TITLE 
III—UPDATING 
STAND-
ARDS TO PROTECT CHILDREN 
SEC. 301. IMPROVING PROCESS FOR UPDATING STAND-
ARDS 
ON 
CONDITIONS 
OF 
OPPRESSIVE 
CHILD LABOR. 
(a) RULEMAKING POLICIES.— 
(1) PERMITTED WORK.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) CHILDREN’S WELFARE.—’’. 
(B) TRANSFER
AMENDMENT.—The last 
sentence of section 3(l) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)) is— 
(i) transferred to subsection (e) of 
section 12 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 212); 
and 
(ii) inserted so as to appear after the 
subsection heading of such section 12. 
(2) HAZARDOUS OCCUPATIONS.—Section 12 of 
the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
212) is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(f) HAZARDOUS OCCUPATIONS.— 
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‘‘(1) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 
periodically review the hazardous occupation orders 
promulgated by the Secretary to determine if, to 
more adequately protect children from oppressive 
child labor, a new hazardous occupation order should 
be promulgated, or an update to an existing such 
order should be promulgated. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the 
need for promulgating a new hazardous occupation 
order or promulgating an update to an existing such 
order, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) place preeminent value on assuring 
the safety, health, and well-being of children; 
‘‘(B) take into consideration the vulner-
able, formative, and malleable nature of child-
hood and adolescence, which requires a higher 
standard of protection for children than that 
accorded to adults; 
‘‘(C) adopt any reasonable precautionary 
assumptions necessary to prevent children from 
being exposed in the workplace to hazards that 
may reasonably be anticipated to cause serious 
illness or injury, disability, premature mortality, 
or long-term health effects (including exposure 
to any substance which is known or may rea-
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sonably be anticipated to be carcinogenic, muta-
genic, teratogenic, neurotoxic, reprotoxic, or 
asthmagenic); and 
‘‘(D) take into consideration any— 
‘‘(i) recommendations provided under 
paragraph (3) of this section by the Advi-
sory Committee or the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services provided under para-
graph (3) of this subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) any information provided under 
subsection (g). 
‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ORDERS.— 
‘‘(A) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In a case in which 
the Secretary determines that expert ad-
vice is needed to aid the Secretary’s deci-
sion whether to promulgate a new haz-
ardous occupation order (or an update to 
such an existing order), the Secretary— 
‘‘(I) may request the Advisory 
Committee to submit its recommenda-
tions to the Secretary relating to the 
proposed or existing order; and 
‘‘(II) in a case in which the Sec-
retary requests recommendations pur-
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suant to subclause (I), shall provide 
the Advisory Committee with— 
‘‘(aa) any proposals devel-
oped by the Secretary or by the 
Secretary of Health and Human 
Services relating to the proposed 
or existing order with respect to 
which the Secretary is requesting 
recommendations; and 
‘‘(bb) all pertinent factual 
information developed by the Sec-
retary or the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services, including 
any applicable information pro-
vided under subparagraph (B) or 
otherwise available. 
‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION
OF
RECOMMENDA-
TIONS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to 
subclause (II), the Advisory Com-
mittee shall submit to the Secretary 
its recommendations relating to an ex-
isting or proposed order not later than 
90 days after the date of the Commit-
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tee’s receipt of such request from the 
Secretary relating to such order. 
‘‘(II) EXCEPTIONS.—The Sec-
retary may prescribe a period for the 
submission of recommendations by the 
Advisory Committee under subclause 
(I) relating to an existing or proposed 
order that is longer or shorter than 
the 90-day period referred to in sub-
clause (I), except that such period 
may not exceed 180 days after the 
date of the Committee’s receipt of the 
request for recommendations relating 
to such order. 
‘‘(iii) RECEIPT
OF
RECOMMENDA-
TIONS.—In the case in which the Advisory 
Committee recommends the promulgation 
of a new order (or an update to an existing 
order), the Secretary shall, not later than 
90 days after submission of such rec-
ommendation by the Advisory Committee 
or the expiration of the period prescribed 
by the Secretary for such submission— 
‘‘(I) 
promulgate 
pursuant 
to 
paragraph (4) such order (or update) 
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in a manner consistent with such rec-
ommendations; or 
‘‘(II) publish such recommenda-
tions in the Federal Register along 
with a detailed and substantive state-
ment of the Secretary’s reasons for 
not promulgating the new order or 
update. 
