[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3051 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3051
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to apply child labor laws
to independent contractors, increase penalties for child labor law
violations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 17, 2023
Mr. Schatz (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to apply child labor laws
to independent contractors, increase penalties for child labor law
violations, 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 ``Stop Child Labor Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT OF 1938.
(a) Private Enforcement.--Section 16(b) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended--
(1) by inserting after the third sentence the following:
``Any employer who violates the provisions of section 12 or
13(c), relating to child labor, shall be liable to any child
harmed as a result of such violation for compensatory damages
and punitive damages in an amount not more than $250,000.'';
(2) in the fourth sentence--
(A) by inserting ``or, with respect to violations
of the provisions of section 12 or 13(c), relating to
child labor, children'' after ``more employees''; and
(B) by inserting ``or children, as the case may
be,'' after ``other employees'';
(3) in the fifth sentence, by inserting ``or children, as
the case may be,'' after ``employees''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following: ``The right
provided by this subsection to bring an action by or on behalf
of any child with respect to violations of the provisions of
section 12 or 13(c), relating to child labor, and the right of
any child to become a party plaintiff to any such action, shall
terminate upon the filing of a complaint by the Secretary in an
action under section 17 in which legal or equitable relief is
sought as a result of alleged violations of such provisions.''.
(b) Civil Penalties.--Section 16(e)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(e)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking
``not to exceed'' and inserting ``of an amount (subject
to subparagraph (C)) that is'';
(B) in clause (i), by striking ``$11,000'' and
inserting ``not less than $5,000 and not more than
$132,270''; and
(C) in clause (ii), by striking ``$50,000'' and
inserting ``not less than $25,000 and not more than
$601,150''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) The dollar amounts referred to in clauses (i) and
(ii) of subparagraph (A) shall be increased annually, for
fiscal year 2024 and every fiscal year thereafter, by the
percent increase, if any, in the consumer price index for all
urban consumers (all items; United States city average) for the
most recent 12-month period for which applicable data is
available.''.
(c) Criminal Penalties.--Section 16(a) of the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 216(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Any'' and inserting ``(1) Any'';
(2) by inserting ``(other than subsection (a)(4) of such
section)'' after ``section 15'';
(3) by striking ``subsection'' each place it appears and
inserting ``paragraph''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Any person who repeatedly or willfully violates section
15(a)(4) shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more
than $50,000, or to imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or both.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a), (b),
and (c) shall apply with respect to violations alleged to have occurred
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR PREVENTION OF CHILD LABOR VIOLATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor may award grants to
eligible entities for purposes of education, training, and development
of systems to help employers recognize, avoid, and prevent violations
of section 12 or 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
U.S.C. 212, 213(c)).
(b) Eligible Entity.--For purposes of this section, the term
``eligible entity'' means--
(1) a nonprofit organization described in section 501(c)(3)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(2) a nonprofit trade industry or employer association;
(3) a labor-management partnership; or
(4) a labor organization.
SEC. 4. NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CHILD LABOR .
(a) Establishment.--There is established the National Advisory
Committee on Child Labor (in this section referred to as the
``Committee'').
(b) Membership.--
(1) Composition.--The Committee shall be composed of 12
members of whom--
(A) 3 shall be representatives of management who
are appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
(B) 3 shall be representatives of labor
organizations who are appointed by the Secretary of
Labor;
(C) 1 shall be a member of the public who is
appointed by the Secretary of Labor;
(D) 2 shall be members of the public who are
appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services; and
(E) 3 shall be child welfare professionals who are
appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services.
(2) Date.--The appointments of the members of the Committee
shall be made not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--
(A) In general.--A member of the Committee shall be
appointed for a term of 2 years.
(B) Vacancies.--A vacancy in the Committee--
(i) shall not affect the powers of the
Committee; and
(ii) shall be filled in the same manner as
the original appointment.
(4) Meetings.--The Committee shall hold no fewer than 2
meetings during each calendar year.
(5) Chairperson.--The Secretary of Labor shall designate
the Chairperson of the Committee from among the members of the
Committee appointed under paragraph (1).
(c) Duties of Committee.--The Committee shall advise, consult, and
make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services on matters related to the recognition,
avoidance, prevention, and enforcement of violations of section 12 or
13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 212, 213(c)).
(d) Committee Personnel Matters.--
(1) Compensation of members.--A member of the Committee who
is not an officer or employee of the Federal Government shall
be compensated at a rate equal to the daily equivalent of the
annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States
Code, for each day (including travel time) during which the
member is engaged in the performance of the duties of the
Committee.
(2) Travel expenses.--A member of the Committee shall be
allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of
subsistence, at rates authorized for employees of agencies
under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States
Code, while away from their homes or regular places of business
in the performance of services for the Committee.
(3) Staff.--
(A) In general.--The Chairperson of the Committee
may, without regard to the civil service laws
(including regulations), appoint and terminate an
executive director and such other additional personnel
as may be necessary to enable the Committee to perform
its duties, except that the employment of an executive
director shall be subject to confirmation by the
Committee.
(B) Compensation.--The Chairperson of the Committee
may fix the compensation of the executive director and
other personnel without regard to chapter 51 and
subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States
Code, relating to classification of positions and
General Schedule pay rates, except that the rate of pay
for the executive director and other personnel may not
exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive
Schedule under section 5316 of that title.
(4) Detail of government employees.--A Federal Government
employee may be detailed to the Committee without
reimbursement, and such detail shall be without interruption or
loss of civil service status or privilege.
(5) Procurement of temporary and intermittent services.--
The Chairperson of the Committee may procure temporary and
intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, United
States Code, at rates for individuals that do not exceed the
daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for
level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of that
title.
(e) Duration of Committee.--Section 1013 of title 5, United States
Code, shall not apply to the Committee.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Committee to carry out this section $3,000,000 for
fiscal year 2024.
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