LANSING — Representatives Tim Walberg of Michigan and Lucy McBath of Georgia introduced the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act in the House on Friday, while Senators Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and John Husted of Ohio introduced companion legislation in the Senate.
The bipartisan, bicameral bill directs the Department of Labor to train its employees to identify human trafficking and refer suspected trafficking crimes to law enforcement.
Walberg said in a Statement, “DOL employees have a front-line view to detect patterns of human trafficking and labor exploitation… By arming these employees with proper training, we can hold traffickers accountable and protect those who are most vulnerable.”
Walberg, a long-time leader on efforts to combat human trafficking, introduced this legislation last Congress as H.R. 443, which passed the House with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 407 to 0.
This resolution, H.R. 4307, would direct the Department of Labor to educate appropriate staff on how to effectively detect instances of human trafficking and establish a clear course of action for referring suspected instances of human trafficking to law enforcement
It will also require the Department to report to Congress on the implementation of staff education and the processes used to measure and track responses to human trafficking.
The full text of the bill is available at EdWorkforce.House.gov.