HARRISBURG – Victims of child labor law violations receive nothing from fines collected for the offense. That would change as York County Rep. Joe D’Orsie plans to introduce legislation to direct money paid through such fines to go to the victims. Currently, when the Department of Labor and Industry determines a child labor law infraction has occurred, a fine is imposed on the company, with money paid going to the state’s General Fund. D’Orsie’s proposal would direct the Labor Department to work with the state treasurer to make reasonable efforts to determine whether the child has one of the following accounts: a 529 account, an account used to pay for nonpublic school tuition, a long-term investment or savings accounts, or another depository account. If an account is found, a portion of the fine would be deposited to it. If one is not found, the money would be provided to the child through their parent or legal guardian along with information on how to set up a 529 account to help the child save for future educational costs.
REP. JOE D’ORSIE