Tag Archive for: Legislation

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Press Statement: The Child Labor Coalition is Disappointed Over Indiana Governor Braun’s Signing into Law a Bill That Dismantles the State’s Teen Worker Tracking System

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For immediate release: March 10, 2026

Media contact: National Consumers League/Child Labor Coalition Reid Maki, reidm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2820

Washington, DC—The Child Labor Coalition (CLC), consisting of 38 organizational members who work to end exploitative child labor, is disappointed by Gov. Mike Braun’s signing into law House Bill 1302, which dismantles the state’s system for tracking teen workers.

The Youth Employment System (YES) required companies with five or more teens on the payroll to register their business and self-report the number of minors they had hired and their employment status, as well as other details. It follows Indiana’s unfortunate decision to eliminate its work permit system in July 2021.

“We believe that eliminating this system compounds the mistake of ending the work permit system,” said Reid Maki, the director of Child Labor Advocacy and the coordinator of the CLC. “In deciding not to track teen workers, Indiana is making child labor enforcement efforts significantly more difficult. Our child labor laws help protect teens from workplace injuries and ensure that their education is not negatively impacted by excessive work hours. We should not be weakening the ability of state inspectors to safeguard kids.”

The CLC sent Gov. Braun an electronic letter urging him to veto HB 1302 on February 27th. In December, the coalition sent Ohio Governor Mike DeWine a letter urging him to veto a bill that would have extended hours for 14- and 15-year-old workers. DeWine vetoed the bill, saying he didn’t see a compelling reason that the state needed to risk the educational success of teen workers. We urged Gov. Braun to put the needs of teen workers first.

Since 2020, Indiana has progressively weakened child labor protections. “The state has eliminated rest breaks for minor workers and extended maximum weekly hours for 16- and 17-year-olds,” noted Maki. “Now, they’ve ended the system that helped state agencies monitor that work for minors was age-appropriate and safe.”

As the Economic Policy Institute has noted, the now moribund employment registration law may have played a role in deterring future, more serious violations.

House Bill 1302 only made tweaks to the YES system when it moved to the Indiana Senate, where Sen. Linda Rogers (R-Granger), the bill’s Senate sponsor and a golf-course owner who employs teens, urged the dismantling of the entire reporting system. Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) was among those who urged a less drastic approach: “There’s another solution to this problem. You don’t eliminate a reporting requirement when it comes to children and labor,” he said.

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About the Child Labor Coalition
The Child Labor Coalition began advocacy efforts in 1989 and brings together 38 groups including human rights and child rights organizations, unions, farmworker groups and others. The Coalition is chaired by the National Consumers League.

 

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Letter Urging Governor DeWine to Protect Ohio Children and Veto SB 50

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Sally Greenberg, CEO of the National Consumers League and Chair of the Child Labor Coalition, has sent a letter to Governor DeWine urging him to veto SB 50, a bill that would allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work until 9 PM on school nights. The letter highlights the risks to children’s safety, education, and well-being, and calls on the Governor to stand with Ohio’s kids.

Read the full letter here.

 

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“Dear Ohio State Senators, I’m a Student, Not a Substitute” in the N.Y. Times

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An award-winning letter about the possible weakening of child labor laws in Ohio by 17-year-old high school student Michelle Huang.

Read her piece here.

 

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Durbin, Delauro Introduce Bill To Ban Child Labor On Tobacco Farms

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This press release appears on Senator Durbin’s website here  and appears below.

 

Press Release

May 13, 2025

Durbin, Delauro Introduce Bill To Ban Child Labor On Tobacco Farms

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) today reintroduced legislation to protect child workers from the dangers of exposure to tobacco plants, including nicotine poisoning. The Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco fields and coming into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves by deeming this type of work as oppressive child labor.

“Kids as young as 12 can be recruited to work on tobacco farms where they are exposed to toxic tobacco plants containing nicotine and may experience common symptoms of nicotine poisoning like nausea, vomiting, headaches, and dizziness. Putting a stop to this disgraceful labor practice is simple and common sense,” Durbin said. “With the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act, Congress can finally act to protect these kids before it’s too late.”

