Proposal would require human trafficking recognition training for hospitality workers in Pa.

by Emily Previti, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
August 5, 2025

Pennsylvania hotels, short-term rentals and third-party contractors would have to ensure workers have been trained to recognize and report human trafficking – or risk losing their license to operate – under a measure in the state House. 

HB1286 calls for hospitality personnel to undergo training approved by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency in consultation with the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association (PRLA) every two years. Employers would have to keep records of worker training or face a fine of $100 for failing to produce them upon request by law enforcement or local licensing authorities. 

Subsequent offenses within every 90 days could result in fines of $250, then $500 and, ultimately, notification of county and/or municipal oversight agencies, according to the legislation sponsored by Rep. Regina Young (D-Delaware/Philadelphia). 

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Young organized a press conference Tuesday to promote the bill at Governor Printz Park on the Delaware River near Philadelphia International Airport. 

“This problem is intensely focused in our area, where we are so closely connected to the major transportation hubs,” Young said. “We have the Philadelphia International Airport. We have two major interstates, 95 and 76. We also have rail lines. … And so, it’s very important for us to send a blaring message [that] we’re paying attention, and you will no longer be able to go under the radar.”

Forty-three percent of human trafficking convictions in Pennsylvania during 2014-2023 came from cases in or near Philadelphia, according to The Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law. 

Listen to an audio recap here: 

https://penncapital-star.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/05epHTTweb.mp3

 

Representatives for hospitality, law enforcement and survivor advocacy organizations joined Young Tuesday. 

So did Democratic Sen. Anthony Williams, whose district encompasses Tinicum Township where the gathering was held, and Rep. Robert Leadbeter (R-Columbia).

“Interstate 80 that runs right through [my] district, and so as with any point of transportation between major … metro or commercial areas, there’s going to be that element of transferability where trafficking then can thrive,” said Leadbeter, one of three GOP cosponsors on the bill. “Whether we’re talking about a rural community … or a community with a high population density – the reality is, this … is something that happens across Pennsylvania.” 

Leadbeter and the others stood across a parking lot from a Holiday Inn Express. Holiday Inn is  among a number of hospitality chains that have for years voluntarily trained staff to recognize and report signs of human trafficking. Large hospitality corporations also have partnered with advocacy organizations like Polaris and PACT to sponsor and develop training programs. 

The Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association currently offers free training materials on its website, according to PRLA President & CEO Joe Massaro. 

“It’s the evolution of something that was purely volunteer, that all the national brands were on board,” said Massaro, noting he’d worked for Hilton for decades before his current role. “Now we want to bring everybody else in the fold.” 

While crucial, training needs to be holistic and consistent, advocates say.

And its effectiveness will depend on details – such as who conducts it – of the paradigm approved by state’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency, according to Shea Rhodes, co-founder and director of The Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation at Villanova Law School.

It’s also one of many necessary reforms remaining, Rhodes said, alongside a larger cultural shift that’s proactively anti-trafficking. 

“It’s necessary to make sure that any space where trafficking is happening, that there are consequences where it’s allowed to happen,” Rhodes said. “We want them to either call the hotline or go through whatever reporting protocol their employer has set.”

Expanding resentencing and restitution laws to advantage trafficking survivors are among legislative proposals highlighted in the most recent annual report from The Institute.

The report also advises combining restitution proceeds into a single fund managed by the state’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency to support mitigation efforts including public education. 

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Thirteen states already mandate hospitality worker training on trafficking awareness, according to a compendium from the nonprofit PACT (Protect All Children from Trafficking). 

North Carolina enacted a training mandate earlier this summer that includes vacation rentals in addition to traditional hotels and lodging facilities, according to PACT, along the lines of how the commonwealth would expand its scope under Young’s measure.

The PACT report highlights Florida’s $2,000-per-day fine for hotels that aren’t training workers. It also notes New Jersey’s law that makes getting, keeping or renewing any permit, license or certificate contingent upon the hotel or motel providing proof of employee training. 

Other states considering training requirements include Washington and Massachusetts, where the House recently sent a bill that would do so to its state Senate. 

Note: This story has been updated to correct the number of states with training mandates. 

Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.