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Read. Follow. Verify.Pennsylvania requires annual child labor enforcement reports and adds criminal penalties for willful violations involving vulnerable minors
Last action · March 4, 2025: Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, March 4, 2025Sponsors: Milou Mackenzie and 1 other
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What This Bill Would Do
Pennsylvania House Bill 805 requires the Department of Labor and Industry to submit an annual child labor enforcement report to the General Assembly by April 1, including specific data on s and cross-reporting to immigration and child welfare authorities. The bill also establishes a second-degree misdemeanor with fines up to $5,000 and up to two years imprisonment for employers who willfully violate child labor laws knowing the minor lacks proper care or control. The measure takes effect in 60 days.
State labor investigators must formally refer suspected unlawful employment to federal immigration authorities and suspected child abuse or dependency to state human services agencies during child labor probes. Employers face criminal charges and financial penalties for knowingly employing vulnerable minors under conditions violating standard care.
- The Child Labor Act of 2012 governs the employment, working hours, and permit requirements for minors in Pennsylvania, conferring enforcement duties on the Department of Labor and Industry and the Department of Education. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employers
Employers face mandatory investigation reporting to federal and state authorities and potential second-degree misdemeanor criminal penalties for willful child labor violations involving vulnerable minors.
Department of Labor and Industry
The department is required to compile and submit a comprehensive annual enforcement report by April 1 and initiate cross-reports to ICE and the Department of Human Services under specific conditions.
Unaccompanied alien minors
The state will specifically track, analyze, and report labor violations, industry distribution, and agency interactions concerning unaccompanied minors released to sponsors.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What information must the Department of Labor and Industry include in its annual report?
What triggers a report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement under this bill?
What are the penalties for employers who willfully violate child labor laws regarding vulnerable minors?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Mar 4, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY, March 4, 2025
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Inter-Agency Cross-Reporting
The bill formally bridges labor inspections with federal immigration enforcement and state child welfare systems by mandating referrals when specific violations are suspected.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.palegis.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance65How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz35Current news / social attention level
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