‘‘(B) NIOSH CRITERIA.—In a case in 
which the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services (acting through the Director of the 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health) recommends (accompanied by appro-
priate criteria) the promulgation of a new haz-
ardous occupation order (or an update to an ex-
isting such order) by the Secretary of Labor, 
the Secretary of Labor shall, not later than 180 
days after receiving such recommendation— 
‘‘(i) refer such recommendation to the 
Advisory Committee pursuant to para-
graph (3) and carry out applicable require-
ments of such paragraph; 
‘‘(ii) promulgate pursuant to para-
graph (4) such order (or update) in a man-
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ner consistent with the recommendation 
provided under this subparagraph; or 
‘‘(iii) publish such recommendation in 
the Federal Register along with a detailed 
and substantive statement of the Sec-
retary’s reasons for not promulgating the 
new order (or update). 
‘‘(4) PROCEDURES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 
when acting on the Secretary’s own initiative or 
in response to a recommendation by the Advi-
sory Committee or Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, promulgate any hazardous oc-
cupation order (including an update to an exist-
ing such order) in accordance with this para-
graph and in accordance with section 553 of 
title 5, United States Code (without regard to 
any reference in such section to sections 556 
and 557 of such title). 
‘‘(B) COMMENT.—When publishing a pro-
posed order pursuant to this paragraph, the 
Secretary shall afford interested persons a pe-
riod of 60 days after such publication to submit 
written data or comments on the order. Such 
comment period may be extended by the Sec-
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retary for good cause but in any event shall last 
no more than 120 days. 
‘‘(C) 
TRANSPARENCY.—For 
any 
rule-
making notice pursuant to this paragraph, the 
Secretary shall place in the public record not 
later than the date of such rulemaking notice 
the following: 
‘‘(i) The drafts of such rulemakings 
prepared before publication and submitted 
by the Secretary to the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget for any interagency re-
view process prior to publication. 
‘‘(ii) A summary of the substance of 
any changes between the text of the draft 
rulemaking that the agency provided to the 
Office of Management and Budget under 
section 6(a)(3)(B)(i) of Executive Order 
12,866 and the text published in the Fed-
eral Register, excluding any non-sub-
stantive changes such as spelling or gram-
matical corrections or re-ordering of text 
that has no legal effect. 
‘‘(iii) A statement identifying any 
party or entity at whose request any such 
change was made. 
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‘‘(5) EFFECT.—A hazardous occupation order 
or any update to such an order shall become effec-
tive upon promulgation, except that the Secretary 
may include a reasonable delay in the effective date. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORITATIVE EXPERTISE.—When promul-
gating any order pursuant to this section, the Secretary 
may adopt, rely on, or presume to be the best available 
evidence of children’s health, safety, and well-being or con-
ditions of work particularly hazardous to children, any rec-
ommendation, finding, assessment, or research by the Na-
tional Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the 
National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medi-
cine, the National Toxicology Program, the Integrated 
Risk Information System of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, or the International Agency for Research on Can-
cer. 
‘‘(h) HAZARDOUS OCCUPATION ORDER DEFINED.— 
In this section, the term ‘hazardous occupation order’ 
means any rule, regulation, or order promulgated pursu-
ant to subsection (f)(4) by the Secretary that deems one 
or more occupations or working conditions as oppressive 
child labor due to the determination by the Secretary that 
such occupations or working conditions are particularly 
hazardous for the employment of children of certain ages 
or detrimental to the health and well-being of children.’’. 
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(3) PREVENTING ROLLBACKS OF CHILD LABOR 
STANDARDS.—Section 12 of the Fair Labor Stand-
ards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212) is further amend-
ed further by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) MAINTAINING PROTECTION.—No order, rule, or 
regulation promulgated pursuant to subsections (e) or (f) 
shall reduce the protection afforded children by an existing 
order, rule, or regulation promulgated under this Act.’’. 
