Lucy McBath Shares Tense Moment With Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer On Enforcement Of Child Labor Laws

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) questioned Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer about child labor laws.

Transcript

00:00It's nice to meet you.

00:02I thank the gentleman.

00:04I recognize the gentlelady from Georgia, Ms. McBath.

00:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

00:09Secretary, thank you so much for being here once again.

00:11It's good to see you back in your old committee room.

00:14As a mother, I must say I'm deeply concerned about child labor.

00:19In 2023, a Georgia-based contractor was fined at both the federal and state level

00:24for violating overtime, work safety, and child labor laws by employing a 17-year-old

00:31to work one of the most dangerous jobs there is when done without the proper precautions,

00:37and that is roofing.

00:39He unfortunately fell about 25 feet from a store rooftop and was airlifted to a local hospital.

00:46And thank God he recovered without any serious injury,

00:51but falling from a roof can have very deadly consequences, as you might assume.

00:57But we're all lucky that his injuries weren't worse.

00:59But it shows how important enforcement at the Department of Labor really, really is.

01:04Your proposed budget will cut the number of investigators at the wage in our division

01:10as well as the Office of the Solicitor, leaving fewer staff and resources to prevent cases like this

01:16and hold those accountable who are putting our kids in danger and at risk.

01:21As you know, my son Jordan was unfortunately taken from me at only the tender age of 17,

01:28so I know the pain of losing a child.

01:31And yes, I can promise you I miss him every day.

01:35Jordan was the exact same age as this young man that I just spoke about,

01:39and it would be a tragedy for any family to have to go through what mine has

01:45because the department did not have the resources or the time to stop these accidents before they happen

01:53or to hold the violators accountable.

01:56The wage in our division today has significantly fewer child labor and wage theft investigators on staff

02:04than they did over 75 years ago, 611 today versus 1,000 in the year of 1948,

02:13despite our workforce being much larger than it was at that time.

02:18Investigators in a dozen states told the New York Times that their understaffed offices

02:24could barely respond to the number of complaints,

02:26much less open their own independent investigations because they were understaffed.

02:32So how does the department plan to crack down on child labor and wage theft

02:39if there are fewer investigators and resources to protect our kids and to protect our workers?

02:45Thank you, Congresswoman. It's an honor to be back and visit with you here today.

02:49And I'm sorry about Jordan. I don't think I did know that.

02:55From the Department of Labor's perspective,

02:57it is my ultimate responsibility and goal to protect those American workers

03:02and especially anybody who is nefariously breaking the law.

03:06And anybody who does knowingly break the law,

03:09the Department of Labor does have enforcement capabilities,

03:11and we will double down on that because I do not believe any American wants to tolerate that.

03:16Now, if we equate that to a budget and say that, again, that more money will always solve the problem,

03:22I would probably have to disagree there.

03:25I think oftentimes we need to modernize and streamline.

03:28I think that that's what this budget does.

03:30And we will statutorily always investigate and do what is right when we have those complaints,

03:35and we will follow up on the law.

03:37For companies and businesses who need help with compliance, we want to do that first.

03:41They are the first line of defense for the American worker.

03:45And I will ask them to always comply with the law, and I will assist them in doing so.

03:50And if at that point they knowingly choose not to,

03:53we will use the full capabilities of the Department of Labor to enforce that law

03:57and double down on that and hold them accountable.

03:59Well, thank you.

04:00I understand that you may be saying that preventing child labor and supporting workers is important to you.

04:06Absolutely.

04:07But saying that you want to stop something and then making child labor and wage theft laws more difficult to enforce

04:15doesn't actually accomplish that goal and actually does just the opposite.

04:23Secretary, Georgia is home to more than 100,000 federal workers,

04:28and they do everything from research at CDC to supporting Robbins Air Force Base

04:33to helping seniors with their Social Security.

04:36My understanding is that you weren't able to answer this question at a recent hearing,

04:41but you've had some time since then.

04:44Can you tell the American people how many employees the Department of Labor had when you were confirmed

04:51and how many are employed there now?

04:53Sure.

04:54We know that – I want to make sure I have it for you.

04:58I apologize.

04:59Can you – is it 25 something, right?

05:04Yeah, sorry.

05:05I had it written down.

05:06So as of the – the DRP, 2,513 as of the close.

05:11I think our 45-day window was Monday of this last week, and that's why that number was fluid.

05:16So 2,513 have taken the DRP.

05:20Okay, thank you.

05:21We urgently need to lift the federal firing freeze to ensure that there is someone to help our constituents when they need it.

05:28So whether it be at the Department of Labor or any other federal agency that folks have a home,

05:33we need answers, and we need to make sure that they are getting the important information and resources that they desperately need.

05:41And my – I am over time, and I yield back.

05:44Thank you, Congressman.

05:45It was nice to see you.

05:46I thank the gentlelady.

05:47And I recognize another member from Georgia.

05:50The gentleman –

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