USA – Workers’ rights

Section II: Priority Areas of the National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct
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3. Priority Area (3) Strengthening Access to Remedy: “[…] The USG commits to strengthen access to remedy and to enable communities affected by USG investments or who utilize USG dispute mechanisms to access remedy safely and without reprisal. To do so, agencies and offices will strengthen USG-based due diligence processes and grievance mechanisms in consultation with external stakeholders through the following measures …

• U.S. Department of Labor (DOL): DOL will develop innovative access to remedy systems through funding a $2 million technical assistance project implemented by the ILO that promotes worker-driven social compliance and protects labor rights in global value chains.

Section III: Additional National Action Plan Commitments

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Table 3: Access to Remedy Commitments

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs will “fund a project to improve the implementation of worker-driven social compliance systems that promote fundamental labor rights and acceptable conditions of work, including the elimination of forced labor, in supply chains. Piloted in the Indonesian palm oil sector, this project will create or refine a model for social compliance systems that can be replicated in other countries and sectors to help ensure that workers have a say in securing for themselves fair working conditions. The duration of this project will be three years.” (p.23)

Table 4: Technology Commitments

The Department of State will “designate a labor and AI expert to increase engagement on the impact of AI throughout labor-related workstreams. The expert will consult with regional and functional teams on opportunities to increase attention to the impact of AI on internationally recognized labor rights, workplace safety, worker well-being, and labor rights issues arising within the AI value chain such as in data labeling and content moderation across multiple State workstreams.” (p.27)

Workers’ Rights (p.30-32)

“Promoting internationally recognized labor rights, including freedom of association and the right to not be subjected to forced labor, is key to achieving inclusive growth, enhancing stability, and leveling the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses. The USG regularly leverages its diplomatic engagement, trade policy, programming, and reporting to foster respect for internationally recognized labor rights and help develop commitments by key stakeholders to respect these rights. This includes a steadfast commitment to promoting RBC both domestically and internationally. Moreover, the establishment of the Global Labor Strategy significantly bolsters our efforts in this regard. Through this initiative, the USG will better coordinate its resources and initiatives to address emerging labor rights issues comprehensively. The following commitments seek to strengthen USG capacity to engage on emerging labor rights issues and strengthen implementation of measures that combat the use of forced labor.

Table 5: Workers’ Rights Commitments

• The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will address forced labor in traded goods and services by establishing a Forced Labor Trade Strategy to identify priorities and establish an action plan for utilizing existing and potential new trade tools. USTR will conduct an interagency review across the USG through the Trade Policy Staff Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade, Forced Labor, and Child Labor to examine existing trade policies and tools used to combat forced labor, including forced child labor, in order to identify areas that may need to be strengthened and gaps that may need to be filled. USTR will use this analysis to establish objectives, priorities, new tools, and key action items to advance development of the strategy. The process will maximize input from stakeholders, including victims; labor and human rights organizations; civil society; and the private sector.
• DOL (Department of Labor) will work toward enabling informal mining operations to better meet international standards by piloting innovative strategies to develop traceability initiatives that facilitate companies’ legal purchase of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) cobalt under internationally recognized standards from mining cooperatives from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries. DOL technical assistance projects will support efforts to improve ASM sector mining operations’ compliance with national laws and regulations, meet international standards, and standardize safety and labor protections in the sector.
• DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will convene biannual stakeholder engagements on the implementation of the UFLPA Strategy to enhance its ability to be responsive to external stakeholder input. These meetings will include stakeholders from the private sector and civil society and will provide key Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force updates on efforts related to the UFLPA Entity List, UFLPA Strategy Updates, diplomatic outreach, and CBP enforcement of the UFLPA rebuttal presumption. Meetings will incorporate a robust discussion on ways to improve RBC with regards to the implementation of the UFLPA in the United States and among international partners.
• CBP and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Center for Countering Human Trafficking’s newly established Forced Labor Investigations Unit, will improve information sharing with the aim to increase the number of WROs and Findings as well as criminal investigations into allegations of forced labor. Increased information sharing will enhance the relationship between HSI and CBP, which will improve CBP’s ability to identify and prevent the entry of products made with forced labor into the United States through the use of WROs and Findings and to enhance HSI investigations into importers who knowingly violate U.S. trade laws and/or benefit from forced labor.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in coordination with the Departments of State and Labor, will continue to promote the adoption of international labor standards for crew and observers in international fisheries management bodies. These standards include provisions to ensure that crew have safe, legal, and sanitary conditions aboard fishing vessels and receive adequate remuneration for their work. The standards also call for legal and fair recruitment processes.
• USAID (US Agency for International Development) will build on its work to advance worker empowerment, human rights, and labor standards through its Global Labor Programming. The program, implemented by the Solidarity Center, Solidar Suisse, and Sightsavers, will work with local civil society partners and trade unions to improve working conditions for marginalized workers; expand fundamental labor rights and social protections for workers; and strengthen the resiliency of trade unions and worker organizations to advocate for better wages and working conditions.
• State will encourage high labor standards globally by promoting agreements and frameworks between businesses and worker organizations that ensure respect for labor rights. Through diplomacy, State will elevate and encourage social dialogue between businesses and labor organizations, including with independent and democratic trade unions, and promote highroad or best practices such as enforceable agreements between parties to safeguard rights and promote high labor standards in supply chains, sectors, or industries.
• HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) will launch new resources under its Look Beneath the Surface (LBS) public awareness and outreach campaign on trafficking in persons specific to migrant farmworkers. The LBS campaign encourages help-seeking behaviors among people who may be at risk for or experiencing human trafficking and the professionals who engage with them.
• ILAB (Bureau of International Labor Affairs) will launch an online RBC and Labor Rights Information Hub to communicate a clear point of view, expectations for RBC, and a whole-of government approach to labor rights throughout business operations and supply chains of U.S. companies. The RBC InfoHub will provide a central repository of USG agency guidance, tools, and resources to facilitate and incentivize adoption of effective corporate accountability models and practices relevant to labor rights outcomes in business supply chains as well as with U.S. government procurement and accountability officers to facilitate efforts to conduct due diligence.”