Delegate Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax submitted House Bill 100 for increased penalties for employers who violate child labor laws. The bill is being discussed in the 2024 Virginia General Assembly.
About House Bill 100
The bill states that the penalty for employing a child who is seriously injured or dies in the course of employment would increase from $10,000 to $25,000. The civil penalty for each violation of child labor laws that results in the employment of a child who is seriously injured or dies in the course of employment for each other violation of child labor laws would increase from $1,000 to $2,500.
Virginia law generally prohibits children under 14 from being employed except in certain circumstances. Those circumstances that allow children under 14 to work include:
- farming
- being a page or clerk for the state Senate or House of Delegates
- working for a parent in an occupation other than manufacturing
- if the child is enrolled in a regular school work-training program and has a work-training certificate