“Big Tobacco has spent decades profiting off children – by targeting them as customers and exploiting their labor,” said DeLauro. “Right now, kids as young as 12 are working in tobacco fields, exposed to toxic levels of nicotine that can cause lasting harm. That is why I’m proud to join Senator Durbin in introducing the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act to finally ban child labor in tobacco production. Children’s health must come before corporate profit.”

Although U.S. law prohibits children under the age of 18 from buying cigarettes, children as young as 12 are permitted to work in tobacco fields, where handling tobacco plants can lead to nicotine poisoning. Tobacco companies and growers’ associations in the U.S. have adopted voluntary standards to limit child labor in tobacco work. However, researchers found that children under 16 were still working in tobacco more than a year after many companies announced that they would prohibit hiring workers younger than that age. This bill would codify this implicit agreement that a tobacco farm is no place for children to work.

A 2015 Human Rights Watch study based on interviews with 33 children working in North Carolina tobacco farms found that:

  • Children working on tobacco farms worked up to 50-60 hours per week;
  • Children experienced nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches, and sleeplessness while working on tobacco farms;
  • Children worked in hot conditions with jobs ranging from harvesting tobacco plants to applying toxic pesticides;
  • Children are directly exposed to those pesticides from spraying fields. Many pesticides used in tobacco production are known neurotoxins. Long-term effects include cancer, neurological deficits, and reproductive health problems.

Along with Durbin, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are cosponsors of the Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act.

2024 Domestic Child Labor Bills the Child Labor Coalition endorses:

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Bills to increase fines:

  • R. 2956 — “Combating Child Labor Act” by Rep. Kildee (D-MI) 42 cosponsors as of  4/16/2024
  • R. 2388 — “Justice for Exploited Children Act of 2023” by Rep. Scholten (D-MI)

7 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024. [This bill is Bipartisan].

  • 637 — “Child Labor Prevention Act” by Sen. Schatz (D-HI)

12 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

  • 3051 – Stop Child Labor Act by Senator Schatz (D-HI)

1 cosponsor as of 4/16/2024 [This bill is an update of Schatz’s bill listed prior and is also bipartisan]

 

Bills that seek increased fines AND multiple other improvements:

  • R. 6079 – CHILD Labor Act by Rep. DeLauro (D-CT) also known as “Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous Labor Act”

21 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

  • 3163 – CHILD Labor Act by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) also known as “Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous Labor Act” [Companion bill to H.R. 6079]

16 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

  • R. 4440 – “Protecting Children Act” by Rep. Scott (D-VA) 8 Cosponsors as of 8/11/23

9 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

 

 

Protecting child farmworkers:

  • R. 4020 – “Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act by Rep. DeLauro” (D-CT)

2 cosponsors as of 4/16/24

  • 1921 – “Children Don’t Belong on Tobacco Farms Act” by Senator Durbin (D-IL)

3 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

  • R.4046 – “Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety — CARE Act” by Rep. Ruiz (D-CA)

45 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

  • 4038 – “Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety — CARE Act” by Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM)

0 Cosponsor listed, but we’re told Senator Casey has agreed to cosponsor.

 

Procurement Bills regarding child labor:

  • 1288 — “Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act” by Sen. Booker (D-NJ)

5 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

  • 3139 – “Preventing Child Labor Exploitation Act” by Sen. Booker (D-NJ). [This is an update of the prior Booker procurement bill and is now bipartisan].

1 cosponsor as of 3/7/2024

  • R. 2822 — “Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act” by Rep. Casar (D-TX)

34 cosponsors as of 4/16/2024

 

Bill to improve labor inspectorate

 

  • R. 6634 — Workers POWER Act by Rep. McGarvey (D-KY) also known as “Workers Protecting Our Wage Earners Act”

50 Cosponsors as of 5/15/2024

Child Labor Coalition welcomes the Senate Introduction of the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety Act of 2024 (CARE Act)

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Press Release

March 25, 2024

Media contact: National Consumers League – Reid Maki, reidm@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2820

 

Washington, DC – With the beginning of Farmworker Awareness Week today, the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), representing 37 groups engaged in the fight against domestic and global child labor, applauds Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and for introducing the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety (CARE). The legislation, introduced on March 21, would close long-standing loopholes that permit children in agriculture to work for wages when they are only 12 and 13—younger than other teens can work. The bill would also ban jobs on farms labeled “hazardous” by the U.S. Department of Labor if workers are under the age of 18. Current U.S. law allows children to perform hazardous work at age 16.

