Child Labor Violation Surge Sparks Watchdog Probe of DOL Efforts

The US Department of Labor’s independent watchdog is launching a probe into the agency’s response to a recent surge in child labor violations in the US workforce.

The Office of Inspector General put the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division on notice that it plans to immediately begin work on a probe of its “efforts to curtail child labor law violations, as well as the cause for rising child labor law violations,” according to an Aug. 21 memo to Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman.

Scrutiny of the DOL’s enforcement efforts to reverse a growing number of child labor violations across the ...