Walmart has agreed to pay more than $7.8 million to settle allegations that its stores across Pennsylvania violated the state's Child Labor Act, after investigators found work-permit failures, missed rest breaks and illegal scheduling for minors at locations statewide. State officials are calling it the largest child labor enforcement action in Pennsylvania history.
Pennsylvania labor officials initially audited eight Walmart stores before expanding the probe after finding an average of 65 child labor violations per audit, according to PennLive, which reported that investigators ultimately completed 10 audits across the eight locations. Under the settlement, Walmart will pay $7,686,786.16 in additional penalties on top of $142,785 it already paid for violations uncovered during the audits, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Investigators cited Walmart stores for failing to collect minor employees' work permits, failing to notify school districts when minors were hired or fired, failing to provide minors with required breaks, and disregarding legal limits on how many hours minors could work. Pennsylvania's Child Labor Act, per the Pennsylvania General Assembly, bars minors from working more than five continuous hours without at least a 30-minute break, and caps 14- and 15-year-olds at three hours on a school day or 18 hours in a regular school week. Workers 16 and older face a 28-hour weekly cap during the school year under the same statute.
Investigation Traced to Reports of Injured Teen Workers
Accounts of when the probe started diverge. The Inquirer reported the investigation began in February 2025, after the state department of labor heard that minor employees had been injured on the job at Walmart stores. NBC Philadelphia, however, reported that the Department of Labor began its investigation into Walmart around February 2026.
Despite the scale of the violations, investigators said they did not find minors performing work activities expressly prohibited under the Child Labor Act at any of the locations they examined, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Department of Labor and Industry regulators described the Walmart case as the biggest child labor enforcement action in state history, while Gov. Josh Shapiro called it among the largest nationally.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said Pennsylvania would not tolerate employers taking advantage of its youngest workers, according to reporting on the settlement. A Walmart spokesperson said the company was glad to resolve the inquiry and noted that Walmart has processes in place to support legal compliance, including paperwork requirements, which it regularly reviews and improves.
Settlement Requires Training, Notices and Ongoing Records
Beyond the payment, Walmart agreed to add manager training on child labor laws, post workplace notices informing employees of their rights, and submit records to the state about minors working at the selected locations. Those records must be turned in in two installments, six months and one year after the settlement agreement takes effect; per the settlement agreement, Walmart must pay double the agency's normal fine for each violation if officials find the submitted records out of compliance.
The case fits into a broader enforcement push under the Shapiro administration. The Department of Labor and Industry has investigated more than 2,200 child labor cases since Shapiro took office in 2023, the Inquirer reported, a figure also cited by LevittownNow. A department press release said that in 2025 alone, the agency investigated 1,265 child labor cases and found 231 companies in violation of the state act, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.
The settlement, reported by the Beaver County Times, lands as one of the most sweeping child labor enforcement actions brought against a major retailer in the state, underscoring how closely Pennsylvania regulators are now scrutinizing scheduling and paperwork practices for teen employees at large chains.
