II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3051 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to apply child labor 

laws to independent contractors, increase penalties for child labor law 

violations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 17, 2023 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to apply 

child labor laws to independent contractors, increase penalties for child labor law violations, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Stop Child Labor Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS 

2 ACT OF 1938. 

3 (a) PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT.—Section 16(b) of the 

4 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by inserting after the third sentence the fol7 lowing: ‘‘Any employer who violates the provisions of 

8 section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, shall be 

9 liable to any child harmed as a result of such viola10 tion for compensatory damages and punitive dam11 ages in an amount not more than $250,000.’’; 

12 (2) in the fourth sentence— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘or, with respect to viola14 tions of the provisions of section 12 or 13(c), 

15 relating to child labor, children’’ after ‘‘more 

16 employees’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘or children, as the case 

18 may be,’’ after ‘‘other employees’’; 

19 (3) in the fifth sentence, by inserting ‘‘or chil20 dren, as the case may be,’’ after ‘‘employees’’; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The 

22 right provided by this subsection to bring an action 

23 by or on behalf of any child with respect to viola24 tions of the provisions of section 12 or 13(c), relat25 ing to child labor, and the right of any child to be26 come a party plaintiff to any such action, shall terVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Oct 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3051.IS S3051
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1 minate upon the filing of a complaint by the Sec2 retary in an action under section 17 in which legal 

3 or equitable relief is sought as a result of alleged 

4 violations of such provisions.’’. 

5 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 16(e)(1) of the Fair 

6 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

10 striking ‘‘not to exceed’’ and inserting ‘‘of an 

11 amount (subject to subparagraph (C)) that is’’; 

12 (B) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘$11,000’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘not less than $5,000 and not 

14 more than $132,270’’; and 

15 (C) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘not less than $25,000 and not 

17 more than $601,150’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘(C) The dollar amounts referred to in clauses 

20 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be increased 

21 annually, for fiscal year 2024 and every fiscal year 

22 thereafter, by the percent increase, if any, in the 

23 consumer price index for all urban consumers (all 

24 items; United States city average) for the most reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Oct 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3051.IS S3051
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1 cent 12-month period for which applicable data is 

2 available.’’. 

3 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 16(a) of the Fair 

4 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘Any’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) Any’’; 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘(other than subsection (a)(4) 

8 of such section)’’ after ‘‘section 15’’; 

9 (3) by striking ‘‘subsection’’ each place it ap10 pears and inserting ‘‘paragraph’’; and 

11 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates 

13 section 15(a)(4) shall upon conviction thereof be subject 

14 to a fine of not more than $50,000, or to imprisonment 

15 for not more than 1 year, or both.’’. 

16 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 subsections (a), (b), and (c) shall apply with respect to 

18 violations alleged to have occurred on or after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR PREVENTION OF CHILD 

21 LABOR VIOLATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor may 

23 award grants to eligible entities for purposes of education, 

24 training, and development of systems to help employers 

25 recognize, avoid, and prevent violations of section 12 or 

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1 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

2 212, 213(c)). 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this section, 

4 the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

5 (1) a nonprofit organization described in section 

6 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

7 (2) a nonprofit trade industry or employer asso8 ciation; 

9 (3) a labor-management partnership; or 

10 (4) a labor organization. 

11 SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CHILD LABOR 

12 . 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established the Na14 tional Advisory Committee on Child Labor (in this section 

15 referred to as the ‘‘Committee’’). 

16 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 

18 composed of 12 members of whom— 

19 (A) 3 shall be representatives of manage20 ment who are appointed by the Secretary of 

21 Labor; 

22 (B) 3 shall be representatives of labor or23 ganizations who are appointed by the Secretary 

24 of Labor; 

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1 (C) 1 shall be a member of the public who 

2 is appointed by the Secretary of Labor; 

3 (D) 2 shall be members of the public who 

4 are appointed by the Secretary of Health and 

5 Human Services; and 

6 (E) 3 shall be child welfare professionals 

7 who are appointed by the Secretary of Health 

8 and Human Services. 

9 (2) DATE.—The appointments of the members 

10 of the Committee shall be made not later than 90 

11 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

12 (3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Com14 mittee shall be appointed for a term of 2 years. 

15 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Com16 mittee— 

17 (i) shall not affect the powers of the 

18 Committee; and 

19 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

20 as the original appointment. 

21 (4) MEETINGS.—The Committee shall hold no 

22 fewer than 2 meetings during each calendar year. 

23 (5) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Labor 

24 shall designate the Chairperson of the Committee 

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1 from among the members of the Committee ap2 pointed under paragraph (1). 

3 (c) DUTIES OF COMMITTEE.—The Committee shall 

4 advise, consult, and make recommendations to the Sec5 retary of Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services on matters related to the recognition, avoidance, 

7 prevention, and enforcement of violations of section 12 or 

8 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

9 212, 213(c)). 

10 (d) COMMITTEE PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

11 (1) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—A member 

12 of the Committee who is not an officer or employee 

13 of the Federal Government shall be compensated at 

14 a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual 

15 rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Exec16 utive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

17 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

18 during which the member is engaged in the perform19 ance of the duties of the Committee. 

20 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

21 Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, includ22 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author23 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 

24 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

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1 away from their homes or regular places of business 

2 in the performance of services for the Committee. 

3 (3) STAFF.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the 

5 Committee may, without regard to the civil 

6 service laws (including regulations), appoint 

7 and terminate an executive director and such 

8 other additional personnel as may be necessary 

9 to enable the Committee to perform its duties, 

10 except that the employment of an executive di11 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the 

12 Committee. 

13 (B) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of 

14 the Committee may fix the compensation of the 

15 executive director and other personnel without 

16 regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

17 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relat18 ing to classification of positions and General 

19 Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay 

20 for the executive director and other personnel 

21 may not exceed the rate payable for level V of 

22 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 

23 that title. 

24 (4) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—A 

25 Federal Government employee may be detailed to 

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1 the Committee without reimbursement, and such de2 tail shall be without interruption or loss of civil serv3 ice status or privilege. 

4 (5) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER5 MITTENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Com6 mittee may procure temporary and intermittent serv7 ices under section 3109(b) of title 5, United States 

8 Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the 

9 daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre10 scribed for level V of the Executive Schedule under 

11 section 5316 of that title. 

12 (e) DURATION OF COMMITTEE.—Section 1013 of 

13 title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Com14 mittee. 

15 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated to the Committee to carry 

17 out this section $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 

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