SEC. 302. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF RULEMAKING. 
Section 10 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 210) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 10. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 
‘‘(a) FILING OF PETITION.—Any person who may be 
adversely affected by an order, rule, or regulation pursu-
ant to this Act may file a petition for review of such order, 
rule, or regulation with the United States court of appeals 
for the circuit where such person resides, where the prin-
cipal place of business of such person is located, or in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Colum-
bia. The filing of a petition for review of any order, rule, 
or regulation under this section shall not operate as a stay 
of such order, rule, or regulation. 
‘‘(b) TIMELY FILING.—Any petition for review under 
this section shall be filed not later than sixty days after 
the date on which there is notice of the rulemaking with 
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respect to such order, rule, or regulation in the Federal 
Register. 
‘‘(c) NOT SUBJECT TO SUBSEQUENT REVIEW.—Ac-
tion of the Secretary with respect to which review could 
have been obtained under this section shall not be subject 
to judicial review in civil or criminal proceedings for en-
forcement.’’. 
TITLE 
IV—INCREASING 
RE-
SEARCH AND PUBLIC EDU-
CATION 
SEC. 401. COORDINATING RESEARCH ON CHILD LABOR. 
(a) RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 4 (29 U.S.C. 204) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES.’’; 
(2) SPECIAL EXEMPTIONS RELATING TO CHILD 
LABOR.—Paragraph (2) of section 4(d) of such Act 
is— 
(A) transferred to section 5 of such Act; 
(B) inserted so as to appear after the sec-
tion heading; 
(C) redesignated as subsection (a) of such 
section 5; and 
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(D) amended— 
(i) by striking the first word and in-
serting ‘‘PERIODIC REVIEW
OF EXEMP-
TIONS.—The’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘January 1, 1976’’ 
and inserting ‘‘five years after the effective 
date of the Protecting Children Act and 
shall update such studies and such report 
every ten years thereafter’’; 
(3) STUDIES ON PREVENTING CURTAILMENT OF 
EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR
MANPOWER 
GROUPS.—Paragraph (3) of section 4(d) of such Act 
is— 
(A) transferred to section 5 of such Act; 
(B) inserted so as to appear after sub-
section (a) of such section 5, as amended by 
paragraph (2); 
(C) redesignated as subsection (b) of such 
section 5; and 
(D) amended by striking the first word 
and inserting ‘‘EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY.— 
The’’. 
(4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (d) 
of section 4 of such Act is further amended— 
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(A) by striking ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall 
submit’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(d) BIENNIAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall sub-
mit’’. 
(b) NATIONAL
RESEARCH
AGENDA
ON
CHILD 
LABOR.—Section 5 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 is further amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(c) NATIONAL
RESEARCH
AGENDA
ON
CHILD 
LABOR.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services (acting through the Director of 
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health), after consultation with the Secretary of 
Labor and with other appropriate Federal depart-
ments or agencies, shall conduct (directly or by 
grants or contracts) research, experiments, and dem-
onstrations relating to oppressive child labor, the oc-
cupational safety and health of young workers, and 
the exposure or risk of such exposure of vulnerable 
children to oppressive child labor, including innova-
tive methods, techniques, and approaches for pre-
venting oppressive child labor, research relevant to 
strategic enforcement of the child labor provisions of 
this Act, surveillance of occupational illnesses and 
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injuries for young workers, and identification of con-
ditions of work that are particularly hazardous to 
children or harmful to their health and well-being. 
‘‘(2) TRACKING
WORK-RELATED
INJURY
AND 
ILLNESS.—The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall, in coordination with the Secretary of 
Labor, develop a comprehensive plan for monitoring 
work-related illnesses and injuries sustained by em-
ployees under the age of 18 and for monitoring the 
hazards to which such employees are exposed. Such 
plan shall include the following: 
‘‘(A) EVALUATION.—Not later than two 
years after the date of enactment of the Pro-
tecting Children Act and from time to time 
thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall evaluate whether existing data 
collections capture and generate sufficient rep-
resentative data on work-related illnesses and 
injuries sustained by employees under the age 
of 18. 
