House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives
Republicans
Rep. Howard P. “Buck†McKeon
Ranking Member
Fiscally responsible reforms for students, workers and retirees.
NEWSROOM
Committee Statement
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Alexa Marrero |
Wilson Statement: Hearing on “Child Labor Enforcement: Are We Adequately Protecting Our Children?”
Thank you for yielding Madam Chair, and I join you in welcoming our witnesses here today.
Every year, millions of teens work in part-time or summer jobs that can provide valuable work experiences and opportunities for teens to learn important work skills. That work is not completely without risk, however, and unfortunately each year there are young workers who are either injured or killed on the job.
Because even one injury is too many, the Department of Labor has an important role in helping to ensure that young workers have safe and appropriate work experiences. While the employment of young workers is essential to helping instill a solid work ethic and in teaching the value of a dollar, their collective safety must be the highest priority.
I look forward to hearing from the Department today about their enforcement initiatives and compliance efforts, which help to educate teens, parents, and employers about the hours of work and types of jobs that young people can perform. Youth employment has been an ongoing focus for the Department and I commend the Administration for its work in this area.
Last year, the Department submitted a legislative proposal to Congress to strengthen the Department’s ability to impose significant civil penalties for child labor violations that result in the death of or serious injury of a child, particularly where the violation is repeated or willful. I thank the Chairwoman for her important work on that proposal, which she introduced in the House. I was pleased to join the Senior Republican Member of the Full Committee, Mr. McKeon, as an original cosponsor of her bill, the provisions of which were enacted into law in May of this year. This has provided the Department with an additional tool to address serious child labor violations, decrease repeat occurrences, and to strengthen the overall enforcement of critical child labor laws.
I look forward to hearing the testimony from all of our witnesses here today, and I thank the Chairwoman for holding this hearing. I yield back the balance of my time.
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