Earlier this week, California passed bill AB 3234 with ease in both the State Assembly (77-0) and the Senate (36-0). Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the bill. 

AB 3234 requires employers who have voluntarily subjected their businesses to social compliance audits to post a clear and obvious link to a report that details the findings of their most recent social compliance audit on the website for their business. The report would need to include:

1. when the audit was conducted (year, month, day, and time, and whether the audit was conducted during the morning or evening shift);
2. whether the business engages in child labor;
3. a copy of the business’s written policies and procedures regarding child employees;
4. whether the business exposes children to any hazardous or unsafe workplace situations that could affect their physical or mental health and development; and
5. whether children work within or outside regular school hours or during night hours.

The bill defines “social compliance audits” as inspections of any production house, factory, farm or packaging facility of a business to verify that it complies with both social and ethical responsibilities as well as health and safety regulations regarding child labor.

The bill was authored by Assemblymember Liz Ortega, who leads as chair of the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, in response to increasing investigations into the use of child labor in California.

Importantly, the bill would not require businesses to undergo social compliance audits. The process itself is still voluntary. However, the bill, if signed by the Governor as expected, would place the additional reporting requirements on businesses who voluntarily choose to participate in such audits to make their results public. Voluntary participation in social compliance audits has been embraced by companies who want to do their part to eliminate issues in their supply chain processes and promote confidence in ethical business practices for consumers. It remains to be seen whether this bill will discourage companies from participating in such audits in the future.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, in 2023, the Department reported an increase in child labor cases. Supporters of the bill argue that the bill’s function of requiring publicly posted results related to a business’s compliance with child labor laws will help to highlight issues and missed violations for child workplace safety.