Coordinating research on child labor

(a) Research and related activities (1) In general The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 4 (29 U.S.C. 204) the following: 5. Research and related activities; (2) Special exemptions relating to child labor Paragraph (2) of section 4(d) of such Act is— (A) transferred to section 5 of such Act; (B) inserted so as to appear after the section heading; (C) redesignated as subsection (a) of such section 5; and (D) amended— (i) by striking the first word and inserting Periodic review of exemptions.—The; and (ii) by striking January 1, 1976 and inserting five years after the effective date of the Protecting Children Act and shall update such studies and such report every ten years thereafter; (3) Studies on preventing curtailment of employment opportunities for manpower groups Paragraph (3) of section 4(d) of such Act is— (A) transferred to section 5 of such Act; (B) inserted so as to appear after subsection (a) of such section 5, as amended by paragraph (2); (C) redesignated as subsection (b) of such section 5; and (D) amended by striking the first word and inserting Employment opportunity.—The. (4) Conforming amendment Subsection (d) of section 4 of such Act is further amended— (A) by striking (d)(1) The Secretary shall submit and inserting the following: (d) Biennial report The Secretary shall submit. (b) National research agenda on child labor Section 5 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is further amended by adding at the end the following: (c) National research agenda on child labor (1) In general The Secretary of Health and Human Services (acting through the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health), after consultation with the Secretary of Labor and with other appropriate Federal departments or agencies, shall conduct (directly or by grants or contracts) research, experiments, and demonstrations relating to oppressive child labor, the occupational safety and health of young workers, and the exposure or risk of such exposure of vulnerable children to oppressive child labor, including innovative methods, techniques, and approaches for preventing oppressive child labor, research relevant to strategic enforcement of the child labor provisions of this Act, surveillance of occupational illnesses and injuries for young workers, and identification of conditions of work that are particularly hazardous to children or harmful to their health and well-being. (2) Tracking work-related injury and illness The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Labor, develop a comprehensive plan for monitoring work-related illnesses and injuries sustained by employees under the age of 18 and for monitoring the hazards to which such employees are exposed. Such plan shall include the following: (A) Evaluation Not later than two years after the date of enactment of the Protecting Children Act and from time to time thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall evaluate whether existing data collections capture and generate sufficient representative data on work-related illnesses and injuries sustained by employees under the age of 18. (B) Leadership The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall coordinate other Federal departments or agencies and, to the extent feasible, State agencies with data collection or research programs to enhance data collection and research on work-related illnesses and injuries sustained by employees under the age of 18. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall advise the Secretary of Labor on the effective design and implementation of relevant elements of the statistical program of the Secretary pursuant to this Act and section 24 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 673). (C) Supplemental research The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall identify and from time to time undertake such additional research as the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines is necessary to supplement existing data collections, close knowledge gaps, and improve information about the work-related illnesses and injuries sustained by employees under the age of 18. (3) Hazardous occupations The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall from time to time consult with the Secretary of Labor in order to develop specific plans for such research, demonstrations, and experiments as are necessary to produce criteria enabling the Secretary to meet the Secretary’s responsibility for the formulation of hazardous occupation orders under section 12. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, on the basis of such research, demonstrations, experiments, and any other information available, develop and publish at least annually such criteria as will effectuate the purposes of this Act. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit to the Secretary all pertinent criteria regarding any such occupations or conditions or work as such criteria are developed. (4) Precautionary guidance The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, on the basis of research, demonstrations, and experiments, and any other information available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, develop criteria or models to aid the Secretary in identifying conditions of oppressive child labor in the absence of substantial data about occupational risks specific to children. (5) Implementation support The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor, undertake research relevant to developing evidence-based guidance for the Secretary of Labor on the implementation of this Act, including topics such as strategic enforcement, effective training of employees under age 18, deterrence, and assessment of the economic benefit of noncompliance. (6) Risk of exposure to oppressive child labor The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall from time to time, acting through the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, consult with the leadership of relevant Federal and State agencies and programs responsible for the welfare, placement, or custody of children, in order to develop specific plans for such research, demonstrations, and experiments as are necessary to produce precautionary and evidence-based guidance enabling the Secretary of Health and Human Services and such other leaders to prevent children from suffering conditions of oppressive child labor or being exposed to the risk of oppressive child labor. (7) Authority In furtherance of the purposes of this subsection, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall have the same authority as available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to sections 20, 21, and 22 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669–671).. (c) OSH Act Section 20(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 669(a)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (3), by striking his work experience and inserting such employee’s work experience and exposures of particular concern to the development of employees under the age of 18; and (2) in paragraph (7)— (A) by striking aging adults and inserting aging adults and employees under the age of 18; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (8) Model (A) In general Not later than the date that is one year after the date enactment of the Protecting Children Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall develop a model for estimating the total incidence and economic burden of fatal and nonfatal occupational injury and illness in the United States that— (i) adjusts for known underreporting of occupational injury and illness; (ii) estimates the incidence or prevalence of occupational injuries and illnesses from public health data through attributable risk proportions or other standard methodologies, and (iii) estimates both medical and indirect costs, such as lost earnings, benefits, and home production. (B) Annual report The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall publish an annual report using the model developed under subparagraph (A) that includes— (i) estimates of the total incidence and economic burden of occupational illness and injury; (ii) the proportion of the total economic burden not absorbed by workers’ compensation insurance and shifted onto Federal programs (such as the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act, the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), and disability insurance benefits under section 223 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 423)); and (iii) the incidence of occupational illness and injury by employees under the age of 18, disaggregated, to the extent feasible, by the age groups, occupational categories, and school statuses that are relevant to the administration, investigation, or enforcement of the requirements relating to child labor under sections 12 or 13(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938..