[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2637 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2637

To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, with respect to civil penalties 
                      for child labor violations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 2007

  Ms. Woolsey (for herself, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. George 
    Miller of California, Mr. McKeon, and Mr. Hare) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
                                 Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act, with respect to civil penalties 
                      for child labor violations.

    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 Protection Act of 
2007''.
     (a) In General.--Section 16(e) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(e)(1)(A) Any person who violates the provisions of sections 12 
or 13(c), relating to child labor, or any regulation issued pursuant to 
such sections, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed--
                            ``(i) $11,000 for each employee who was the 
                        subject of such a violation; or
                            ``(ii) $50,000 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 doubled where the 
                        violation is a repeated or willful violation.
    ``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `serious injury' 
means--
            ``(i) permanent loss or substantial impairment of one of 
        the senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, tactile sensation);
            ``(ii) permanent loss or substantial impairment of the 
        function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, 
        including the loss of all or part of an arm, leg, foot, hand or 
        other body part; or
            ``(iii) permanent paralysis or substantial impairment that 
        causes loss of movement or mobility of an arm, leg, foot, hand 
        or other body part.
    ``(2) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section 6 or 
7, relating to wages, shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed 
$1,100 for each such violation.
    ``(3) In determining the amount of any penalty under this 
subsection, the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the 
business of the person charged and the gravity of the violation shall 
be considered. The amount of any penalty under this subsection, when 
finally determined, may be--
            ``(A) deducted from any sums owing by the United States to 
        the person charged;
            ``(B) recovered in a civil action brought by the Secretary 
        in any court of competent jurisdiction, in which litigation the 
        Secretary shall be represented by the Solicitor of Labor; or
            ``(C) ordered by the court, in an action brought for a 
        violation of section 15(a)(4) or a repeated or willful 
        violation of section 15(a)(2), to be paid to the Secretary.
    ``(4) Any administrative determination by the Secretary of the 
amount of any penalty under this subsection shall be final, unless 
within 15 days after receipt of notice thereof by certified mail the 
person charged with the violation takes exception to the determination 
that the violations for which the penalty is imposed occurred, in which 
event final determination of the penalty shall be made in an 
administrative proceeding after opportunity for hearing in accordance 
with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, and regulations to be 
promulgated by the Secretary.
    ``(5) Except for civil penalties collected for violations of 
sections 12 or 13(c), sums collected as penalties pursuant to this 
section shall be applied toward reimbursement of the costs of 
determining the violations and assessing and collecting such penalties, 
in accordance with the provision of section 2 of the Act entitled `An 
Act to authorize the Department of Labor to make special statistical 
studies upon payment of the cost thereof and for other purposes' (29 
U.S.C. 9a). Civil penalties collected for violations of sections 12 or 
13(c) shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>