House Passes Woolsey Bill to Protect Children from Unsafe Working Conditions

-Legislation significantly increases penalties for labor violations-

Washington, DC - In a unanimous vote Tuesday morning the House passed H.R. 2637 the Child Labor Protection Act of 2007, taking a significant step forward in protecting children from unsafe working conditions.  Petaluma Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, who chairs the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, sponsored the bi-partisan legislation and urged its passage as a strong step towards protecting children in the workforce:

"Madame Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and as Chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, I am proud to have brought H.R. 2637 to the floor today," Woolsey said on the House floor.  "The Child Labor Protection Act of 2007 is a narrowly drafted bi-partisan bill that increases penalties substantially for violations of child labor protection provisions that cause death or serious injury."

The legislation would protect minors by strengthening the Department of Labor's ability to impose significant penalties for child labor violations where children are killed or seriously injured, and particularly where the violation is repeated or willful.  In cases of labor violations, which cause death or serious injury, the penalties would be increased from $11,000 to $50,000 and could be doubled if investigators find that the safety violation was either willful or repeated.  Furthermore the penalties would be accessed for each violation.

"Although this legislation does not make the impositions of penalties mandatory, and the decision to assess penalties is still up to the Secretary of Labor, it would provide the Department with an additional enforcement tool to address the most serious labor law violations regarding children in the workforce," Woolsey said.

"There is much that must be done to strengthen our child labor laws, and this bill is a small beginning."

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