HB 19: Child Labor Amendments - Utah

Amended 2/5/2025 16:02:400 → Substitute #1 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends child labor laws in Utah to strengthen enforcement by clarifying criminal penalties, improving coordination between the Labor Commission and law enforcement, and updating language for consistency. The changes make it clearer how violations are prosecuted and how information is shared between agencies.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains focused on child labor violations, but enforcement mechanisms and reporting requirements have been refined to improve clarity and effectiveness.

ENFORCEMENT

Criminal penalty language was revised to clarify that violations are misdemeanors or felonies based on the number of prior offenses, with clearer definitions of what constitutes a violation.

Added provisions requiring the Labor Commission to report suspected criminal acts to the State Bureau of Investigation and allowing the SBI to investigate or forward cases to appropriate agencies.

REQUIREMENT

Updated language throughout the bill to correct grammatical errors and improve clarity, such as changing 'refuserefusing' to 'refusing' and 'hinderhindering' to 'hindering'.

TECHNICAL

Reorganized subsection numbering and formatting to align with standard legislative drafting practices, including renumbering from subsection (3) to (5) for the exemption clause.

Amended Excerpts 2/5/2025 16:02:400 → Amended 2/5/2025 16:02:400 · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reformatted from 'Amended Excerpts' to a complete substitute bill with a new title page and long title section. The substantive legal text regarding child labor violations and penalties appears largely unchanged, though some minor wording adjustments were made throughout the amendment sections.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on child labor violations and criminal penalties, with no changes to applicability or exemptions.

TECHNICAL

Added a complete title page with bill number, sponsors, and session information

Added a 'Long Title' section describing the bill's general purpose and highlighted provisions

Minor wording adjustments in penalty subsections, such as changing 'willfully violate' to 'violating' and reorganizing offense classification language

ENFORCEMENT

Added new subsection (4) regarding reporting suspected criminal acts to the State Bureau of Investigation

Enrolled → Amended Excerpts 2/5/2025 16:02:400 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill clarifies child labor violation penalties by specifying that first offenses are class B misdemeanors, second offenses are class A misdemeanors, and third or subsequent offenses are third-degree felonies. It also updates language regarding employer retaliation and reporting requirements to the State Bureau of Investigation.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on child labor enforcement, but the penalty structure is now more clearly defined with specific offense tiers.

ENFORCEMENT

Penalty tiers for child labor violations were reorganized to explicitly state that first offenses are class B misdemeanors, second offenses are class A misdemeanors, and third or subsequent offenses are third-degree felonies.

Language regarding employer retaliation was updated to clarify that employees are protected if they testify, are about to testify, or if the employer believes they may testify in investigations.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the Labor Commission to report suspected criminal acts to the State Bureau of Investigation was clarified to apply when there is reasonable suspicion of additional criminal activity.

Introduced → Enrolled · 5 edits · Mar 25, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends Utah's child labor laws to strengthen enforcement by clarifying criminal penalties, adding new reporting requirements for the Labor Commission, and expanding the role of the State Bureau of Investigation in investigating suspected violations. The changes make penalties more severe for repeat offenders and create a formal process for sharing information between the Labor Commission and law enforcement agencies.

Scope change

The bill expands enforcement mechanisms by requiring the Labor Commission to report suspected criminal acts to the State Bureau of Investigation and allowing the Bureau to investigate or forward cases to appropriate agencies.

ENFORCEMENT

Added requirement for the Labor Commission to report suspected criminal acts to the State Bureau of Investigation when reasonable suspicion exists.

Granted the State Bureau of Investigation authority to investigate reported violations or forward them to law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction.

Added provision allowing the commission to share information relating to offenses with law enforcement agencies.

REQUIREMENT

Changed penalty structure so that repeat violations escalate from class B misdemeanor to class A misdemeanor, and third or subsequent violations become a third degree felony.

TECHNICAL

Corrected grammatical errors and formatting inconsistencies in the original text, such as removing redundant words and fixing sentence structure.

Child Labor Amendments

What changed between versions

How they voted

Actions timeline

Sponsors