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Walmart will pay $7.8 million in penalties for violating Pennsylvania’s child labor laws at stores across the state, Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker announced Monday.
The settlement is the largest child labor enforcement action in Pennsylvania history and includes requirements intended to prevent future violations involving underage workers.
Under the agreement, Walmart will pay $7.68 million in administrative penalties in addition to $142,785 in fines previously paid following initial investigations by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
State officials said the combined penalties represent one of the largest child labor settlements ever secured by a state labor enforcement agency in the United States.
The department began investigating Walmart in February 2025 after receiving referrals from its Bureau of Workers’ Compensation involving minors who were injured while working at Walmart stores.
Investigators conducted 10 audits at eight Walmart locations throughout Pennsylvania, finding an average of 65 violations of the state’s Child Labor Act per audit.
The violations included failing to obtain required work permits for minors, failing to notify school districts when underage employees were hired or terminated, not providing legally required breaks and allowing minors to work more hours than permitted under state law.
After identifying a pattern of violations, the department expanded its enforcement efforts beyond the initially investigated stores to address compliance at Walmart locations statewide.
“When our investigators identified a pattern of violations at Walmart stores, we knew we needed to look beyond those individual locations,” Walker said. “This settlement is the result of our team’s work to hold Walmart accountable across the Commonwealth, and the future commitments we’ve secured will help prevent these violations from happening again.”
In addition to the financial penalties, Walmart must implement several measures to improve compliance with Pennsylvania’s child labor laws.
Those requirements include training managers on child labor regulations, posting notices informing employees of their rights and providing employment records involving minors at selected locations for follow-up reviews six months and one year after the agreement takes effect.
Walmart also agreed to pay penalties at twice the department’s typical fine amount if additional violations are discovered during those compliance checks.