada, and increasingly across Europe and Asia. We are becoming the destination of last resort for goods other countries won’t touch.

When Australia’s Trade Minister claimed we have “robust, comprehensive and world-leading legislation,” I understand the diplomatic impulse – but after nearly 30 years in this movement, I can’t let it stand. Three years ago, an independent review found our Modern Slavery Act had not caused meaningful change. The government accepted the easy recommendations and stalling on the one that would actually work: mandatory due diligence. The review didn’t even consider banning forced labour goods at the border – it was ruled out of scope entirely.

This matters beyond morality. If one café must meet strict hygiene rules and another doesn’t, the second undercuts on price – not through efficiency, but by cutting corners that harm people. Businesses doing the right thing are competing against companies that face no such requirement. That’s a race to the bottom.

Australians expect better. Our research at Be Slavery Free, with Baptist World Aid, found 70% of Australians believe it’s the government’s responsibility to keep forced labour goods off our shelves. They’re asking for basic assurance that what they buy wasn’t made at someone else’s expense.

More than 100 investors, businesses, unions, academics and civil society organisations have called on the Federal Government to strengthen the Modern Slavery Act – to require companies to act, not just report.

The Australian Government should not need a Trump tariff to do the right thing. But here we are.

It’s time to act.

Read the joint letter here.