“With their whole future ahead of them, our country must do better protecting children working in the agriculture industry,” said Senator Luján. “Across the country, thousands of children are working under hazardous conditions in the agriculture sector, risking their health and education. I’m introducing the CARE Act to raise the floor and bring our agricultural labor lines in with other industries to better protect children and improve the working conditions they operate in.”

“It’s amazing to us that discriminatory loopholes, which allow very young kids to work 70- and 80-hours a week, performing back-breaking labor on farms, have been allowed to exist since the 1930s,” said Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy for the National Consumers League and the Child Labor Coalition. “The impact of the exemptions on farmworker children educationally is harmful and their health is at significant risk on farms.”

“We’re grateful for Senator Luján’s tremendous leadership on this issue.” said the CLC’s Chair Sally Greenberg, also the CEO of the National Consumers League. “It’s been 22 years since we’ve had a Senate bill that would fix our weak child labor laws that discriminate against farmworker children and leave them unprotected from farm dangers. This day was long overdue. We applaud Senator Lujan for taking action to protect child farmworkers.

“Growing up as a migrant farmworker child, I saw first-hand the detrimental consequences of our inequitable child labor laws,” says Norma Flores López, Chair of the Child Labor Coalition’s Domestic Issues Committee. “Working 70 hours a week, performing back-breaking work did not prepare me for a career in agriculture. Rather, it robbed me of my childhood and my health. Working children must be protected from dangerous work that is not age-appropriate, and the CARE Act provides this critical change in our labor laws.”

In the House, Rep. Raul Ruiz introduced a version of the CARE Act, H.R. 4046, earlier in the congressional session; it has 45 cosponsors.

The Senate bill, which does not have a number yet, has been endorsed by 46 organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the Economic Policy Institute, the UFW, Farmworker Justice, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Farm Medicine Center. The House version has been endorsed by 200 national, regional, and state-based organizations, noted Maki.

“The US will not fix the country’s child labor problem until Congress provides children working in agriculture with the same protections as all other working children. Congress should pass this bill without delay to protect children from dangerous work that harms their health and development,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director, Human Rights Watch.

In addition to raising the minimum age at which children could work in agriculture, CARE would significantly increase minimum fines for employers who violate agricultural child labor laws; the bill would also establish minimum fines for the first time. The legislation would also codify a ban on children applying pesticides and increase data collection and analysis of child farmworker injuries.

The children of farm owners working on their parents’ farms would not be covered by the protections of the CARE Act—this aligns with the wishes of organized farmer groups.

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Senator Luján Press Release: During Ag Week, Luján Introduces Legislation to Improve Child Protections and Safety Standards for Agriculture Industry

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Senator Ben Ray Luján’s legislation would significantly improve protections for child farmworkers

Press Release/March 21, 2024

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) introduced the Children’s Act for Responsible Employment in Agriculture (CARE) Act to ensure child protections and safety standards for children in the agricultural workforce. Agriculture is the only industry with labor laws that allow children as young as 12 to work with virtually no restrictions on the number of hours they work outside of school. Across the United States, there are hundreds of thousands of children who are working in the agricultural industry and performing the grueling work required to plant, pick, process, and pack food that Americans eat every day.

The CARE Act takes steps to improve child worker safety by adjusting the age and work hour standards for children in agriculture to the standards for children working in all other industries. Among its other provisions, the bill would also increase the civil and criminal monetary penalties for child labor violations, and provide children with greater protection against pesticide exposure. The CARE Act’s child labor protections would not apply to the children of farmers working on their parents’ farm.

“With their whole future ahead of them, our country must do better protecting children working in the agriculture industry,” said Senator Luján. “Across the country, thousands of children are working under hazardous conditions in the agriculture sector, risking their health and education. I’m introducing the CARE Act to raise the floor and bring our agricultural labor lines in with other industries to better protect children and improve the working conditions they operate in.”

