Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act

Subjects: Agriculture and Food


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2822 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2822

To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture comply with 
              certain labor laws, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2023

  Mr. Casar (for himself, Ms. Budzinski, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Balint, Ms. 
   Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Salinas, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Mrs. 
 Foushee, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Pingree, 
   Mr. Deluzio, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Huffman, Mrs. 
Ramirez, Ms. Brown, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Menendez, 
  Mr. Tonko, Mr. Magaziner, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Doggett, Mr. 
  McGovern, Mr. Cleaver, and Ms. Bush) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture comply with 
              certain labor laws, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Child Labor Exploitation 
Accountability Act''.

SEC. 2. PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC SECURITY AND WORKPLACE ACCOUNTABILITY.

    (a) Required Disclosures.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
require any entity that enters into a contract with the Department of 
Agriculture on or after the date that is 2 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act to disclose to the Secretary of Labor, on an 
annual basis and to the best of the knowledge of the entity, whether, 
within the preceding 3-year period, any administrative merits 
determination, arbitral award or decision, or civil judgment, as 
defined in regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor, has been 
issued against the entity, or any subcontractor of the entity, for 
violations of any of the following (including, as applicable, any 
regulations issued under any of the following):
            (1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et 
        seq.).
            (2) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
        U.S.C. 651 et seq.).
            (3) The National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et 
        seq.).
            (4) Subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 
        Code (commonly known as the ``Davis-Bacon Act'').
            (5) Chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code (commonly 
        known as the ``Service Contract Act'').
            (6) Executive Order 11246 (42 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating 
        to equal employment opportunity).
            (7) Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 
        U.S.C. 793).
            (8) Section 4212 of title 38, United States Code.
            (9) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
        2601 et seq.).
            (10) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 
        2000e et seq.).
            (11) Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 
        (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.).
            (12) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 
        U.S.C. 621 et seq.).
            (13) Executive Order 13658 (79 Fed. Reg. 9851; relating to 
        establishing a minimum wage for contractors).
            (14) The Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
            (15) The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (division II of the 
        Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328)).
            (16) Section 4714 of title 41, United States Code.
            (17) Part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations 
        (regarding the Worker Protection Standard).
            (18) Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1188) relating to protections for H-2A workers.
            (19) Section 274B of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b).
            (20) Any applicable State or local labor or employment law, 
        as defined in regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor.
    (b) Consultation.--The Secretary of Labor shall be available, as 
appropriate and in coordination as described in subsection (e), for 
consultation with an entity described in subsection (a) to assist the 
entity in evaluating the information on labor compliance submitted to 
the entity by a subcontractor pursuant to such subsection.
    (c) Corrective Measures.--On an annual basis, the Secretary of 
Labor--
            (1) shall provide an entity that makes a disclosure 
        pursuant to subsection (a) an opportunity to report any steps 
        taken by the entity, or any subcontractor of the entity, to 
        correct violations of or improve compliance with the labor 
        laws, including Executive orders, listed in such subsection, 
        including any agreements entered into with an enforcement 
        agency; and
            (2) may negotiate with such entity corrective measures that 
        the entity or any subcontractor of the entity may take in order 
        to avoid having the entity placed on the list under subsection 
        (d).
    (d) List of Ineligible Entities.--
            (1) In general.--For each calendar year beginning with the 
        first calendar year that begins after the date that is 2 years 
        after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        Labor, in coordination as described in subsection (e), shall 
        prepare, and submit to the Secretary of Agriculture, a list of 
        each entity that shall be ineligible for a contract with the 
        Department of Agriculture for that year based on--
                    (A) serious, repeated, or pervasive violations of 
                the labor laws, including Executive orders, listed 
                under subsection (a) committed by the entity or any 
                subcontractor of the entity; or
                    (B) the failure of such entity, or any 
                subcontractor of such entity, to complete any 
                corrective measure negotiated under subsection (c).
            (2) Ineligibility.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        not--
                    (A) solicit a contract from any entity on the list 
                under paragraph (1) that is in effect for a year for 
                that year or any of the subsequent 4 years; and
                    (B) conduct an inspection pursuant to the Federal 
                Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the 
                Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et 
                seq.), as applicable, of any facility owned or 
                controlled by an entity on the list under paragraph (1) 
                that is in effect for a year for that year or for any 
                of the subsequent 4 years.
    (e) Coordination.--In providing the consultation described in 
subsection (b) and preparing the list under subsection (d), the 
Secretary of Labor shall coordinate, as appropriate, with the National 
Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, States, and local governments.
    (f) Criminal Penalty for Failure To Report.--
            (1) Offense.--It shall be unlawful for an entity to 
        knowingly fail to make a disclosure required under subsection 
        (a).
            (2) Penalty.--
                    (A) In general.--A violation of paragraph (1) shall 
                be treated as a violation of section 1031(a) of title 
                18, United States Code.
                    (B) Gross loss to government; gross gain to 
                defendant.--For purposes of applying section 1031 of 
                title 18, United States Code, to a violation of 
                paragraph (1) of this subsection, the amount that the 
                Department of Agriculture pays an entity that violates 
                such paragraph (1) under a contract described in 
                subsection (a) of this section shall be treated as the 
                gross loss to the Government or the gross gain to the 
                defendant.
    (g) Annual Reports to Congress.--For each calendar year beginning 
with the first calendar year that begins after the date that is 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, Secretary of Agriculture shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives that includes--
            (1) the number of entities on the list under subsection (d) 
        for the year of the report;
            (2) the number of entities that agreed to take corrective 
        measures under subsection (c) for such year;
            (3) the amount of the applicable contracts for the entities 
        described in paragraph (1) or (2); and
            (4) performance indicators and measures, as determined by 
        the Secretary of Agriculture, assessing the effectiveness of 
        the implementation by the Secretary of Agriculture of this Act 
        for such year.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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