Walmart to pay nearly $8 million to settle child labor violations in Pennsylvania

Walmart will pay nearly $8 million after an investigation uncovered "systemic" child labor violations in Pennsylvania, the Shapiro administration announced on Monday. 

The investigation began in February 2025 after the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry received complaints about minors who were hurt while working at Walmart, Gov. Josh Shapiro's office said. 

Investigators conducted 10 audits at eight Walmarts throughout Pennsylvania and said they found an average of 65 Child Labor Act violations per audit, including letting minors work more hours than allowed under state law and failing to get required work permits for minor employees.

After "identifying a pattern of violations" at the audited stores, the Shapiro administration said it expanded its enforcement efforts to address child labor compliance at Walmart locations statewide. 

Under the settlement, the state said Walmart will pay $7.68 million in administrative penalties on top of $142,785 in fines already paid after the Department of Labor and Industry's initial investigations.

Shapiro called it one of the largest child labor enforcement actions in the nation's history. 

"Pennsylvania's child labor laws exist to protect our kids, and employers have a responsibility to follow them," Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Nancy Walker said in a news release. "When our investigators identified a pattern of violations at Walmart stores, we knew we needed to look beyond those individual locations. 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. Protecting young workers is one of our most important responsibilities, and we take it seriously."

Walmart also agreed to avoid future violations by taking actions like training managers on child labor laws and posting information about employees' rights. 

In a statement, a Walmart spokesperson said, "We're pleased to have resolved this matter. We have processes in place to support compliance with applicable laws, including the paperwork requirements, and we regularly review and improve them."