Bipartisan bill would require audits to detect forced labor in companies’ supply chains

A bipartisan pair of senators on Monday introduced a bill that would require large companies to undergo an audit that seeks to detect forced labor being used in companies’ supply chains.

The bill, introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), would mandate an annual audit for companies that earn at least $500 million in revenue a year that are involved in mining, manufacturing and the production of goods for sale. The results of the audit would then be submitted to the Department of Labor and ultimately be made public.

If the audit discovers that companies are complicit in forced labor, the Labor Department would report them to Congress.

Additionally, the bill would impose new corporate supply chain disclosure requirements and enact “stiff penalties” for companies that “fail to uphold minimum standards for human rights,” according to a statement from Hawley’s office.

The legislation, dubbed the Slave-Free Business Certification Act, is meant to “target forced labor in global supply chains and hold multinational corporations accountable,” according to Hawley’s office.

The legislation comes amid increased scrutiny in the U.S. regarding human rights abuses against ethnic and religious minorities in China’s Xinjiang region. President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in December, which bans the importation of goods from the Xinjiang region unless individuals or companies can prove that the materials were not made with the help of forced labor.

While it was already illegal in the U.S. to import goods that are known to have been produced with slave labor, the bill signed by Biden requires that companies demonstrate that their factories are not utilizing forced labor, according to NBC News.

The bipartisan bill, however, does not mention China specifically.

The senators introduced the legislation days after the 2022 Winter Olympics kicked off in Beijing. The Games have been under intense scrutiny by nations across the globe because of genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, in addition to other human rights abuses.

The U.S. and other countries have announced diplomatic boycotts of the Olympics.

Hawley in a statement said, “The scourge of global slave labor must end and multinational corporations complicit in this moral atrocity must be held accountable.”

“The bipartisan Slave-Free Business Certification Act takes important steps to make American supply chains slave-free, protect American workers, and end labor exploitation across the globe,” he added.

The Missouri Republican introduced a similar measure in 2020, but the bill did not receive a vote, according to NBC News.

Gillibrand said the bill “is an important step towards ending the use of forced labor by holding businesses accountable for the workers used throughout their supply chains,” according to NBC News.