I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9137 

To safeguard the rights of workers and protect children by responsibly 

increasing civil monetary penalties and other means. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. 

HORSFORD, Mr. POCAN, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCGARVEY, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mr. CASAR, Ms. WILD, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. OMAR, and Mrs. 

RAMIREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Accountability, and House Administration, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To safeguard the rights of workers and protect children 

by responsibly increasing civil monetary penalties and 

other means. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Labor Enforcement 

5 to Securely Protect Workers Act’’ or the ‘‘LET’S Protect 

6 Workers Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVED PROTECTION FOR WORKERS AND CHIL2 DREN THROUGH MEANINGFUL CIVIL PEN3 ALTIES. 

4 (a) CHILD LABOR.—Section 16(e)(1)(A) of the Fair 

5 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)(A)) 

6 is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) Any person who violates the provisions of sec8 tions 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation 

9 issued pursuant to such sections, shall be subject to a civil 

10 penalty as follows: 

11 ‘‘(i) Not more than $150,000, but not less than 

12 $1,500, for each employee who was the subject of 

13 such a violation. 

14 ‘‘(ii) Not more than $700,000, but not less 

15 than $7,000, with regard to each such violation that 

16 causes the death or serious injury of any employee 

17 under the age of 18 years, which penalty may be 

18 doubled where the violation is a repeated or willful 

19 violation.’’. 

20 (b) WAGE AND HOUR PROTECTIONS.—Section 16(e) 

21 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

22 216(e)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amend23 ed— 

24 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

25 (A) in the first sentence— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘repeatedly or will2 fully’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘not to exceed $1,100 

4 for each such violation’’ and inserting ‘‘not 

5 to exceed, for each such violation, $25,000 

6 or, if such a violation is a repeated or will7 ful violation, $50,000’’; and 

8 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

9 ‘‘not to exceed $1,100 for each such violation’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘not to exceed, for each such vio11 lation, $25,000 or, if such a violation is a re12 peated or willful violation, $50,000’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 

14 (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 

15 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so 

16 amended, the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) Any person who violates section 11(c) shall be 

18 subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each 

19 such violation.’’. 

20 (c) WORKERS’ HEALTH AND SAFETY.—Section 17 of 

21 the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 

22 U.S.C. 666) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘$70,000’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘$800,000’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$60,000’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘7,000’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘$80,000’’; 

5 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘$40,000’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘$80,000’’; and 

9 (5) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘$40,000’’. 

11 (d) FARMWORKER PROTECTIONS.—Section 

12 503(a)(1) of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Work13 er Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1853(a)(1)) is amended by 

14 striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000’’. 

15 (e) MINE SAFETY AND BLACK LUNG BENEFITS.— 

16 (1) INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES DURING PAT17 TERN OF VIOLATIONS STATUS.—Section 110(b) of 

18 the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 

19 (30 U.S.C. 820(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 

22 in the case of an operator who has been given written no23 tice of a pattern of violations in accordance with para24 graph (1) of section 104(e), such operator, for any viola25 tion of any provision of this Act occurring during the peVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:37 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9137.IH H9137

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1 riod beginning on the date that such notice was issued 

2 and ending on the date such pattern of violation is deemed 

3 to be terminated in accordance with paragraph (3) of sec4 tion 104(e), shall be assessed a civil penalty by the Sec5 retary equal to the lesser of— 

6 ‘‘(A) twice the amount that would, in the ab7 sence of this paragraph, be assessed by the Sec8 retary for such violation; or 

9 ‘‘(B) the maximum amount that may be as10 sessed for such violation.’’. 

11 (2) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 

12 (A) AMENDMENTS.—Section 110 of the 

13 Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 

14 (30 U.S.C. 820) is further amended— 

15 (i) by redesignating subsection (l) as 

16 subsection (m); and 

17 (ii) by inserting after subsection (k) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(l) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DELINQUENT PAYMENT LETTER.—If the 

21 operator of a coal or other mine fails to pay any civil 

22 penalty assessment that has become a final order of 

23 the Commission or a court, not later than 45 days 

24 after such assessment becomes such a final order, 


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1 the Secretary shall send the operator a letter advis2 ing the operator— 

3 ‘‘(A) of the consequences under this sub4 section of such failure to pay; and 

5 ‘‘(B) of the opportunity to enter into or 

6 modify a payment plan with the Secretary 

7 based upon a demonstrated inability to pay, in8 cluding— 

9 ‘‘(i) the procedure for entering into 

10 such plan; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the consequences of not entering 

12 into or not complying with such plan. 

