I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6597 
To safeguard the rights of workers and protect children by responsibly 
increasing civil monetary penalties and other means. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 10, 2025 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Mr. NORCROSS, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. 
HORSFORD, Mr. POCAN, Ms. SIMON, Ms. ANSARI, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. 
MRVAN, Ms. ELFRETH, Mr. CASAR, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mrs. MCIVER, Ms. 
OMAR, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. EVANS of Pennsylvania, Mr. CLEAVER, 
Mrs. HAYES, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. MANNION, Ms. LEE 
of Pennsylvania, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. STANSBURY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. CHU, 
Ms. UNDERWOOD, Mr. MAGAZINER, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. GOLDMAN of New 
York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGARVEY, Mr. TAKANO, Ms. RANDALL, 
Mr. LYNCH, Ms. DEXTER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CARSON, 
Ms. TLAIB, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. 
LIEU, Ms. TITUS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida, 
Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. WATERS, Mr. CISNEROS, Mr. JOHNSON of 
Georgia, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. 
HOULAHAN, Ms. MCBRIDE, Mr. LANDSMAN, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. 
MCCLELLAN, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. CARTER of 
Louisiana, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. GARAMENDI, Ms. MATSUI, 
Ms. STEVENS, Mr. KENNEDY of New York, Ms. CRAIG, Mr. IVEY, Ms. 
LEGER FERNANDEZ, and Ms. HOYLE of Oregon) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce, 
and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, 
and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To safeguard the rights of workers and protect children 
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by responsibly increasing civil monetary penalties and 
other means. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Labor Enforcement 
to Securely Protect Workers Act’’ or the ‘‘LET’S Protect 
Workers Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVED PROTECTION FOR WORKERS AND CHIL-
DREN THROUGH MEANINGFUL CIVIL PEN-
ALTIES. 
(a) CHILD LABOR.—Section 16(e)(1)(A) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)(A)) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) Any person who violates the provisions of sec-
tions 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation 
issued pursuant to such sections, shall be subject to a civil 
penalty as follows: 
‘‘(i) Not more than $150,000, but not less than 
$1,500, for each employee who was the subject of 
such a violation. 
‘‘(ii) Not more than $700,000, but not less 
than $7,000, with regard to each such violation that 
causes the death or serious injury of any employee 
under the age of 18 years, which penalty may be 
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doubled where the violation is a repeated or willful 
violation.’’. 
(b) WAGE AND HOUR PROTECTIONS.—Section 16(e) 
of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
216(e)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in the first sentence— 
(i) by striking ‘‘repeatedly or will-
fully’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘not to exceed $1,100 
for each such violation’’ and inserting ‘‘not 
to exceed, for each such violation, $25,000 
or, if such a violation is a repeated or will-
ful violation, $50,000’’; and 
(B) in the second sentence, by striking 
‘‘not to exceed $1,100 for each such violation’’ 
and inserting ‘‘not to exceed, for each such vio-
lation, $25,000 or, if such a violation is a re-
peated or willful violation, $50,000’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 
(5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2), as so 
amended, the following new paragraph: 
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‘‘(3) Any person who violates section 11(c) shall be 
subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each 
such violation.’’. 
(c) WORKERS’ HEALTH AND SAFETY.—Section 17 of 
the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 666) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘$70,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$800,000’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 
‘‘$60,000’’; 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘7,000’’ and 
inserting ‘‘$80,000’’; 
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 
inserting ‘‘$40,000’’; 
(4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 
inserting ‘‘$80,000’’; and 
(5) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘$7,000’’ and 
inserting ‘‘$40,000’’. 
(d) 
FARMWORKER
PROTECTIONS.—Section 
503(a)(1) of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Work-
er Protection Act (29 U.S.C. 1853(a)(1)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$30,000’’. 
(e) MINE SAFETY AND BLACK LUNG BENEFITS.— 
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(1) INCREASED CIVIL PENALTIES DURING PAT-
TERN OF VIOLATIONS STATUS.—Section 110(b) of 
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
(30 U.S.C. 820(b)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
in the case of an operator who has been given written no-
tice of a pattern of violations in accordance with para-
graph (1) of section 104(e), such operator, for any viola-
tion of any provision of this Act occurring during the pe-
riod beginning on the date that such notice was issued 
and ending on the date such pattern of violation is deemed 
to be terminated in accordance with paragraph (3) of sec-
tion 104(e), shall be assessed a civil penalty by the Sec-
retary equal to the lesser of— 
‘‘(A) twice the amount that would, in the ab-
sence of this paragraph, be assessed by the Sec-
retary for such violation; or 
‘‘(B) the maximum amount that may be as-
sessed for such violation.’’. 
