II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1288 

To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture comply with 

certain labor laws, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 25, 2023 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which 

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

Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture 

comply with certain labor laws, 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 ‘‘Child Labor Exploi5 tation Accountability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC SECURITY AND WORK7 PLACE ACCOUNTABILITY. 

8 (a) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.—The Secretary of Ag9 riculture shall require any entity that enters into a con10 tract with the Department of Agriculture on or after the 


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1 date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

2 Act to disclose to the Secretary of Labor, on an annual 

3 basis and to the best of the knowledge of the entity, wheth4 er, within the preceding 3-year period, any administrative 

5 merits determination, arbitral award or decision, or civil 

6 judgment, as defined in regulations issued by the Sec7 retary of Labor, has been issued against the entity, or any 

8 subcontractor of the entity, for violations of any of the 

9 following (including, as applicable, any regulations issued 

10 under any of the following): 

11 (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 

12 U.S.C. 201 et seq.). 

13 (2) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 

14 1970 (29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.). 

15 (3) The National Labor Relations Act (29 

16 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

17 (4) Subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, 

18 United States Code (commonly known as the 

19 ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 

20 (5) Chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code 

21 (commonly known as the ‘‘Service Contract Act’’). 

22 (6) Executive Order 11246 (42 U.S.C. 2000e 

23 note; relating to equal employment opportunity). 

24 (7) Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

25 1973 (29 U.S.C. 793). 


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1 (8) Section 4212 of title 38, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (9) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 

4 (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.). 

5 (10) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 

6 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.). 

7 (11) Title I of the Americans with Disabilities 

8 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.). 

9 (12) The Age Discrimination in Employment 

10 Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.). 

11 (13) Executive Order 13658 (79 Fed. Reg. 

12 9851; relating to establishing a minimum wage for 

13 contractors). 

14 (14) The Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et 

15 seq.). 

16 (15) The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (divi17 sion II of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 

18 (Public Law 117–328)). 

19 (16) Section 4714 of title 41, United States 

20 Code. 

21 (17) Part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Reg22 ulations (regarding the Worker Protection Stand23 ard). 


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1 (18) Section 218 of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1188) relating to protections 

3 for H–2A workers. 

4 (19) Section 274B of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

5 1324b). 

6 (20) Any applicable State or local labor or em7 ployment law, as defined in regulations issued by the 

8 Secretary of Labor. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Labor shall 

10 be available, as appropriate and in coordination as de11 scribed in subsection (e), for consultation with an entity 

12 described in subsection (a) to assist the entity in evalu13 ating the information on labor compliance submitted to 

14 the entity by a subcontractor pursuant to such subsection. 

15 (c) CORRECTIVE MEASURES.—On an annual basis, 

16 the Secretary of Labor— 

17 (1) shall provide an entity that makes a disclo18 sure pursuant to subsection (a) an opportunity to re19 port any steps taken by the entity, or any subcon20 tractor of the entity, to correct violations of or im21 prove compliance with the labor laws, including Ex22 ecutive orders, listed in such subsection, including 

23 any agreements entered into with an enforcement 

24 agency; and 


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1 (2) may negotiate with such entity corrective 

2 measures that the entity or any subcontractor of the 

3 entity may take in order to avoid having the entity 

4 placed on the list under subsection (d). 

5 (d) LIST OF INELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each calendar year be7 ginning with the first calendar year that begins after 

8 the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Secretary of Labor, in coordination 

10 as described in subsection (e), shall prepare, and 

11 submit to the Secretary of Agriculture, a list of each 

12 entity that shall be ineligible for a contract with the 

13 Department of Agriculture for that year based on— 

14 (A) serious, repeated, or pervasive viola15 tions of the labor laws, including Executive or16 ders, listed under subsection (a) committed by 

17 the entity or any subcontractor of the entity; or 

18 (B) the failure of such entity, or any sub19 contractor of such entity, to complete any cor20 rective measure negotiated under subsection (c). 

21 (2) INELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary of Agri22 culture shall not— 

23 (A) solicit a contract from any entity on 

24 the list under paragraph (1) that is in effect for 


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1 a year for that year or any of the subsequent 

2 4 years; and 

3 (B) conduct an inspection pursuant to the 

4 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et 

5 seq.) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act 

6 (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), as applicable, of any 

7 facility owned or controlled by an entity on the 

8 list under paragraph (1) that is in effect for a 

9 year for that year or for any of the subsequent 

10 4 years. 

11 (e) COORDINATION.—In providing the consultation 

12 described in subsection (b) and preparing the list under 

13 subsection (d), the Secretary of Labor shall coordinate, 

14 as appropriate, with the National Labor Relations Board, 

15 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the En16 vironmental Protection Agency, States, and local govern17 ments. 

18 (f) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT.— 

19 (1) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for an enti20 ty to knowingly fail to make a disclosure required 

21 under subsection (a). 

22 (2) PENALTY.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—A violation of para24 graph (1) shall be treated as a violation of sec25 tion 1031(a) of title 18, United States Code. 


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1 (B) GROSS LOSS TO GOVERNMENT; GROSS

2 GAIN TO DEFENDANT.—For purposes of apply3 ing section 1031 of title 18, United States 

4 Code, to a violation of paragraph (1) of this 

5 subsection, the amount that the Department of 

6 Agriculture pays an entity that violates such 

7 paragraph (1) under a contract described in 

8 subsection (a) of this section shall be treated as 

9 the gross loss to the Government or the gross 

10 gain to the defendant. 

11 (g) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—For each cal12 endar year beginning with the first calendar year that be13 gins after the date that is 2 years after the date of enact14 ment of this Act, Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

15 a report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

16 Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture 

17 of the House of Representatives that includes— 

18 (1) the number of entities on the list under sub19 section (d) for the year of the report; 

20 (2) the number of entities that agreed to take 

21 corrective measures under subsection (c) for such 

22 year; 

23 (3) the amount of the applicable contracts for 

24 the entities described in paragraph (1) or (2); and 


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1 (4) performance indicators and measures, as 

2 determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, assess3 ing the effectiveness of the implementation by the 

4 Secretary of Agriculture of this Act for such year. 

Æ 


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