Legislation to Increase Penalties for Child Labor Violations Clears Committee

DENVER, CO – The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee Passes Legislation to Strengthen Child Labor Laws

DENVER, CO –  The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee today passed legislation to ramp up financial penalties for businesses that violate child labor laws. 

Protecting Youth and Holding Violators Accountable

“While we’ve made important progress to update Colorado’s child labor laws, we must ensure violators are held accountable and our youth are protected,” said Rep. Sheila Lieder, D-Littleton. “Right now, businesses face small or non-existence fines for child labor violations that could be putting our youth at risk. This bill would significantly increase financial penalties to hold bad actors accountable. Our legislation would also protect those who speak out about child labor violations from retaliation and ramp up statewide transparency efforts.” 

Improving Safety and Transparency

“Our child labor laws are designed to protect our youth from unsafe working conditions and unfair treatment; we need to ensure the laws are working as intended,” said Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder. “This bill encourages violation reporting, improves transparency around enforcement measures, increases penalties, and helps keep our youth safe. This legislation is important not only to protect against retaliation, but to hold bad actors accountable.”

Legislation Details

HB24-1095, which passed committee by a vote of 8-3, would update the Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act of 1971 and strengthen the penalty structure. Under current law, first-time child labor law violators face no fines or fines of only a few hundred dollars. This bill would raise total employer liability to $750 for first-time offenses and $10,000 for willful or repeated offenses. HB24-1095 would also remove legal disincentives that keep victims of child labor violations from reporting and protect child workers from employer retaliation.

Enhancing Transparency and Support

Additionally, this bill would also ramp up employer transparency by requiring the Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) to publish child labor violations or determinations. CDLE must issue a written notice to an employer with a description of penalties and damages owed if the act is violated. Under this bill, all fine revenue will be deposited into the Wage Theft Enforcement Fund, which distributes payments owed to Colorado employees who have filed claims of wage theft. 

Commitment to Worker Protections

Representative Lieder has championed important bills to strengthen worker protections and labor laws in Colorado. This includes HB23-1196, which amended language in the Colorado Youth Employment Opportunity Act of 1971 to expand the legal action that a child, or a parent of a child, can take to hold a company accountable for breaking the law.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
   • Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age group.

2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
   • Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young people (aged 18-29 years) who experienced sexual violence by age 18.

Analysis

The article highlights the passage of legislation in Colorado to ramp up financial penalties for businesses that violate child labor laws. This issue is connected to SDG 8, which focuses on decent work and economic growth. Target 8.7 specifically addresses the eradication of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. The article mentions that the legislation aims to increase penalties for child labor violations, hold bad actors accountable, protect those who report violations from retaliation, and improve transparency efforts.

Based on the article’s content, the specific targets under SDG 8 that can be identified are:

1. Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

The article also mentions SDG 16, which focuses on peace, justice, and strong institutions. Target 16.2 aims to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children. While the article does not explicitly mention these issues, it highlights the importance of protecting youth from unsafe working conditions and unfair treatment. This indirectly relates to Target 16.2.

The indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets are:

• Indicator 8.7.1: Proportion and number of children aged 5-17 years engaged in child labor, by sex and age group.
• Indicator 16.2.3: Proportion of young people (aged 18-29 years) who experienced sexual violence by age 18.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: cohousedems.com

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