Federal RuleAug 21
62
DOL Rewrites Disability Rules for 'Merit-Based Opportunity' Push
RuleLabor DepartmentFederal Contract Compliance Programs OfficeSignificant Wallet
119-hr-9347119th CongressWALLET
CHILD Labor Act
Sponsored By: Representative DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3]
Introduced
Summary
Stronger protections against child labor. The bill would define "oppressive child labor" broadly and extend enforcement to supply chains and federal contracts, adding penalties, stop-work orders, and labeling for violative goods.
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- Families and children: It would ban employment of children under 18 in specified hazardous industries. Work by 14- and 15-year-olds would be limited if it harms schooling or safety and work under 14 would be barred except for parental or custody exceptions.
- Workers and victims: The Secretary of Labor would get powers to order stop-work, supervise remedy payments, and seek increased penalties and damages including punitive awards. The Secretary would have 180 days to issue initial regulations and must review them at least every 5 years.
- Businesses and contractors: Federal contracts would bar anyone under 16 at any tier and prohibit oppressive child labor for 16- and 17-year-olds across suppliers. The bill would create a breach list, allow 3-year debarment for violators, and provide a limited good-faith defense for contractors who checked compliance.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Stronger worker remedies and penalties
This bill would give workers stronger remedies and protections for child-labor violations. It would let affected workers seek minimum compensatory damages of at least $75,000 each, with higher minimums ($750,000) and a $1,000,000 punitive floor for death or serious injury. It would create anti-retaliation civil penalties up to $75,000 per violation and extend the lawsuit filing window to 10 years. The bill would let the Labor Secretary issue stop-work orders and require employers to pay workers their regular rate for hours lost by those orders.
New supply-chain and contractor rules
If enacted, firms and sellers would face new rules across supply chains and federal contracts. The bill would bar selling goods in commerce if any contractor in the supply chain used oppressive child labor and narrow purchaser defenses. Federal contracts and grants would ban under-16 employees at any tier, allow $20 per day liquidated damages per affected child, and permit contract cancellation and a 3-year debarment list. The bill would also extend the 'hot goods' enforcement window to 180 days and let the Labor Secretary tag violative goods with a notice up to 6 inches long.
Training, rules, and reporting steps
The bill would require the Labor Secretary to issue hazardous-work rules for minors within 180 days and review them at least every five years. It would fund or run training and victim-support programs to spot and prevent oppressive child labor. The Secretary would collect data on work injuries and enforcement and report to Congress within 180 days and then every year. These actions would be meant to improve prevention, detection, and public information.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
DeLauro, Rosa L. [D-CT-3]
CT • D
Cosponsors
Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12]
NC • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Chu, Judy [D-CA-28]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. DeSaulnier, Mark [D-CA-10]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Goldman, Daniel S. [D-NY-10]
NY • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18]
CA • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Magaziner, Seth [D-RI-2]
RI • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2]
MA • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]
WI • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]
MI • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2]
HI • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Underwood, Lauren [D-IL-14]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/18/2026
Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1]
NM • D
Sponsored 6/23/2026
Rep. Scholten, Hillary J. [D-MI-3]
MI • D
Sponsored 6/29/2026
Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4]
IL • D
Sponsored 6/30/2026
Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Sánchez, Linda T. [D-CA-38]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24]
FL • D
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Casar, Greg [D-TX-35]
TX • D
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Carson, André [D-IN-7]
IN • D
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Crockett, Jasmine [D-TX-30]
TX • D
Sponsored 7/13/2026
Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7]
AZ • D
Sponsored 8/24/2026
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov