NYC Gazette

Thousands of Children Subjected to Child Labor Exploitation in the United States, Often Facing Brutal Jobs in Dangerous Working Conditions 

Washington D.C. - Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congresswomen Hillary Scholten (MI-3) and Nancy Mace (SC-1) in introducing H.R. 2388 - the Justice for Exploited Children Act to protect children from illegal child labor exploitation. In recent years children, especially unaccompanied migrant children, have been and continue to be overworked in dangerous jobs across our nation. In 2022, the Department of Labor found nearly 4,000 children employed in violation of child labor laws. The number of children illegally employed has increased by 70 percent over the past five years.

“As a human being and a father of 5, the fact that any child - let alone thousands - is being exploited in our nation’s factories, slaughterhouses, and construction zones is a stain on the American conscience,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “Children who should be in school have been left in the shadows of our supply chains, violating our nation’s fair labor laws. Child labor violations continue to rise throughout the country, and we must ensure that the companies engaged in child exploitation are duly penalized. We cannot turn a blind eye to this injustice any longer. The Justice for Exploited Children Act is a moral necessity.”

Over two years, 250,000 migrant children have come to the United States alone. Thousands of children have ended up in dangerous jobs across the country, working overnight in construction zones, slaughterhouses, replacing roofs, and operating machinery in factories that violate child labor laws.

While the Department of Labor has reported that child labor violations are rising, the maximum penalty for breaking child labor laws has stayed the same at $15,138, which does not provide sufficient deterrence or adequate accountability measures for placing the lives and safety of children at risk.

The Justice for Exploited Children Act will raise the civil monetary penalties by establishing: a $5,000 minimum and $132,270 maximum for violations of child labor standards, as well as a $25,000 minimum and $601,150 maximum for each violation that causes the death or severe injury of a minor.

Original source can be found here.