Fair Labor Association
Since 1999, FLA has helped improve the lives of millions of workers around the world. As a collaborative effort of socially responsible companies, colleges and universities, and civil society organizations, FLA creates lasting solutions to abusive labor practices by offering tools and resources to companies, delivering training to factory workers and management, conducting due diligence through independent assessments, and advocating for greater accountability and transparency from companies, manufacturers, factories and others involved in global supply chains.
-
FLA Code of Conduct
Preamble
The FLA Workplace Code of Conduct defines labor standards that aim to achieve decent and humane working conditions. The code’s standards are based on International Labor Organization standards and internationally accepted good labor practices.
Companies affiliated with the FLA are expected to comply with all relevant and applicable laws and regulations of the country in which workers are employed and to implement the workplace code in their applicable facilities. When differences or conflicts in standards arise, affiliated companies are expected to apply the highest standard.
The FLA monitors compliance with the workplace code by carefully examining adherence to the Compliance Benchmarks and the Principles of Monitoring. The Compliance Benchmarks identify specific requirements for meeting eachcode standard, while the Principles of Monitoring guide the assessment of compliance. The FLA expects affiliated companies to make improvements when Code standards are not met and to develop sustainable mechanisms to ensure ongoing compliance.
The FLA provides a model of collaboration, accountabilityand transparency and serves as a catalyst for positive change in workplace conditions. As an organization that promotes continuous improvement, the FLA strives to be a global leader in establishing best practices for respectful and ethical treatment of workers, and in promoting sustainable conditions through which workers earn fair wages in safe and healthy workplaces.Employment Relationship
Employers shall adopt and adhere to rules and conditions of employment that respect workers and, at a minimum, safeguard their rights under national and international labor and social security laws and regulations.
Nondiscrimination
No person shall be subject to any discrimination in employment, including hiring, compensation, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on the basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, political opinion, social group or ethnic origin.
Harassment or Abuse
Every employee shall be treated with respect and dignity. No employee shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse.Forced Labor
There shall be no use of forced labor, including prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or other forms of forced labor.
Child Labor
No person shall be employed under the age of 15 or under the age for completion of compulsory education, whichever is higher.
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
Employers shall recognize and respect the right of employees to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Health, Safety & Environment
Employers shall provide a safe and healthy workplace setting to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work or as a result of the operation of employers' facilities. Employers shall adopt responsible measures to mitigate negative impacts that the workplace has on the environment.
Hours of Work
Employers shall not require workers to work more than the regular and overtime hours allowed by the law of the country where the workers are employed. The regular work week shall not exceed 48 hours. Employers shall allow workers at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every 7-day period. All overtime work shall be consensual. Employers shall not request overtime on a regular basis and shall compensate all overtime work at a premium rate. Other than in exceptional circumstances, the sum of regular and overtime hours in a week shall not exceed 60 hours.
Compensation
Every worker has a right to compensation for a regular work week that is sufficient to meet the worker’s basic needs and provide some discretionary income. Employers shall pay at least the minimum wage or the appropriate prevailing wage, whichever is higher, comply with all legal requirements on wages and provide any fringe benefits required by law or contract. Where compensation does not meet workers’ basic needs and provide some discretionary income, each employer shall work with the FLA to take appropriate actions that seek to progressively realize a level of compensation that does. -
2017 Annual Public Report
As FLA President Sharon Waxman notes in her introduction to the 2017 Annual Public Report, "among the success stories of 2016 recounted here, perhaps the most encouraging are those that describe the ways that our affiliates collaborate to achieve common goals -- building fair supply chains and solving systemic problems."
The report celebrates a number of significant achievements, including the jump in the number of accreditations of Participating Suppliers (p. 9), the increased commitment of Category C licensees choosing to become Participating Companies (p. 6), and more Participating Companies than ever before for their public disclosure of their factory lists (p. 12). Pages 22 and 23 delve into the impact of the FLA's third-party complaint mechanism, through which nine investigations, affecting 20,000 workers, were resolved in 2016 Bangladesh, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Turkey, and the United States. Also in 2016, the FLA conducted assessments in 191 factories and farms that employed 180,000 workers. See the aggregate reporting on page 14 for some of the issues FLA assessments uncovered most frequently, including the need to improve evacuation procedures and reduce excessive overtime in a majority of facilities.