DOL Child Labor Work Strained as Violations Rose, Report Says – Bloomberg Law News

Report on U.S. Child Labor Enforcement and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Challenges to Achieving SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

A new report from the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General reveals significant obstacles to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 8, particularly Target 8.7, which calls for immediate and effective measures to eradicate child labor by 2025. An advisory report indicates that a nationwide spike in child labor violations in 2023 was met with inadequate federal enforcement capacity.

• The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division struggled between 2019 and 2023 to adequately investigate and penalize child labor violations.
• This failure directly contravenes the global commitment to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor.

Institutional Failures Undermining SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

The findings highlight institutional weaknesses that compromise the objective of SDG 16 to build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. The capacity of the federal government to uphold justice for child workers and enforce established laws has been diminished by several factors.

1. Constrained Resources: A critical shortage of resources limited the ability of the Wage and Hour Division to perform its duties effectively.
2. Systemic Barriers: Language barriers presented a significant challenge to investigators, hindering engagement with vulnerable communities and impeding the enforcement process.
3. Legal Discrepancies: Differences between state and federal child labor laws created complexities that hampered uniform and effective enforcement.

Broader Impacts on SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 4 (Quality Education)

The inability to enforce child labor laws has wider implications for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The issue is intrinsically linked to goals concerning inequality and education.

• SDG 10: Ineffective enforcement disproportionately harms children in vulnerable situations, thereby exacerbating inequalities within the nation.
• SDG 4: Child labor is a primary barrier to quality education, denying children the opportunity to learn and perpetuating cycles of poverty that undermine long-term sustainable development.

A more detailed audit of the division’s efforts is now underway to further assess these challenges to national and global development goals.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  The article directly addresses this goal by focusing on the issue of child labor, which is a fundamental violation of decent work principles. The report of a spike in child labor violations and the struggle of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division to enforce laws are central to the themes of protecting labor rights and ensuring fair employment practices, which are core components of SDG 8.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  This goal is relevant because the article highlights the institutional failures and challenges within a key government body responsible for upholding the law. The text states that the Labor Department’s division “struggled… to adequately investigate and penalize child labor violations due to constrained resources, language barriers, and differences in state and federal laws.” This points to a weakness in the effectiveness and accountability of institutions tasked with protecting vulnerable populations, a key concern of SDG 16.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. Target 8.7: End Child Labour

   This target calls for immediate and effective measures to “secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour… and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.” The article’s entire focus is on the failure to effectively enforce child labor laws amidst a “spike” in violations, directly relating to the challenge of achieving this target.

2. Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children

   Child labor is a form of exploitation and abuse of children. The article’s discussion of rising child labor violations and the inability to penalize them connects directly to the objective of ending child exploitation as outlined in this target.

3. Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels

   The article provides a clear example of an institution struggling to be effective. The Labor Department’s internal auditor found that the Wage and Hour Division faced a “shortage of resources” and “struggled… to adequately investigate,” which indicates a lack of institutional capacity and effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate to protect children from labor exploitation.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. Indicator for Target 8.7

   The article explicitly mentions a key data point that serves as a direct indicator: “the annual number of child labor violations.” This metric is used to demonstrate the scale of the problem (“violations spiked nationwide in 2023”) and can be used to track progress (or regression) in eliminating child labor.

2. Indicators for Target 16.6

   While not stated as formal indicators, the article implies several measures of institutional ineffectiveness:

   • The rate of investigation and penalization of child labor cases. The article notes the division “struggled to adequately investigate and penalize” violations.
   • Resource allocation for enforcement. The text identifies “constrained resources” as a primary reason for the enforcement failures.

Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: news.bloomberglaw.com