(2) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
(A) AMENDMENTS.—Section 110 of the 
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 
(30 U.S.C. 820) is further amended— 
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(i) by redesignating subsection (l) as 
subsection (m); and 
(ii) by inserting after subsection (k) 
the following: 
‘‘(l) ENSURING PAYMENT OF PENALTIES.— 
‘‘(1) DELINQUENT PAYMENT LETTER.—If the 
operator of a coal or other mine fails to pay any civil 
penalty assessment that has become a final order of 
the Commission or a court, not later than 45 days 
after such assessment becomes such a final order, 
the Secretary shall send the operator a letter advis-
ing the operator— 
‘‘(A) of the consequences under this sub-
section of such failure to pay; and 
‘‘(B) of the opportunity to enter into or 
modify a payment plan with the Secretary 
based upon a demonstrated inability to pay, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) the procedure for entering into 
such plan; and 
‘‘(ii) the consequences of not entering 
into or not complying with such plan. 
‘‘(2) WITHDRAWAL ORDERS FOLLOWING FAIL-
URE TO PAY.— 
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ited from entering, the mine that is covered by 
the final order described in paragraph (1) with 
respect to such operator.’’. 
(B) APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—The amendments 
made by subparagraph (A) shall apply to 
all unpaid civil penalty assessments under 
the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 
1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) that become 
a final order of the Federal Mine Safety 
and Health Review Commission or a court 
on or after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
(ii) PRIOR
FINAL
ORDERS.—In the 
case of any unpaid civil penalty assessment 
that became such a final order before the 
date of enactment of this Act, the date on 
which such assessment became a final 
order shall be deemed to be the date of en-
actment of this Act. 
(3) CIVIL
PENALTY
FOR
RETALIATION.—Sec-
tion 110(a) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health 
Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820(a)) is further amend-
ed— 
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(A) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (5); and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 
following: 
‘‘(4) If any person violates section 105(c), the Sec-
retary shall propose, and the Commission shall assess, 
during any 3-year period, a civil penalty of not less than 
$10,000 or more than $100,000 for the first occurrence 
of such violation by such person, and not less than 
$20,000 or more than $200,000 for any subsequent viola-
tion by such person.’’. 
(4) BLACK LUNG BENEFITS PENALTIES.—Sec-
tion 423(d)(1) Federal Mine Safety and Health Act 
of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 933(d)(1)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$50,000 but not less 
than $5,000’’. 
(f) FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE.— 
(1) INTERFERENCE
WITH
RIGHTS
AND
PRO-
CEEDINGS.—Section 107(b) of the Family and Med-
ical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2617(b)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) CIVIL PENALTY.—In addition to any sums 
recovered by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph 
(2), any employer that violates section 105 may be 
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assessed a civil money penalty not to exceed $25,000 
for each separate offense.’’. 
(2) NOTICE.—Section 109(b) of the Family and 
Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2619(b)) is 
amended 
by 
striking 
‘‘$100’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘$2,500’’. 
(3) RECORDKEEPING.—Section 106(b) of the 
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 
2616(b)) is amended by adding ‘‘Any employer that 
violates this subsection may be assessed a civil mon-
etary penalty not to exceed $2,500 for each separate 
offense.’’ at the end. 
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS FOR 
EMPLOYEE HEALTH PLANS. 
(a) PARITY IN MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE 
USE DISORDERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 502(c)(10)(A) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(29 U.S.C. 1132(c)(10)(A)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘any plan sponsor of a 
group health plan’’ and inserting ‘‘any plan 
sponsor or plan administrator of a group health 
plan, service provider,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘for any failure’’ and all 
that follows and inserting ‘‘for any failure, or 
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participation in such failure, by such sponsor, 
administrator, service provider, or issuer to 
meet, in connection with the plan, the require-
ments of— 
‘‘(i) subsection (a)(1)(F), (b)(3), (c), 
or (d) of section 702 or section 701 or 
702(b)(1) with respect to genetic informa-
tion; or 
‘‘(ii) subsection (a) of section 712 
with respect to parity in mental health and 
substance use disorder benefits.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
502(c)(10) of the Employee Retirement Income Se-
curity Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1132(c)(10)(A)) is 
further amended by striking ‘‘USE OF GENETIC IN-
FORMATION’’ in the heading and inserting ‘‘USE OF 
GENETIC
INFORMATION
AND
PARITY
IN
MENTAL 
HEALTH
AND
SUBSTANCE
USE
DISORDER
BENE-
FITS’’. 
(b) EXCEPTION TO THE GENERAL PROHIBITION ON 
ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) CIVIL
ACTION.—Section 502(a)(6) of the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(6)) is amended to read as fol-
lows: 
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‘‘(6) by the Secretary to collect any civil penalty 
that the Secretary has imposed or assessed pursuant 
to authority under this title;’’. 
