Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act
Officially: “Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act” Read the full text
What it does
Read it in plain language
1Short title
This section would let the Act be called the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act .
2Definition of human trafficking
This section would define the term human trafficking, for purposes of this Act, to mean any act or practice described in paragraph (11) of section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
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2. Definition of human trafficking In this Act, the term human trafficking means any act or practice described in paragraph (11) of section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 ( 22 U.S.C. 7102 ).
3Training for Department personnel to identify human trafficking
This section would require the Secretary of Labor, within 180 days after the Act becomes law, to set up a program that provides training and ongoing education to Department of Labor employees the Secretary decides should receive it, based on their official duties. When deciding which Wage and Hour Division employees need the training, the Secretary would have to consider the training and education needs of employees who work in a state with a significant increase in oppressive child labor, as that term is defined in section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203(l)). The training could be given in person or through virtual learning. It would have to be tailored to the specific location or professional environment of the employees receiving it and cover topics the Secretary decides best reflect current trends and best practices for that location or environment. The training would have to include current information on detecting human trafficking, to the extent that information is relevant to the employees' official duties and consistent with privacy laws; methods for identifying suspected trafficking victims and people suspected of trafficking activity; and a clear course of action for referring potential human trafficking cases to the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities, following best practices for protecting the rights of trafficking victims, including appropriate collaboration with victim advocacy organizations, federal agencies, and state and local officials. After completing the training or continuing education, the employees who received it would have to evaluate it.
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3. Training for Department personnel to identify human trafficking (a) In General Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall implement a program to provide the training and periodic continuing education described in subsection (b) to employees of the Department of Labor whom the Secretary determines should receive such training or education based on their official duties. In making such determination with respect to employees of the Wage and Hour Division, the Secretary shall consider the training and education needs of such employees operating in a State with a significant increase in oppressive child labor (as defined in section 3(l) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ( 29 U.S.C. 203(l) )). (b) Training and continuing education described The training and continuing education provided under the program referred to in subsection (a)— (1) may be conducted through in-class or virtual learning capabilities; and (2) shall include— (A) training or continuing education that— (i) is most appropriate for the particular location or professional environment in which the employees receiving such training or continuing education perform their official duties; (ii) covers topics determined by the Secretary of Labor to appropriately reflect current trends and best practices for such location or environment; and (iii) includes— (I) the provision of current information on matters related to the detection of human trafficking to the extent relevant to the official duties of such employees, and consistent with privacy laws; (II) methods for identifying suspected victims of human trafficking and parties who may be suspected of the trafficking activity; and (III) a clear course of action for referring potential cases of human trafficking to the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities, in accordance with best practices for protecting the rights of victims of human trafficking, including appropriate collaboration with victim advocacy organizations, Federal agencies, and State and local officials; and (B) an evaluation of the training or continuing education by such employees after the completion of such training or education.
4Reports to Congress
This section would require the Secretary of Labor to submit a report each year to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, starting not later than 1 year after the Secretary first implements the training program required by section 3(a). Each report would have to cover the training and continuing education provided under the program during the preceding year, including an evaluation of that training and continuing education (including its overall effectiveness) and the number of individuals who completed it. Each report would also have to state the number of human-trafficking-detection cases that the Department of Labor referred to the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities during the preceding year, along with the processes the Department of Labor uses to accurately measure and track how the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities responded to those cases.
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4. Reports to Congress Not later than 1 year after the Secretary of Labor first implements the program under section 3(a), and each year thereafter, the Secretary of Labor shall submit to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a report on— (1) the training and continuing education provided under the program for the preceding year, including— (A) an evaluation (including the overall effectiveness) of such training and continuing education; and (B) the number of individuals who have completed such training or continuing education; and (2) the number of cases related to the detection of human trafficking, which were referred to the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities during the preceding year by the Department of Labor, and the processes used by the Department of Labor to accurately measure and track the response of the Department of Justice and other appropriate authorities to such cases.
Where it is
In the House.