‘‘(B) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall coordinate 
other Federal departments or agencies and, to 
the extent feasible, State agencies with data col-
lection or research programs to enhance data 
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collection and research on work-related illnesses 
and injuries sustained by employees under the 
age of 18. The Secretary of Health and Human 
Services shall advise the Secretary of Labor on 
the effective design and implementation of rel-
evant elements of the statistical program of the 
Secretary pursuant to this Act and section 24 
of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 
1970 (29 U.S.C. 673). 
‘‘(C) 
SUPPLEMENTAL
RESEARCH.—The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
identify and from time to time undertake such 
additional research as the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services determines is necessary to 
supplement existing data collections, close 
knowledge gaps, and improve information about 
the work-related illnesses and injuries sustained 
by employees under the age of 18. 
‘‘(3) HAZARDOUS
OCCUPATIONS.—The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall from 
time to time consult with the Secretary of Labor in 
order to develop specific plans for such research, 
demonstrations, and experiments as are necessary to 
produce criteria enabling the Secretary to meet the 
Secretary’s responsibility for the formulation of haz-
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ardous occupation orders under section 12. The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall, on the 
basis of such research, demonstrations, experiments, 
and any other information available, develop and 
publish at least annually such criteria as will effec-
tuate the purposes of this Act. The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall submit to the Sec-
retary all pertinent criteria regarding any such occu-
pations or conditions or work as such criteria are de-
veloped. 
‘‘(4) PRECAUTIONARY
GUIDANCE.—The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall, on the 
basis of research, demonstrations, and experiments, 
and any other information available to the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services, develop criteria or 
models to aid the Secretary in identifying conditions 
of oppressive child labor in the absence of substan-
tial data about occupational risks specific to chil-
dren. 
‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION
SUPPORT.—The Sec-
retary of Health and Human Services shall, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of Labor, undertake re-
search relevant to developing evidence-based guid-
ance for the Secretary of Labor on the implementa-
tion of this Act, including topics such as strategic 
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enforcement, effective training of employees under 
age 18, deterrence, and assessment of the economic 
benefit of noncompliance. 
‘‘(6) RISK OF EXPOSURE TO OPPRESSIVE CHILD 
LABOR.—The Secretary of Health and Human Serv-
ices shall from time to time, acting through the Di-
rector of the National Institute for Occupational 
Safety and Health, consult with the leadership of 
relevant Federal and State agencies and programs 
responsible for the welfare, placement, or custody of 
children, in order to develop specific plans for such 
research, demonstrations, and experiments as are 
necessary to produce precautionary and evidence- 
based guidance enabling the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and such other leaders to prevent 
children from suffering conditions of oppressive child 
labor or being exposed to the risk of oppressive child 
labor. 
‘‘(7) AUTHORITY.—In furtherance of the pur-
poses of this subsection, the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services shall have the same authority as 
available to the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services pursuant to sections 20, 21, and 22 of the 
Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 
U.S.C. 669–671).’’. 
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(c) OSH ACT.—Section 20(a) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘his work ex-
perience’’ and inserting ‘‘such employee’s work expe-
rience and exposures of particular concern to the de-
velopment of employees under the age of 18’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (7)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘aging adults’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘aging adults and employees under the age 
of 18’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) MODEL.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than the 
date that is one year after the date enactment 
of the Protecting Children Act, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall develop a 
model for estimating the total incidence and 
economic burden of fatal and nonfatal occupa-
tional injury and illness in the United States 
that— 
‘‘(i) adjusts for known underreporting 
of occupational injury and illness; 
‘‘(ii) estimates the incidence or preva-
lence of occupational injuries and illnesses 
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from public health data through attrib-
utable risk proportions or other standard 
methodologies, and 
‘‘(iii) estimates both medical and indi-
rect costs, such as lost earnings, benefits, 
and home production. 