13 ‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS FOLLOWING FAIL14 URE TO PAY.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an operator that re16 ceives a letter under paragraph (1) with respect 

17 to an assessment, has not, by the date that is 

18 180 days after such assessment became a final 

19 order, paid the assessment or entered into a 

20 payment plan described in paragraph (1)(B), 

21 the Secretary shall issue a withdrawal order 

22 until the operator pays such assessment in full 

23 (including interest and administrative costs) or 

24 enters into such a payment plan. 


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1 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT WITHDRAWAL

2 ORDER.—If such operator enters into a pay3 ment plan with the Secretary on or after the 

4 date on which the Secretary issues a withdrawal 

5 order and at any time fails to comply with the 

6 terms specified in such payment plan, the Sec7 retary shall reissue such withdrawal order until 

8 the operator rectifies the noncompliance with 

9 the payment plan in the manner specified in 

10 such payment plan. 

11 ‘‘(C) WITHDRAWAL ORDER DEFINED.—In 

12 this paragraph, the term ‘withdrawal order’ 

13 means an order requiring an operator to cause 

14 all persons, except those referred to in section 

15 104(c), to be withdrawn from, and to be prohib16 ited from entering, the mine that is covered by 

17 the final order described in paragraph (1) with 

18 respect to such operator.’’. 

19 (B) APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The amendments 

21 made by subparagraph (A) shall apply to 

22 all unpaid civil penalty assessments under 

23 the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 

24 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) that become 

25 a final order of the Federal Mine Safety 


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1 and Health Review Commission or a court 

2 on or after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act. 

4 (ii) PRIOR FINAL ORDERS.—In the 

5 case of any unpaid civil penalty assessment 

6 that became such a final order before the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the date on 

8 which such assessment became a final 

9 order shall be deemed to be the date of en10 actment of this Act. 

11 (3) CIVIL PENALTY FOR RETALIATION.—Sec12 tion 110(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health 

13 Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820(a)) is further amend14 ed— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

16 paragraph (5); and 

17 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(4) If any person violates section 105(c), the Sec20 retary shall propose, and the Commission shall assess, 

21 during any 3-year period, a civil penalty of not less than 

22 $10,000 or more than $100,000 for the first occurrence 

23 of such violation by such person, and not less than 

24 $20,000 or more than $200,000 for any subsequent viola25 tion by such person.’’. 


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1 (4) BLACK LUNG BENEFITS PENALTIES.—Sec2 tion 423(d)(1) Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 

3 of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 933(d)(1)) is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$50,000 but not less 

5 than $5,000’’. 

6 (f) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.— 

7 (1) INTERFERENCE WITH RIGHTS AND PRO8 CEEDINGS.—Section 107(b) of the Family and Med9 ical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617(b)) is 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(4) CIVIL PENALTY.—In addition to any sums 

13 recovered by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph 

14 (2), any employer that violates section 105 may be 

15 assessed a civil money penalty not to exceed $25,000 

16 for each separate offense.’’. 

17 (2) NOTICE.—Section 109(b) of the Family and 

18 Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2619(b)) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘$100’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$2,500’’. 

21 (3) RECORDKEEPING.—Section 106(b) of the 

22 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 

23 2616(b)) is amended by adding ‘‘Any employer that 

24 violates this subsection may be assessed a civil monVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:37 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9137.IH H9137

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1 etary penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each separate 

2 offense.’’ at the end. 

3 SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR 

4 EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLANS. 

5 (a) PARITY IN MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE

6 USE DISORDERS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(c)(10)(A) of the 

8 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

9 (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)(10)(A)) is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘any plan sponsor of a 

11 group health plan’’ and inserting ‘‘any plan 

12 sponsor or plan administrator of a group health 

13 plan, service provider,’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘for any failure’’ and all 

15 that follows and inserting ‘‘for any failure, or 

16 participation in such failure, by such sponsor, 

17 administrator, service provider, or issuer to 

18 meet, in connection with the plan, the require19 ments of— 

20 ‘‘(i) subsection (a)(1)(F), (b)(3), (c), 

21 or (d) of section 702 or section 701 or 

22 702(b)(1) with respect to genetic informa23 tion; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) subsection (a) of section 712 

2 with respect to parity in mental health and 

3 substance use disorder benefits.’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 502(c)(10) of the Employee Retirement Income Se6 curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)(10)(A)) is 

7 further amended by striking ‘‘USE OF GENETIC IN8 FORMATION’’ in the heading and inserting ‘‘USE OF

9 GENETIC INFORMATION AND PARITY IN MENTAL

10 HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER BENE11 FITS’’. 

12 (b) EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL PROHIBITION ON

13 ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—Section 502(a)(6) of the 

15 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 

16 (29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(6)) is amended to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(6) by the Secretary to collect any civil penalty 

19 that the Secretary has imposed or assessed pursuant 

20 to authority under this title;’’. 

