Statement from the U.S. Department of Labor
on passage of Child Protection Act of 2007

WASHINGTON — Paul DeCamp, administrator for the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which is responsible for enforcing the child labor provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, today released the following statement regarding passage of the Child Labor Protection Act of 2007, H.R. 2637, by the U.S. House of Representatives:

"The House should be commended for its bipartisan effort in advancing this important measure, which strengthens our ability to enforce the nation's child labor laws. We look forward to the same action in the Senate. The bill that was passed today marks another step forward in the administration's overall strategy for modernizing the child labor laws to bring them in line with the 21st century workplace and to provide today's teenagers with safe employment opportunities."

The bill implements the administration's proposal to increase the civil money penalties that may be imposed for child labor violations that result in the death of or serious injury to children, particularly where the violation is repeated or willful. Currently, the maximum civil money penalty that the Department of Labor can levy against an employer that causes the death of or seriously injures a child is $11,000. This bill raises the maximum penalty to $50,000 with the possibility of a penalty of up to $100,000 in cases where the employer's violation is repeated or willful.

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