[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4990-S4992]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 5599. Mr. HAWLEY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe)
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle G of title X, insert the following:
SEC. 1077. SLAVE-FREE BUSINESS CERTIFICATION.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Slave-
Free Business Certification Act of 2022''.
(b) Required Reporting on Use of Forced Labor From Covered
Business Entities.--
(1) Definitions.--In this section:
(A) Covered business entity.--The term ``covered business
entity'' means any issuer, as that term is defined in section
2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)), that--
(i) has annual, worldwide gross receipts that exceed
$500,000,000; and
(ii) is involved in the mining, production, or manufacture
of goods for sale.
(B) Forced labor.--The term ``forced labor'' means any
labor practice or human
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trafficking activity in violation of national and
international standards, including--
(i) International Labor Organization Convention No. 182;
(ii) the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22
U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); and
(iii) any act that would violate the criminal provisions
related to slavery and human trafficking under chapter 77 of
title 18, United States Code, if the act had been committed
within the jurisdiction of the United States.
(C) Gross receipts.--The term ``gross receipts'' has the
meaning given to the term in section 993(f) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
(D) On-site service.--The term ``on-site service'' means
any service work provided on the site of a covered business
entity, including food service work and catering services.
(E) On-site service provider.--The term ``on-site service
provider'' means any entity that provides workers who
perform, collectively, a total of not less than 30 hours per
week of on-site services for a covered business entity.
(F) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Labor.
(G) Supply chain.--The term ``supply chain'' means the end-
to-end process for producing and transporting goods beginning
at the point of origin through a point of distribution to the
destination, inclusive of suppliers, manufacturers, and
vendors.
(2) Audit and reporting requirements.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, each
covered business entity shall--
(i) conduct an audit of its supply chain, pursuant to the
requirements of subsection (c), to investigate the presence
or use of forced labor by the covered business entity or its
suppliers, including by direct suppliers, secondary
suppliers, and on-site service providers of the covered
business entity;
(ii) submit a report to the Secretary containing the
information described in subparagraph (B) on the results of
such audit and efforts of the covered business entity to
eradicate forced labor from the supply chain and on-site
services of the covered business entity; and
(iii)(I) publish the report described in clause (ii) on the
public website of the covered business entity, and provide a
conspicuous and easily understood link on the homepage of the
website that leads to the report; or
(II) in the case of a covered business entity that does not
have a public website, provide the report in written form to
any consumer of the covered business entity not later than 30
days after the consumer submits a request for the report.
(B) Required report contents.--Each report required under
subparagraph (A)(ii) shall contain, at a minimum--
(i) a disclosure of the covered business entity's policies
to prevent the use of forced labor by the covered business
entity, its direct suppliers, and its on-site service
providers;
(ii) a disclosure of what policies or procedures, if any,
the covered business entity uses--
(I) for the verification of product supply chains and on-
site service provider practices to evaluate and address risks
of forced labor and whether the verification was conducted by
a third party;
(II) to require direct suppliers and on-site service
providers to provide written certification that materials
incorporated into the product supplied or on-site services,
respectively, comply with the laws regarding forced labor of
each country in which the supplier or on-site service
provider is engaged in business;
(III) to maintain internal accountability standards and
procedures for employees or contractors of the covered
business entity failing to meet requirements regarding forced
labor; and
(IV) to provide training on recognizing and preventing
forced labor, particularly with respect to mitigating risks
within the supply chains of products and on-site services of
the covered business entity, to employees, including
management personnel, of the covered business entity who have
direct responsibility for supply chain management or on-site
services;
(iii) a description of the findings of each audit required
under subparagraph (A)(i), including the details of any
instances of found or suspected forced labor; and
(iv) a written certification, signed by the chief executive
officer of the covered business entity, that--
(I) the covered business entity has complied with the
requirements of this section and exercised due diligence in
order to eradicate forced labor from the supply chain and on-
site services of the covered business entity;
(II) to the best of the chief executive officer's
knowledge, the covered business entity has found no instances
of the use of forced labor by the covered business entity or
has disclosed every known instance of the use of forced
labor; and
(III) the chief executive officer and any other officers
submitting the report or certification understand that
section 1001 of title 18, United States Code (popularly known
as the ``False Statements Act''), applies to the information
contained in the report submitted to the Secretary.
(3) Report of violations to congress.--Each year, the
Secretary shall prepare and submit a report to Congress
regarding the covered business entities that--
(A) have failed to conduct audits required under this
section for the preceding year or have been adjudicated in
violation of any other provision of this section; or
(B) have been found to have used forced labor, including
the use of forced labor in their supply chain or by their on-
site service providers.