21 (2) ENFORCEMENT IN RELATION TO GROUP

22 HEALTH PLANS.—Section 502(b)(3) of the Employee 

23 Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 

24 1132(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘Except’’ and all 

25 that follows through ‘‘the Secretary’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘Except as provided in subsections (c)(9), (c)(10), 

2 and (a)(6) (with respect to collecting civil penalties 

3 under subsections (c)(9) and (c)(10)), and except 

4 with respect to enforcement by the Secretary of sec5 tion 712, the Secretary’’. 

6 SEC. 4. IMPROVING WORKPLACE DEMOCRACY THROUGH 

7 CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES. 

8 Section 12 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 

9 U.S.C. 162) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘Sec. 12. Any person’’ and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 12. PENALTIES. 

13 ‘‘(a) VIOLATIONS FOR INTERFERENCE WITH

14 BOARD.—Any person’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES FOR UNFAIR LABOR PRAC17 TICES.—Any employer who commits an unfair labor prac18 tice within the meaning of section 8(a) shall be subject 

19 to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for 

20 each such violation, except that, with respect to such an 

21 unfair labor practice within the meaning of paragraph (3) 

22 or (4) of section 8(a) or such a violation of section 8(a) 

23 that results in the discharge of an employee or other seri24 ous economic harm to an employee, the Board shall double 

25 the amount of such penalty, to an amount not to exceed 


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1 $100,000, in any case where the employer has within the 

2 preceding 5 years committed another such violation of 

3 such paragraph (3) or (4) or such violation of section 8(a) 

4 that results in such discharge or other serious economic 

5 harm. A civil penalty under this paragraph shall be in ad6 dition to any other remedy ordered by the Board. Sums 

7 collected as civil penalties pursuant to this section shall 

8 be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. 

9 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the amount 

10 of any civil penalty under this section, the Board shall con11 sider— 

12 ‘‘(1) the gravity of the actions of the employer 

13 resulting in the penalty, including the impact of such 

14 actions on the charging party or on other persons 

15 seeking to exercise rights guaranteed by this Act; 

16 ‘‘(2) the size of the employer; 

17 ‘‘(3) the history of any previous unfair labor 

18 practices or other actions by the employer resulting 

19 in a penalty; and 

20 ‘‘(4) the public interest. 

21 ‘‘(d) DIRECTOR AND OFFICER LIABILITY.—If the 

22 Board determines, based on the particular facts and cir23 cumstances presented, that a director or officer’s personal 

24 liability is warranted, a civil penalty for a unfair labor 

25 practice described in this section may also be assessed 


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1 against any director or officer of the employer who di2 rected or committed the unfair labor practice, had estab3 lished a policy that led to such an unfair labor practice, 

4 or had actual or constructive knowledge of and the author5 ity to prevent the unfair labor practice and failed to pre6 vent the unfair labor practice.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. SECURING WORKERS’ RIGHTS THROUGH RESPON8 SIBLE RECORDKEEPING AND NOTICE TO EM9 PLOYEES. 

10 (a) WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY.—Section 

11 9(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 

12 (29 U.S.C. 658(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: ‘‘In the case of a violation that relates to mak14 ing, keeping, or preserving a record, such violation con15 tinues to occur until the earlier of (1) the date on which 

16 an employer complies with the requirement, rule, stand17 ard, order, or regulation that was violated with respect 

18 to making, keeping, or preserving such record; or (2) the 

19 date on which the requirement to keep and preserve such 

20 record expires.’’. 

21 (b) WAGE, HOUR, AND FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

22 PROTECTIONS.—Section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Stand23 ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) is amended by insert24 ing before the last sentence the following: ‘‘For purposes 

25 of enforcement of this subsection under section 16(e)(3), 


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1 a violation of a requirement to make, keep, or preserve 

2 a record continues to occur until the earlier of (1) the date 

3 on which an employer has complied with the regulation 

4 or order that was violated with respect to such record, or 

5 (2) the date on which the requirement to keep and pre6 serve such record expires.’’ 

7 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than one year after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 

9 promulgate or amend such regulations as are necessary 

10 to implement the amendments made by this section. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (c) shall be consid12 ered a specific authorization by Congress in accordance 

13 with section 801(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, with 

14 respect to the issuance of a new recordkeeping rule pursu15 ant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 

16 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION. 

17 (a) SECTIONS 2, 3, AND 4.—Except as as provided 

18 in section 2(e)(2)(B), the amendments made by sections 

19 2, 3, and 4 of this Act shall take effect on January 1, 

20 2025, and shall apply with respect to violations that occur 

21 on or after January 1, 2025. 

22 (b) SECTION 5.—The amendments made by section 

23 5 of this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 


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1 of this Act, and shall apply with respect to violations that 

2 occur on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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