“It’s amazing to us that discriminatory loopholes, which allow very young kids to work 70- and 80-hours a week, performing back-breaking labor on farms, have been allowed to exist since the 1930s,” said Reid Maki, Director of Child Labor Advocacy for the National Consumers League and the Child Labor Coalition. “The impact of the exemptions on farmworker children educationally is very harmful and their health is at great risk from agricultural dangers. We’re so happy Senator Luján has taken action to right our inadequate child labor laws.”

“The US will not fix the country’s child labor problem until Congress provides children working in agriculture with the same protections as all other working children. Congress should pass this bill without delay to protect children from dangerous work that harms their health and development,” said Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director, Human Rights Watch.

This legislation is endorsed by the Child Labor Coalition (37 member organizations), Campaign to End US Child Labor, AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, Bon Appétit Management Company, Farmworker Justice, First Focus Campaign for Children, Florida Policy Institute, Food Empowerment Project, Global March Against Child Labour, Green America, HKM Employment Attorneys LLP, Human Rights Watch, Jobs with Justice, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation – US, Free the Slaves, MANA, A National Latina Organization, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Media Voices for Children, Migrant Legal Action Program, National Association of State Directors of Migrant Education, National Consumers League, National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, National Education Association, National Employment Law Project—NELP, National Farm Medicine Center, National Farmworker Ministry, National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association, Northwest Workers’ Justice Project, Phoenix Zones Initiative, Project Protect Food Systems Workers, Social Accountability International, The Tendai Initiative, United Farm Workers, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.

The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment in Agriculture (CARE) Act:

  • Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by bringing the age and work hour standards for children working in agriculture up to the standards set under FLSA for all other forms of child labor;
  • Protects family farm and 4-H, educational, and vocational training exemptions so that children would continue to be able to work for educational programs to expose and encourage them to pursue agricultural careers;
  • Protects and expands the family farm exception to ensure children can continue to work on their family farms;
  • Increases maximum civil monetary penalties for child labor violations from $11,000 to $151,380, adjusted annually to CPI, and for violations that result in death or serious injury from $50,000 to $690,000, adjusted annually to CPI;
  • Increases maximum criminal penalties for child labor violations to $750,000, adjusted annually to CPI, or five years imprisonment;
  • Repeals the wavier provisions for hand harvest laborers and pesticide-related worker protection standard to better protect children from pesticide and chemical exposure;
  • Expands FLSA protections against child labor to independent contractors; and mandates annual reports to Congress on child labor and work-related injuries to children, requires employers to report the ages of workers injured or killed on the job as a part of existing fatality and injury reporting requirements, and mandates a memorandum of understanding between the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health and the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor to ensure better data sharing between agencies and states.

Full text of the bill can be found here.

This press release is from the web site of Senator Luján and can be found here.

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Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Bill to Help USDOL Build Its Labor Inspectorate

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[The following is a press release from Rep. McGarvey’s office dated December 06, 2023]

Congressman Morgan McGarvey Introduces Bill to Crack Down on Labor Rights Violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 06, 2023) – Today, Congressman Morgan McGarvey (KY-03) introduced the Workers Protecting Our Wage Earners’ Rights Act, or Workers POWER Act, alongside Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Education & Workforce Committee, Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01), and Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35). The bill will equip the Department of Labor with the resources needed to tackle federal labor law violations including child labor, wage theft, and workplace health and safety violations.

“Everyday working people are the ones who power this country, and they deserve to work with dignity, free from concerns of stolen wages or having their health and safety put at risk,” said Rep. Morgan McGarvey. “This bill creates a better future for our country’s workers by empowering the Department of Labor to crack down on bad actors engaging in conduct ranging from child labor violations to wage theft. I’m proud to lead my colleagues in the fight to prevent our workers from being exploited and will continue working to ensure every worker in our country makes good wages and has safe working conditions.”

The Workers POWER Act grew out of a federal investigation into several Louisville McDonald’s which were found in violation of child labor law and fined $212K by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division. The investigators uncovered numerous violations, including 305 minors working illegally and two 10-year-old children working as late as 2:00 a.m. Despite the best efforts of the hardworking federal investigators, reports of child labor have continued to make headlines while staffing shortages at the Wage and Hour Division remain pertinent due to underfunding.

This legislation improves the pipeline, capacity, and resources into the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). To do so, the legislation seeks to increase the slots in pipeline programs, incentivize recruitment and retention, promote reports on the needs of the Department of Labor to best enforce labor laws, and create a grant program to states to increase labor violations enforcement.

