U.S. Senate bill aims to bar child labor violators from some federal
contracts
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[April 25, 2023]
By Kristina Cooke, Mica Rosenberg and Joshua Schneyer
(Reuters) - U.S. Democratic Senator Cory Booker will introduce
legislation Tuesday that aims to deter child labor at meatpacking plants
by barring some offending companies from important government contracts,
the latest response to a rise in underage labor in dangerous U.S.
industries.
The bill Booker's office shared with Reuters, called the Child Labor
Exploitation and Accountability Act, would prevent companies that commit
"serious, repeated, or pervasive" labor law violations from contracting
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for up to five years.
The USDA is a major buyer of meat and other foods for the National
School Lunch Program and other government programs.
A February 2022 Reuters story exposed child labor at Alabama chicken
plants, revealing how unaccompanied Central American migrants in debt to
human smugglers were working grueling factory shifts. Later, in
November, the Labor Department filed a complaint against cleaning
company Packers Sanitation Services Inc., (PSSI) for employing dozens of
kids on overnight shifts at meat processing plants around the country,
some who suffered chemical burns and other injuries.
"Reuters' reporting on child labor in chicken plants drew much-needed
attention to the widespread labor violations in the food industry,"
Booker said in an emailed statement. "We must hold companies accountable
for violating labor laws and their role in exploiting vulnerable
children and workers to help drive record high profits."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/25/images/ads/current/goodman_sda_SHG_2023.png)
If passed, the bill would require companies competing for USDA contracts
to disclose any labor and worker safety infractions, including
violations by their subcontractors, going back three years. It would
also require the U.S. Secretary of Labor to compile an annual list of
serious and repeat violators who would be ineligible for USDA contracts.
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![](../images/042523PIX/news_r97.jpg)
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) speaks
about border policy, at the Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 26,
2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Apr/25/images/ads/current/atlantabank_lda_SFARM_2023.png)
The Senate bill is co-led by Democratic Senator Peter Welch of
Vermont. A companion bill in the House of Representatives is led by
Representative Greg Casar of Texas, also a Democrat.
The proposed legislation is the latest in a series of recent
congressional actions to address troubling findings of underage
migrant labor in U.S. factories, where it's illegal and dangerous
for them to work.
It comes after another Democrat-led Senate bill that would sharply
increase civil fines and penalties for employers that violate child
labor laws, and a similar bipartisan measure introduced in the House
of Representatives.
Reuters reporting last year also found migrant children, some as
young as 12, were manufacturing car parts at suppliers to Korean
auto giants Hyundai and Kia. This year, the New York Times and other
media outlets have reported on migrant child labor in various
states.
Reuters found the practice often relies on subcontractors, such as
temporary staffing agencies, that big employers enlist to recruit
plant workers.
The Labor Department said earlier this year that it has seen a
nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including
in hazardous occupations.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack
sent a letter to the largest U.S. meat and chicken processing
companies, urging them to examine their supply chains for evidence
of child labor.
(Reporting by Kristina Cooke in in San Francisco, Mica Rosenberg and
Joshua Schneyer in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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