United StatesLabor Department must train selected staff to spot human trafficking
Within 180 days after October 20, 2026, the Labor Secretary must set up a program to train selected staff to spot suspected trafficking and refer cases.
What it does
The Labor Secretary must set up a program to train staff selected by their duties and offer ongoing lessons. Staff must learn to spot possible victims and refer cases while protecting victims’ rights.
Within a year after the training program is put in place, then each year, the Labor Secretary must tell Congress how the training worked, how many employees finished it, and how many cases were referred.
Argument forTraining matched to employees’ work could help them spot possible trafficking and send cases to the right authorities.
Argument againstSome Labor Department workers might miss the training because the Secretary chooses who receives it based on their duties.
More detail
The Labor Secretary must provide training and ongoing lessons on spotting possible human trafficking and referring cases to authorities. The program covers Labor Department employees the Secretary selects based on their duties. For wage and hour staff, the Secretary must consider training needs in states with a significant rise in what federal law calls “oppressive child labor.” Lessons must fit employees’ work, follow privacy laws, and explain how to protect victims’ rights when referring cases. The Secretary must put the program in place within 180 days after October 20, 2026.
The Labor Secretary must send yearly reports to two congressional committees. The reports cover Labor Department training and possible trafficking cases it refers to the Justice Department and other authorities. Each report must evaluate the training, count employees who completed it, count referred cases, and describe how the department tracks authorities’ responses. The first report is due within one year after the Secretary puts the program in place; reports are due each year after that.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To President
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Oct 20Signed by President.Became Law
- Oct 20Became Public Law No: 119-131.Minor
- Oct 15Presented to President.To President
- Oct 14Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 30Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S5299)Passed Senate
- Mar 4Received in the Senate, read twice.
- Mar 3Mr. Walberg moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Mar 3Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2363-2364)
- Mar 3DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 4307.
- Mar 3Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H2363)Passed House
- Mar 3Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Feb 20Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-507.
- Feb 20Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 433.
- Jan 8Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
- Jan 8Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 36 - 0.
- 2025
- Jul 10Introduced in House
- Jul 10Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.Introduced
Criminal JusticePublic SafetyGovernment & Ethics