Despite the fact that child labor laws have been in place in the United States since 1938, thousands of children continue to fall victim to exploitative child labor each year. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor saw a 69% increase in children being employed illegally between 2018 and 2022. The U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services announced new efforts to combat exploitative child labor in February 2023. Per their announcement, the agencies committed to the following actions, some of which have already begun:
Implementation of an Interagency Taskforce to Combat Child Labor Exploitation:
The Department of Labor is leading an interagency task force to address illegal child labor. This task force includes participants from the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Justice, and State. According to the Department of Labor, the task force is working to improve cross-training, outreach, education, and health outcomes of children who may be subject to child labor.
Creation of a National Strategic Enforcement Initiative on Child Labor:
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will initiate investigations where illegal child-labor is most likely to occur. The Wage and Hour Division and the Office of the Solicitor will work together to enforce child labor laws using penalties, injunctions, stopping the movement of goods made with child labor, and criminal referrals.
Increased Accountability for Employers:
All employers will be held accountable for child labor, including those who rely on staffing agencies and subcontracting. Employers will also be held accountable for doing business with companies that use illegal child labor.
Provision of Services for Unaccompanied Children:
The Department of Health and Human Services will work with Congress to provide sufficient resources for the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to provide post release services to all unaccompanied children and sponsors. The Department of Health and Human Services will also require ORR to make follow-up calls to all children who call the Office of Refugee Resettlement National Call Center with a safety concern. Finally, ORR will provide unaccompanied children and potential sponsors with more information about child labor laws in the United States.
Call on Congress for Support:
The Department of Labor will continue to call on congress for funding and support to stop illegal child labor. Specifically, they will call on congress to increase funding for its enforcement agencies and to increase civil monetary penalties for companies that use child labor.
Given the continued existence of exploitative child labor in the United States and globally, employers have a responsibility to examine their hiring, contracting, and business practices to eliminate child labor in the supply chain. Employers should provide employees with information about illegal child labor and should encourage individuals to report concerns using proper channels of communication. Providing access to an ethics and compliance hotline such as Red Flag Reporting is one way to encourage employees to speak up. Everyone, from government agencies to individual employees play a part in eliminating exploitative child labor.