"In the last fiscal year, the department found 835 companies it investigated had employed more than 3,800 children in violation of labor laws," the release said on Monday.
To combat the rising challenge of child labor exploitation - particularly of migrant children, the release added, the Labor Department and Health and Human Services announced a number of initiatives to increase efforts on vetting sponsors, probing violations, and holding companies accountable.
Labor chief Marty Walsh said everyone has a moral and legal obligation to prevent the "scourge of child labor." Too often, he added, companies look the other way or blame staffing agencies and subcontractors.
"This is not a 19th century problem - this is a today problem. We need Congress to come to the table, we need states to come to the table. This is a problem that will take all of us to stop," Walsh was quoted as saying in the statement.
Earlier in February, the Wisconsin-based Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) paid a fine of $1.5 million for illegally employing over 100 children in hazardous conditions at meatpacking sites across several US states, the Labor Department said in a statement.