HARRISBURG, Pa. — Walmart has agreed to a $7.8 million settlement over child labor violations state investigators found at its Pennsylvania stores, the largest child labor settlement in state history, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration announced Monday.
Investigators found minors working without required work permits, without required breaks and for more hours than the law allows, and stores that failed to tell school districts when minors were hired or let go, according to the administration’s announcement.
The Department of Labor & Industry said it ran 10 audits at eight Walmart locations and found an average of 65 violations per audit, which works out to about 650 violations. The settlement reaches past those eight stores to cover Walmart stores statewide.
The company has 135 Walmart stores in Pennsylvania, according to its fact sheet, and its store directory lists stores under Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. The state has not said which eight were audited.
The investigation began in February 2025, after the department’s Bureau of Workers’ Compensation referred cases of minors who were injured while working at Walmart stores, the department said.
Walmart will pay $7.68 million in administrative penalties on top of $142,785 in fines it already paid after the first investigations, the administration said.
The department can fine an employer up to $5,000 for each violation, according to its summary of workers’ rights under the law. At that cap, the roughly 650 violations found in the audits would come to $3.25 million, less than half the settlement.
“We’re pleased to have resolved this matter,” a Walmart spokesperson told abc27 News. “We have processes in place to support compliance with applicable laws, including the paperwork requirements, and we regularly review and improve them.”
“When our investigators identified a pattern of violations at Walmart stores, we knew we needed to look beyond those individual locations,” Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker said.
What Walmart agreed to
The company must train managers on the state’s child labor law, post notices telling employees their rights and hand over records on the minors it employs at selected stores at six-month and one-year intervals after the agreement was signed, according to the administration. If those checks turn up violations, Walmart agreed to pay double the department’s typical fine.
“Every employer in Pennsylvania should be on notice: we will not tolerate you taking advantage of our youngest workers,” Shapiro said.
What the law allows
During the school year, 14- and 15-year-olds may work no more than three hours on a school day and 18 hours from Monday through Friday, and not after 7 p.m., according to the department’s summary of the law. During the school year, 16- and 17-year-olds may work up to eight hours a day and 28 hours from Monday through Friday. The summary allows both groups eight additional hours on Saturdays and Sundays.
Any worker under 18 must get a 30-minute meal period within five straight hours of work and may not work more than six days in a row.
The department said it has investigated more than 2,200 child labor cases since Shapiro took office in January 2023 and found violations by hundreds of employers.
Parents and workers who suspect a violation can file a complaint through the department’s website or call its Bureau of Labor Law Compliance at 800-932-0665.
