[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2822 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2822
To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture comply with
certain labor laws, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 25, 2023
Mr. Casar (for himself, Ms. Budzinski, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Balint, Ms.
Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Salinas, Mr. Robert Garcia of California, Mrs.
Foushee, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lieu, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Pingree,
Mr. Deluzio, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Huffman, Mrs.
Ramirez, Ms. Brown, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Menendez,
Mr. Tonko, Mr. Magaziner, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Doggett, Mr.
McGovern, Mr. Cleaver, and Ms. Bush) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that contractors of the Department of Agriculture comply with
certain labor laws, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Child Labor Exploitation
Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC SECURITY AND WORKPLACE ACCOUNTABILITY.
(a) Required Disclosures.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
require any entity that enters into a contract with the Department of
Agriculture on or after the date that is 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act to disclose to the Secretary of Labor, on an
annual basis and to the best of the knowledge of the entity, whether,
within the preceding 3-year period, any administrative merits
determination, arbitral award or decision, or civil judgment, as
defined in regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor, has been
issued against the entity, or any subcontractor of the entity, for
violations of any of the following (including, as applicable, any
regulations issued under any of the following):
(1) The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et
seq.).
(2) The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29
U.S.C. 651 et seq.).
(3) The National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 151 et
seq.).
(4) Subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States
Code (commonly known as the ``Davis-Bacon Act'').
(5) Chapter 67 of title 41, United States Code (commonly
known as the ``Service Contract Act'').
(6) Executive Order 11246 (42 U.S.C. 2000e note; relating
to equal employment opportunity).
(7) Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 793).
(8) Section 4212 of title 38, United States Code.
(9) The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C.
2601 et seq.).
(10) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000e et seq.).
(11) Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.).
(12) The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29
U.S.C. 621 et seq.).
(13) Executive Order 13658 (79 Fed. Reg. 9851; relating to
establishing a minimum wage for contractors).
(14) The Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).
(15) The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (division II of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328)).
(16) Section 4714 of title 41, United States Code.
(17) Part 170 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations
(regarding the Worker Protection Standard).
(18) Section 218 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1188) relating to protections for H-2A workers.
(19) Section 274B of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1324b).
(20) Any applicable State or local labor or employment law,
as defined in regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor.
(b) Consultation.--The Secretary of Labor shall be available, as
appropriate and in coordination as described in subsection (e), for
consultation with an entity described in subsection (a) to assist the
entity in evaluating the information on labor compliance submitted to
the entity by a subcontractor pursuant to such subsection.
(c) Corrective Measures.--On an annual basis, the Secretary of
Labor--
(1) shall provide an entity that makes a disclosure
pursuant to subsection (a) an opportunity to report any steps
taken by the entity, or any subcontractor of the entity, to
correct violations of or improve compliance with the labor
laws, including Executive orders, listed in such subsection,
including any agreements entered into with an enforcement
agency; and
(2) may negotiate with such entity corrective measures that
the entity or any subcontractor of the entity may take in order
to avoid having the entity placed on the list under subsection
(d).
(d) List of Ineligible Entities.--
(1) In general.--For each calendar year beginning with the
first calendar year that begins after the date that is 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Labor, in coordination as described in subsection (e), shall
prepare, and submit to the Secretary of Agriculture, a list of
each entity that shall be ineligible for a contract with the
Department of Agriculture for that year based on--
(A) serious, repeated, or pervasive violations of
the labor laws, including Executive orders, listed
under subsection (a) committed by the entity or any
subcontractor of the entity; or
(B) the failure of such entity, or any
subcontractor of such entity, to complete any
corrective measure negotiated under subsection (c).
(2) Ineligibility.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
not--
(A) solicit a contract from any entity on the list
under paragraph (1) that is in effect for a year for
that year or any of the subsequent 4 years; and
(B) conduct an inspection pursuant to the Federal
Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the
Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et
seq.), as applicable, of any facility owned or
controlled by an entity on the list under paragraph (1)
that is in effect for a year for that year or for any
of the subsequent 4 years.
(e) Coordination.--In providing the consultation described in
subsection (b) and preparing the list under subsection (d), the
Secretary of Labor shall coordinate, as appropriate, with the National
Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
Environmental Protection Agency, States, and local governments.
(f) Criminal Penalty for Failure To Report.--
(1) Offense.--It shall be unlawful for an entity to
knowingly fail to make a disclosure required under subsection
(a).
(2) Penalty.--
(A) In general.--A violation of paragraph (1) shall
be treated as a violation of section 1031(a) of title
18, United States Code.
(B) Gross loss to government; gross gain to
defendant.--For purposes of applying section 1031 of
title 18, United States Code, to a violation of
paragraph (1) of this subsection, the amount that the
Department of Agriculture pays an entity that violates
such paragraph (1) under a contract described in
subsection (a) of this section shall be treated as the
gross loss to the Government or the gross gain to the
defendant.
(g) Annual Reports to Congress.--For each calendar year beginning
with the first calendar year that begins after the date that is 2 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, Secretary of Agriculture shall
submit a report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives that includes--
(1) the number of entities on the list under subsection (d)
for the year of the report;
(2) the number of entities that agreed to take corrective
measures under subsection (c) for such year;
(3) the amount of the applicable contracts for the entities
described in paragraph (1) or (2); and
(4) performance indicators and measures, as determined by
the Secretary of Agriculture, assessing the effectiveness of
the implementation by the Secretary of Agriculture of this Act
for such year.
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