(c) Audit Requirements.--
(1) In general.--Each audit conducted under subsection
(b)(2)(A)(i) shall meet the following requirements:
(A) Worker interviews.--The auditor shall--
(i) select a cross-section of workers to interview that
represents the full diversity of the workplace, and includes,
if applicable, men and women, migrant workers and local
workers, workers on different shifts, workers performing
different tasks, and members of various production teams;
(ii) if individuals under the age of 18 are employed at the
facility of the direct supplier or on-site service provider,
interview a representative group using age-sensitive
interview techniques;
(iii) conduct interviews--
(I) off-site of the facility and during non-work hours for
the worker;
(II) individually or in groups (except for purposes of
clause (ii)); and
(III) using methods of communication that limit, to the
greatest practicable extent, any reliance on devices or
services provided to the worker by the covered business
entity, supplier, or on-site service provider;
(iv) use audit tools to ensure that each worker is asked a
comprehensive set of questions;
(v) collect from interviewed workers copies of the workers'
pay stubs, in order to compare the pay stubs with payment
records provided by the direct supplier;
(vi) ensure that all worker responses are confidential and
are never shared with management; and
(vii) interview a representative of the labor organization
or other worker representative organization that represents
workers at the facility or, if no such organization is
present, attempt to interview a representative from a local
worker advocacy group.
(B) Management interviews.--The auditor shall--
(i) interview a cross-section of the management of the
supplier, including human resources personnel, production
supervisors, and others; and
(ii) use audit tools to ensure that managers are asked a
comprehensive set of questions.
(C) Required information.--The auditor shall--
(i) conduct a thorough review of information regarding the
supplier or on-site service provider to provide tangible
proof of compliance and to corroborate or find discrepancies
in the information gathered through the worker and management
interviews; and
(ii) review, at a minimum, the following information
related to the supplier or on-site service provider:
(I) Age verification procedures and documents.
(II) A master list of juvenile workers or information
related to juvenile workers.
(III) Selection and recruitment procedures.
(IV) Contracts with labor brokers, if any.
(V) Worker contracts and employment agreements.
(VI) Introduction program materials.
(VII) Personnel files.
(VIII) Employee communication and training plans, including
certifications provided to workers including skills training,
worker preparedness, government certification programs, and
systems or policy orientations.
(IX) Collective bargaining agreements, including collective
bargaining representative certification, descriptions of the
role of the labor organization, and minutes of the labor
organization's meetings.
(X) Contracts with any security agency, and descriptions of
the scope of responsibilities of the security agency.
(XI) Payroll and time records.
(XII) Production capacity reports.
(XIII) Written human resources policies and procedures.
(XIV) Occupational health and safety plans and records
including legal permits, maintenance and monitoring records,
injury and accident reports, investigation procedures,
chemical inventories, personal protective equipment
inventories, training certificates, and evacuation plans.
(XV) Disciplinary notices.
(XVI) Grievance reports.
(XVII) Performance evaluations.
(XVIII) Promotion or merit increase records.
(XIX) Dismissal and suspension records of workers.
(XX) Records of employees who have resigned.
(XXI) Worker pay stubs.
(D) Closing meeting with management.--The auditor shall
hold a closing meeting with the management of the covered
business entity to--
(i) report violations and nonconformities found in the
facility; and
(ii) determine the steps forward to address and remediate
any problems.
(E) Report preparation.--The auditor shall prepare a full
report of the audit, which shall include--
(i) a disclosure of the direct supplier's or on-site
service provider's--
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(I) documented processes and procedures that relate to
eradicating forced labor; and
(II) documented risk assessment and prioritization policies
as such policies relate to eradicating forced labor;
(ii) a description of the worker interviews, manager
interviews, and documentation review required under
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C);
(iii) a description of all violations or suspected
violations by the direct supplier or on-site service provider
of any forced labor laws of the United States or, if
applicable, the laws of another country as described in
subsection (b)(2)(B)(ii)(II); and
(iv) for each violation described in clause (iii), a
description of any corrective and protective actions
recommended for the direct supplier consisting of, at a
minimum--
(I) the issues relating to the violation and any root
causes of the violation;
(II) the implementation of a solution; and
(III) a method to check the effectiveness of the solution.
(2) Additional requirements relating to audits.--
(A) No retaliation for audit cooperation.--A covered
business entity or supplier, including a direct supplier,
secondary supplier, or on-site service provider, shall not
retaliate against any worker for participating in interviews
under subsection (c)(1)(A) or providing information necessary
for the audit requirements under subsection (c)(1)(C)(ii) to
the auditor.
(B) Contract requirements.--Each covered business entity
shall include, in any contract with a direct supplier or on-
site service provider, a requirement that--
(i) the supplier or provider shall not retaliate against
any worker for participating in an audit relating to forced
labor; and
(ii) worker participation in an audit shall be protected
through the same grievance mechanisms available to the worker
available for any other type of workplace grievance.
(d) Enforcement.--
(1) Civil damages.--The Secretary may assess civil damages
in an amount of not more than $100,000,000 if, after notice
and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary determines
that a covered business entity has violated any requirement
of subsection (b)(2).
(2) Punitive damages.--In addition to damages under
paragraph (1), the Secretary may assess punitive damages in
an amount of not more than $500,000,000 against an entity
that is a covered business entity or supplier, including a
direct supplier, secondary supplier, or on-site service
provider, if, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing,
the Secretary determines the entity--
(A) willfully violated any requirement of subsection
(b)(2); or
(B) willfully violated subsection (c)(2)(A).
(3) Declarative or injunctive relief.--The Secretary may
request the Attorney General institute a civil action for
relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction,
restraining order, or any other appropriate order, in the
district court of the United States for any district in which
the covered business entity conducts business, whenever the
Secretary believes that a violation of subsection (b)(2)
constitutes a hazard to workers.
(e) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate rules
to carry out this section.
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