The Modern Slavery Act would require certain government institutions and private-sector entities to report annually on measures they have taken to prevent and reduce the risk that they or their supply chains are using forced or child labour.
National and supranational legislatures continue to develop laws requiring employers to conduct due diligence of their operations and those of their business partners in order to address human rights risks such as forced labor and child labor.
The war in Ukraine has persisted and Western countries have continued to ramp up sanctions against Russia. Employers with workforces in these countries have raised many employment law questions – some of them unprecedented.
The Russian military’s recent invasion of Ukraine, and the related sanctions against Russia have many companies asking: how does this chaos impact our workforces in those countries?
In January 2022, the New York State Senate introduced a bill that seeks to impose significant human rights and environmental due diligence and disclosure obligations on fashion retail sellers and manufacturers operating in the state of New York.
On December 23, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which bars the importation into the United States of products made from forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China.
This year has seen a number of international and regional legislative efforts imposing human rights due diligence and transparency obligations on multinational employers.
Since it was established in 2014, a United Nations Inter-Governmental Working Group has met annually to develop a multilateral treaty to attempt to hold businesses legally accountable for harms that may be related to their global operations.
Human rights issues increasingly require the assistance of experienced counsel to help employers navigate very fluid and complex legal, business and societal considerations. This article illuminates key topics facing the international business community.
