Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act

To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture comply with certain labor laws, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Child Labor Exploitation Accountability Act 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 Davis-Bacon Act (5) Chapter 67 Service Contract Act (6) Executive Order 11246 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000e (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 (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. 21 U.S.C. 451 et seq. (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.

Summary: Child Labor Exploitation Accountability ActThis bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that any entity entering into a contract with USDA discloses violations of specific labor laws to the Department of Labor (Labor). It also restricts USDA contracts with entities that disclose certain violations.Specifically, beginning two years after the bill's enactment, any entity that enters into a contract with USDA must annually disclose to Labor whether any administrative merits determination, arbitral award or decision, or civil judgment has been issued against the entity (or a subcontractor of the entity) within the preceding three years for violations of specific laws, executive orders, and regulations (e.g., the National Labor Relations Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967). An entity that fails to disclose the required information is subject to criminal penalties.Labor must provide an entity an opportunity to report any steps taken to correct violations of, or improve compliance with, the labor laws. Labor may also negotiate corrective measures that the entity may take.Labor must annually submit to USDA a list of entities that (1) have serious, repeated, or pervasive labor law violations; or (2) have failed to complete any negotiated corrective measure. Further, USDA is prohibited from soliciting a contract from, and conducting meat and poultry inspections for, any entity on Labor's list for five years. USDA must report to Congress annually on the number of entities (1) on Labor's list, and (2) that have agreed to take corrective measures.