A bipartisan bill from Ohio Sen. Jon Husted that would train Department of Labor employees to spot human trafficking during workplace inspections is now headed to President Donald Trump's desk after clearing both chambers of Congress. The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act would direct Labor Department staff to refer suspected trafficking crimes to law enforcement and report their training and referral efforts to Congress within a year of the program's launch.
The U.S. House passed the legislation in March 2026, and the Senate approved it as well, according to WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM, which reported the bill passed the Senate unanimously before heading to the president. As Cleveland.com reports, Husted, a Republican, authored the bill alongside Democratic Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, while Michigan Republican Rep. Tim Walberg and Georgia Democrat Rep. Lucy McBath introduced the House version.
Under the bill's framework, the Department of Labor would train employees to recognize indicators of trafficking and prepare them to refer suspected crimes to law enforcement, per the same WOWO report. The agency would then have to report back to Congress on those training and referral efforts within one year after the program begins.
What the Department of Labor Already Does
The Department of Labor already describes a role for itself in combating labor exploitation, saying it detects and refers potential trafficking instances, calculates restitution owed to victims, and addresses underlying conditions of labor exploitation while enforcing federal labor protections, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. But the agency notes a specific limitation: the Wage and Hour Division does not have authority under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to investigate trafficking itself, even though it can detect potential indicators during its own investigations and refer them elsewhere, the Department of Labor states on its Wage and Hour Division page. The new bill, according to Congress.gov, would require the department to provide training and education to employees specifically on how to effectively assist law enforcement in detecting human trafficking.
Ohio's Trafficking Numbers
The push for the legislation comes against a backdrop of trafficking cases recorded closer to home. Law enforcement recorded 334 human-trafficking cases involving 509 victims in Ohio in 2024, according to National Human Trafficking Hotline statistics cited by WOWO. Those Ohio victims were reportedly trafficked for sex, performed domestic work, or worked in food service, agriculture and construction industries, per the same hotline data.
Lawmakers Frame the Stakes
Husted recorded a video about the bill in early October, tying the legislation to immigration policy. He said the legislation will help address “the scourge that came with open borders over the last few years, bringing organized crime and more human trafficking to our country.” Walberg struck a different note, saying human trafficking “can hide in plain sight, and the bill will help more people recognize the warning signs.”
Slotkin, for her part, emphasized the issue's bipartisan nature, saying the fight against human trafficking should never be a partisan issue. That framing matches how the bill moved through Congress — the House passed it in March, and the Senate followed with unanimous approval, sending the measure to Trump's desk for a signature.