“The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are an essential line of defense against wage theft, abusive child labor, and unsafe workplaces. Regrettably, these agencies and their staff have been left without the resources and support they need to fulfill DOL’s promise to workers. This is particularly dangerous at a time when unscrupulous employers are robbing workers of hard-earned pay and there is a surge in horrific incidents of child labor and workplace injuries and deaths,” said Ranking Member Scott. “The Workers POWER Act would help ensure that WHD and OSHA have access to a strong pipeline of talent and can provide their staff with the support they deserve.  We must invest in the individuals who dedicate themselves to protecting the rights and safety of American workers.”

“No worker should be subjected to unsafe and unhealthy working conditions. As a former electrician, I saw many friends and coworkers seriously injured and killed on the job due to dangerous and exploitative working conditions,” said Congressman Norcross, co-chair of the Labor Caucus. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Workers POWER Act to empower the Department of Labor with the tools and resources it needs to enforce federal labor laws, protect workers, and crack down on exploitative labor practices. The health and safety of America’s workers remains one of my top priorities in Congress, and I will continue to work with both sides of the aisle to keep them safe and healthy.”

“Right now, people are being forced to work unsafe and dangerous jobs by some of the biggest corporations across the country,” said Congressman Casar. “We must increase the Department of Labor’s resources to help them tackle the increasing number of labor violations, hold these big corporations accountable, and protect U.S. workers for the long haul.”

Read more

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CARE Act’s 24 Co-sponsors in the 116th Congress

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The Children’s Act for Responsible Employment and Farm Safety was introduced by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard on June 20, 2019 with 24 original cosponsors (bold). For the goals of the CARE Act, click here.

 

Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44)

Karen Bass (CA-37)

Tony Cárdenas (CA-29)

David Cicilline (RI-01)

Yvette Clarke (NY-09)

Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)

Ruben Gallego (AZ-07)

Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)

Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Barbara Lee (CA-13)

Andy Levin (MI-09)

Alan S. Lowenthal (CA-47)

Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08)

James P. McGovern (MA-02)

Gwen Moore (WI-04)

Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32)

Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)

Mark Pocan (WI-02)

Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP)

Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09)

Adam B. Schiff (CA-28)

José E. Serrano (NY-15)

Albio Sires (NJ-08)

Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24)

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Statement by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi on the passage of India’s Child Labour Amendment Bill of 2016

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2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has long been a collaborator of the Child Labor Coalition

2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kailash Satyarthi has long been a collaborator of the Child Labor Coalition

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2016 is a missed opportunity.

I was hoping that today the elected leaders of our country will acknowledge that the value of freedom and childhood is greater than the value of a vote; that they would respond to the voices of the most exploited and vulnerable children. I had hoped that the first phase of my struggle of thirty-six years would culminate in the creation of a strong law and I would work with the Government for its effective implementation.

Despite its progressive elements, the lacunae in this Bill are self-defeating.

The definition of family and family enterprises is flawed. This Bill uses Indian family values to justify economic exploitation of children. It is misleading the society by blurring the lines between learning in a family and working in a family enterprise.

The Bill reinforces status quo in society by hindering socio-economic mobility of the marginalised and furthers the rigid norms of social hierarchy.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have fixed targets for elimination of child labour and accomplishment of universal, inclusive education for children, rights which I had fought and advocated for.  As the world progresses towards this goal, India threatens to unravel the pace of progress by opening a back door for large number of children to enter workforce.

Children of any age, under the garb of family enterprises, can now legally work in brick kilns, slaughter houses, beedi making, glass furnaces and other hazardous labour.  Children have been failed again.

However, I applaud the strong concern raised by several parliamentarians across party lines in the Lok Sabha.

The Hon’ble Labour Minister, who is a dear friend and elder brother assured that my serious reservations would be accommodated. Especially the reduced list of hazardous occupations, the ambiguity regarding the definition of family and family enterprises and the weakening of the conviction through the provision to compound offences. However, the Bill passed by the Parliament today does not address any of these concerns.

But I am a hopeful man. I believe in the children, the young people, the mothers and fathers of this country. I know we stand together to end child labour.

I call upon the conscience of our nation.

Today, justice must rise above the law.