Employers would face child labor limits and farm reporting duties

Employers would follow age-based limits on children's work. General rules would bar work under 14, require Labor Department findings protecting schooling and health for ages 14–15, and bar designated hazardous or harmful work for ages 16–17. Children under 18 could work outside school hours for parents or parent figures on farms those adults own. Children under 16 could work for parents or parent figures outside manufacturing, mining, and work designated hazardous or harmful for ages 16–17. The limits would apply to violations occurring after implementing rules take effect.

The Labor Department would prohibit employers from assigning pesticide-handling duties to children under 18. The prohibition would cover tasks defined as pesticide handling under federal worker protection rules. Stronger state protections would remain in place. The prohibition would apply to violations occurring after implementing rules take effect; the bill gives no clear fallback application date.

Employers would face civil fines, and people responsible for certain serious child labor violations could face criminal punishment. These penalties would cover child labor violations across industries. Civil fines would range from $500 to $15,000 per affected child, or $15,000 to $60,115 per violation causing serious injury, serious illness, or death. The serious-harm fine could double for repeated or willful violations. Criminal punishment could include a fine, prison, or both. The penalties would apply to violations occurring after implementing rules take effect.

Farm employers would report serious work-related harm to employees under 18 to the Labor Department. Reports would include the employer's identity, the child's identity and age, and incident details. Failure to report could bring a fine of $500 to $7,000 per violation. Reporting duties would begin when implementing rules are issued or six months after enactment, whichever comes first.

The Labor Department would analyze child farmworker safety data and publish a report each year. The analysis would cover farmworkers under 18 and their work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. The department would use federal and state agency data and employer incident reports. Reports would describe safety hazards and information suggesting possible child labor violations. Each annual report would go to Congress and become public the same day.