Short answer. Violating the child-employment provisions of RA 7610 is punished by a fine of P1,000 to P10,000, imprisonment of three months to three years, or both, at the court's discretion. For repeated violations, Section 16 also revokes the offender's license to operate the business.
What the law says
Any person who shall violate any provision of this Article shall suffer the penalty of a fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000) but not more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000) or imprisonment of not less than three (3) months but not more than three (3) years, or both at the discretion of the court
RA 7610, Section 16 — Penalties For Employment Violations. Read the full provision →
What this penalty covers
Section 16 of Republic Act 7610 supplies the punishment for breaking the Act's rules on the employment of children. It does not itself list what an employer may or may not do; instead it applies to any person who shall violate any provision of this Article, meaning the article of the law that governs when and how a child may work. So the penalty attaches to breaches such as employing a child below the allowed age, exceeding the permitted hours, or ignoring the conditions the law sets for a working minor. The provision is the enforcement teeth standing behind those employment rules.
The three ways a court can penalize
The court has a choice among three outcomes. It may impose a fine of not less than One thousand pesos (P1,000) but not more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000). It may instead impose imprisonment of not less than three (3) months but not more than three (3) years. Or it may impose both at the discretion of the court. This flexibility lets the penalty fit the seriousness of the violation, from a minor lapse to a grave one. Notice the imprisonment ceiling is three years, so this sits among the lighter, correctional-level offenses rather than the decades-long terms found elsewhere in the Act.
What repeated violations cost
The section carries a sharper consequence for offenders who do not stop. It provides that in case of repeated violations of the provisions of this Article, the offender's license to operate shall be revoked. This part is aimed at businesses. A single violation risks a fine or a short jail term; a pattern of violations puts the enterprise's very right to operate on the line. For a company that keeps employing children in breach of the law, losing its license can be a far heavier blow than the monetary fine, because it can bring the business itself to an end.
Who is bound and what is separate
The penalty binds the person who commits the employment violation, typically the employer or the operator of the establishment, and not the child. It is specific to the child-employment article of RA 7610 and is separate from the Act's much heavier penalties for child abuse, prostitution, or trafficking. It also stands apart from the general child-labor rules found in later legislation, though those overlap in protecting working minors. A worried parent should understand that these penalties target the adults who exploit a child's labor, not the family of the child.