S. 5414 — Stop Child Labor Act

This section expands remedies for child labor violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It authorizes private suits for compensatory and punitive damages up to $250,000 per employee and terminates such suits upon the Secretary filing a section 17 action. It revises civil penalties for child labor violations to ranges of $5,000–$132,270 (from a $11,000 maximum) and $25,000–$601,150 (from a $50,000 maximum), with annual CPI adjustments beginning in FY2027. It imposes criminal penalties of up to $50,000 and one year imprisonment for repeated or willful child labor violations (from $10,000 and six months). The changes apply to violations alleged on or after enactment.

This section establishes a grant program authorizing the Secretary of Labor to award grants to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, nonprofit trade or employer associations, labor-management partnerships, and labor organizations for education, training, and systems development to help employers recognize, avoid, and prevent violations of the child labor provisions in sections 12 and 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

This section establishes the National Advisory Committee on Child Labor, a 12-member panel with 3 management representatives, 3 labor organization representatives, 3 public members, and 3 child welfare professionals appointed by the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services. It requires the Committee to advise both Secretaries on recognition, avoidance, prevention, and enforcement of child labor violations under sections 12 and 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, authorizes $3 million for fiscal year 2027, and exempts the Committee from termination under title 5.