Walmart agrees to pay $7.8M for alleged Pa. child labor violations
The retail giant Walmart has agreed to pay more than $7.8 million in penalties after officials alleged stores across Pennsylvania broke child labor laws by failing to secure work permits, provide required breaks and stick to limits on work hours. Regulators with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry said their investigation into Walmart's practices is the biggest child labor enforcement action in the commonwealth's history and among the largest in the nation. "Every employer in Pennsylvania should be on notice: We will not tolerate you taking advantage of our youngest workers," Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a Nov. 9 statement announcing the settlement agreement. More: Walmart refund checks are going out; has yours arrived? In a statement, a Walmart spokesperson said the company is glad to resolve the inquiry and has "processes in place to support compliance with applicable laws, including the paperwork requirements, and we regularly review and improve them." The state's labor officials began investigating the retailer in early 2025 in response to reports about minors getting injured on the job, according to the statement. They initially audited eight stores but expanded their probe after finding an average of 65 child labor law violations at each of