(2) ENFORCEMENT
IN
RELATION
TO
GROUP 
HEALTH PLANS.—Section 502(b)(3) of the Employee 
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 
1132(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘Except’’ and all 
that follows through ‘‘the Secretary’’ and inserting 
‘‘Except as provided in subsections (c)(9), (c)(10), 
and (a)(6) (with respect to collecting civil penalties 
under subsections (c)(9) and (c)(10)), and except 
with respect to enforcement by the Secretary of sec-
tion 712, the Secretary’’. 
SEC. 4. IMPROVING WORKPLACE DEMOCRACY THROUGH 
CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES. 
Section 12 of the National Labor Relations Act (29 
U.S.C. 162) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Sec. 12. Any person’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘SEC. 12. PENALTIES. 
‘‘(a) 
VIOLATIONS
FOR
INTERFERENCE
WITH 
BOARD.—Any person’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES FOR UNFAIR LABOR PRAC-
TICES.—Any employer who commits an unfair labor prac-
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tice within the meaning of section 8(a) shall be subject 
to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $50,000 for 
each such violation, except that, with respect to such an 
unfair labor practice within the meaning of paragraph (3) 
or (4) of section 8(a) or such a violation of section 8(a) 
that results in the discharge of an employee or other seri-
ous economic harm to an employee, the Board shall double 
the amount of such penalty, to an amount not to exceed 
$100,000, in any case where the employer has within the 
preceding 5 years committed another such violation of 
such paragraph (3) or (4) or such violation of section 8(a) 
that results in such discharge or other serious economic 
harm. A civil penalty under this paragraph shall be in ad-
dition to any other remedy ordered by the Board. Sums 
collected as civil penalties pursuant to this section shall 
be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. 
‘‘(c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the amount 
of any civil penalty under this section, the Board shall con-
sider— 
‘‘(1) the gravity of the actions of the employer 
resulting in the penalty, including the impact of such 
actions on the charging party or on other persons 
seeking to exercise rights guaranteed by this Act; 
‘‘(2) the size of the employer; 
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‘‘(3) the history of any previous unfair labor 
practices or other actions by the employer resulting 
in a penalty; and 
‘‘(4) the public interest. 
‘‘(d) DIRECTOR AND OFFICER LIABILITY.—If the 
Board determines, based on the particular facts and cir-
cumstances presented, that a director or officer’s personal 
liability is warranted, a civil penalty for a unfair labor 
practice described in this section may also be assessed 
against any director or officer of the employer who di-
rected or committed the unfair labor practice, had estab-
lished a policy that led to such an unfair labor practice, 
or had actual or constructive knowledge of and the author-
ity to prevent the unfair labor practice and failed to pre-
vent the unfair labor practice.’’. 
SEC. 5. SECURING WORKERS’ RIGHTS THROUGH RESPON-
SIBLE RECORDKEEPING AND NOTICE TO EM-
PLOYEES. 
(a) WORKPLACE HEALTH
AND SAFETY.—Section 
9(c) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
(29 U.S.C. 658(c)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: ‘‘In the case of a violation that relates to mak-
ing, keeping, or preserving a record, such violation con-
tinues to occur until the earlier of (1) the date on which 
an employer complies with the requirement, rule, stand-
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ard, order, or regulation that was violated with respect 
to making, keeping, or preserving such record; or (2) the 
date on which the requirement to keep and preserve such 
record expires.’’. 
(b) WAGE, HOUR, AND FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE 
PROTECTIONS.—Section 11(c) of the Fair Labor Stand-
ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 211(c)) is amended by insert-
ing before the last sentence the following: ‘‘For purposes 
of enforcement of this subsection under section 16(e)(3), 
a violation of a requirement to make, keep, or preserve 
a record continues to occur until the earlier of (1) the date 
on which an employer has complied with the regulation 
or order that was violated with respect to such record, or 
(2) the date on which the requirement to keep and pre-
serve such record expires.’’ 
(c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than one year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall 
promulgate or amend such regulations as are necessary 
to implement the amendments made by this section. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (c) shall be consid-
ered a specific authorization by Congress in accordance 
with section 801(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code, with 
respect to the issuance of a new recordkeeping rule pursu-
ant to the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. 
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SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATES; APPLICATION. 
(a) SECTIONS 2, 3, AND 4.—Except as as provided 
in section 2(e)(2)(B), the amendments made by sections 
2, 3, and 4 of this Act shall take effect on January 1, 
2027, and shall apply with respect to violations that occur 
on or after January 1, 2027. 
(b) SECTION 5.—The amendments made by section 
5 of this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment 
of this Act, and shall apply with respect to violations that 
occur on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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