The US Department of Labor (DOL) announced in November a new method of assessing child-labor law violations, likely leading to increased financial penalties. Rather than assessing violations per child, there will be a penalty for each individual violation. The new practice is part of an effort by the DOL to combat a steep increase in child labor violations attributed to an influx of migrant children and the erosion of state law protection of minors in the workforce in some states.

In February 2023, the DOL formed an interagency task force with the Department of Health and Human Services to address child labor violations. An update on the task force’s activities was published in July. And a 2023 DOL memorandum warned against violation of the “hot goods” provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which imposes penalties for shipping through interstate commerce any goods “produced in an establishment in, or about which oppressive child labor occurred,” meaning that companies that are involved in the shipping or receipt of such goods also face liability.

Previously, the Labor Department would assess monetary penalties in non-serious injury and non-injury cases by assigning an amount based on the type of violation and seriousness of the offense. The penalties were assessed by applying the maximum monetary penalties on a per-child basis. The new practice will instead assess penalties on a per-violation basis. The DOL provided the following example in its Field Assistance Bulletin announcing the change:

For instance, if there are three separate violations relative to a child’s employment (such as two hazardous occupation order violations and one recordkeeping violation), the employer will be assessed three separate CMP [Civil Monetary Penalty] penalties, each of which can reach the statutory maximum.

A non-serious injury is “any injury that requires treatment no more extensive than first aid and results in the youth missing school or work or having their normal activities curtailed for (fewer) than five days.”

This year also brings an inflation adjustment to penalties, which all federal agencies implement annually following the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 2015. The 2024 inflationary adjustment is based on a cost-of-living multiplier determined by the Consumer Price Index increase between October 2022 and October 2023. A multiplier of 1.03241 was used to make this year’s adjustment. In the case of child-labor penalties, for example, the 2023 maximum penalty of $15,138 per non-serious and non-injury violation is multiplied by 1.03241 to set the 2024 maximum penalty for such violations at $15,629 for 2024.

Employers are also subject to state laws governing working hours and types of work that minors can perform. Massachusetts’ myriad laws regulating the employment of minors are found at M.G.L. ch. 149, §§ 56-105, and are summarized in this poster, which also contains information about federal child labor laws.

AIM members with questions about employing minors may reach out to the AIM HR Helpline at 800-470-