‘‘(B) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall publish an 
annual report using the model developed under 
subparagraph (A) that includes— 
‘‘(i) estimates of the total incidence 
and economic burden of occupational ill-
ness and injury; 
‘‘(ii) the proportion of the total eco-
nomic burden not absorbed by workers’ 
compensation insurance and shifted onto 
Federal programs (such as the Medicare 
program under title XVIII of the Social 
Security Act, the Medicaid program under 
title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), and disability insur-
ance benefits under section 223 of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 423)); and 
‘‘(iii) the incidence of occupational ill-
ness and injury by employees under the 
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age of 18, disaggregated, to the extent fea-
sible, by the age groups, occupational cat-
egories, and school statuses that are rel-
evant to the administration, investigation, 
or enforcement of the requirements relat-
ing to child labor under sections 12 or 
13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938.’’. 
SEC. 402. DEVELOPING A COMPREHENSIVE STATISTICAL 
PROGRAM. 
(a) FLSA.—Section 5 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 is further amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(d) STATISTICAL PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to further the pur-
poses of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and 
maintain an effective program of collection, compila-
tion, and analysis of statistics on employment prac-
tices with respect to wages, hours, child labor, and 
other matters of concern for this Act, including such 
employment practices that may constitute violations 
of this Act. Such statistical program shall, to the ex-
tent feasible, include demographic information about 
employees subject to violations under this Act and 
facilitate comparisons of information in such statis-
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tical program and in the statistical program estab-
lished pursuant to section 24 of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 673). 
‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.—To carry out the Secretary’s 
duties under this subsection, the Secretary may ex-
ercise the same authority available to the Secretary 
under section 24 of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 673). 
‘‘(3) CHILD LABOR.— 
‘‘(A) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The Secretary 
shall, not less frequently than annually, publish 
a report of statistical data covering— 
‘‘(i) the employment of children under 
the age of 18, including the numbers of 
such children and the hours worked, the 
demographics of such children, in total and 
disaggregated by the age groups, school 
statuses, and occupational categories that 
are relevant to the administration, inves-
tigation, or enforcement of the require-
ments relating to child labor under sections 
12 or 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938; 
‘‘(ii) the incidence and prevalence of 
oppressive child labor, including the num-
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ber and demographics of children affected, 
the industries and occupations in which op-
pressive child labor occurred, and the types 
of child labor violations, based on enforce-
ment data and, to the extent feasible and 
in consultation with the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, such other 
data as may be useful to account for 
underreporting and limitations of enforce-
ment data in capturing the full incidence 
and prevalence of oppressive child labor; 
and 
‘‘(iii) to the extent feasible, estimates 
of the data described in clauses (i) and (ii) 
at the State level. 
‘‘(B) DATA COLLECTION.—The Secretary 
shall periodically develop targeted surveys or 
other data collections relevant to determining 
the experience of oppressive child labor by par-
ticularly vulnerable populations, including mi-
grant children and children in poverty. 
‘‘(C) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall 
coordinate statistical programs across the Fed-
eral Government that collect data related to 
children to ensure that such programs, to the 
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extent practicable, shall collect and report data 
on the employment of children, oppressive child 
labor, and young workers’ occupational illness 
and injury in standardized and compatible 
terms.’’. 
(b) OSH.—Section 24(a) of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended 
by adding at the end ‘‘The Secretary shall report such sta-
tistics on an annual basis. Such annual report shall in-
clude the analysis of occupational illnesses, injuries, and 
fatalities disaggregated (1) by relevant demographics, and 
(2) by the age groups that are relevant to the administra-
tion, investigation, or enforcement of the requirements re-
lating to child labor under sections 12 or 13(c) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act of 1938, across country of origin, 
race, and ethnicity.’’. 
SEC. 403. ENABLING TRAINING AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT. 
(a) FLSA.—The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 
(29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 18D (29 U.S.C. 218d) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 18E. PUBLIC INFORMATION INITIATIVES. 
‘‘(a) TRAINING AND ENGAGEMENT.—The Secretary 
shall, directly or by grants or contracts, provide for the 
establishment and supervision of programs for— 
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