,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dbda ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ba1 #bjbj,mr4 ,hawley introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to require certain businesses to disclose the use of forced labor in their direct supply chain1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,slave-,free ,business ,certification ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,required reporting on use of forced labor from covered business entities 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered business entity ,the term covered business entity means any issuer1 as that term is defined in section #b7;a7 of the ,securities ,act of #aicc 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #gg;b7a771 that has annual1 worldwide gross receipts that exceed #ejj1jjj1jjj4 7#b7 ,forced labor ,the term forced labor means any labor practice or human trafficking activity in violation of national and international standards1 including-- 7,a7 ,international ,labor ,organization ,convention ,no4 #ahb2 7,b7 the ,trafficking ,victims ,protection ,act of #bjjj 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #gaja et seq472 and 7,c7 any act that would violate the criminal provisions related to slavery and human trafficking under chapter #gg of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 if the act had been committed within the jurisdiction of the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,gross receipts ,the term gross receipts-- 7,a7 means the gross amount1 including cash and the fair market value of other property or services received1 gained in a transaction that produces business income from-- 7i7 the sale or exchange of property2 7ii7 the performance of services2 or 7iii7 the use of property or capital2 and 7,b7 does not include-- 7i7 repayment1 maturity1 or redemption of the principal of a-- 7,i7 loan2 7,,ii7 bond2 7,,iii7 mutual fund2 7,,iv7 certificate of deposit2 or 7,v7 similar marketable instrument2 7ii7 proceeds from-- 7,i7 the issuance of a company's own stock2 or 7,,ii7 the sale of treasury stock2 7iii7 amounts received as the result of litigation1 including damages2 7iv7 property acquired by an agent on behalf of another party2 7v7 ,federal1 ,state1 or local tax refunds or other tax benefit recoveries2 7vi7 certain contributions to capital2 7vii7 income from discharge of indebtedness2 or 7viii7 amounts realized from exchanges of inventory that are not recognized under the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf4 7#d7 ,on-site service ,the term on-site service means any service work provided on the site of a covered business entity1 including food service work and catering services4 7#e7 ,on-site service provider ,the term on-site service provider means any entity that provides workers who perform1 collectively1 a total of not less than #cj hours per week of on-site services for a covered business entity4 7#f7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,labor4 7b7 ,audit and reporting requirements 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of this ,act1 and every year thereafter1 each covered business entity shall-- 7,a7 conduct an audit of its supply chain1 pursuant to the requirements of section #c1 to investigate the presence or use of forced labor by the covered business entity or its suppliers1 including by direct suppliers1 secondary suppliers1 and on-site service providers of the covered business entity2 7,b7 submit a report to the ,secretary containing the information described in paragraph 7#b7 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 entity2 and 7,c7 7i7 publish the report described in subparagraph 7,b7 on the public website of the covered business entity1 and provide a conspicuous and easily understood link on the homepage of the website that leads to the report2 or 7ii7 in the case of a covered business entity that does not have a public website1 provide the report in written form to any consumer of the covered business entity not later than #cj days after the consumer submits a request for the report4 7#b7 ,required report contents ,each report required under paragraph 7#a77;,b7 shall contain1 at a minimum-- 7,a7 a disclosure of the covered business entity's policies to prevent the use of forced labor by the covered business entity1 its direct suppliers1 and its on-site service providers2 7,b7 a disclosure of what policies or procedures1 if any1 the covered business entity uses-- 7i7 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 party2 7ii7 to require direct suppliers and on-site service providers to provide written certification that materials incorporated into the product supplied or on-site services1 respectively1 comply with the laws regarding forced labor of each country in which the supplier or on-site service provider is engaged in business2 7iii7 to maintain internal accountability standards and procedures for employees or contractors of the covered business entity failing to meet requirements regarding forced labor2 and 7iv7 to provide training on recognizing and preventing forced labor1 particularly with respect to mitigating risks within the supply chains of products and on-site services of the covered business entity1 to employees1 including management personnel1 of the covered business entity who have direct responsibility for supply chain management or on-site services2 7,c7 a description of the findings of each audit required under paragraph 7#a77;,a71 including the details of any instances of found or suspected forced labor2 and 7,d7 a written certification1 signed by the chief executive officer of the covered business entity1 that-- 7i7 the covered business entity has complied with the requirements of this ,act and exercised due diligence in order to eradicate forced labor from the supply chain and on-site services of the covered business entity2 7ii7 to the best of the chief executive officer's knowledge1 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 labor2 and 7iii7 the chief executive officer and any other officers submitting the report or certification understand that section #ajja of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code 7popularly known as the ,false ,statements ,act71 applies to the information contained in the report submitted to the ,secretary4 7c7 ,report of violations to congress ,each year1 the ,secretary shall prepare and submit a report to ,congress regarding the covered business entities that-- 7#a7 have failed to conduct audits required under this ,act for the preceding year or have been adjudicated in violation of any other provision of this ,act2 or 7#b7 have been found to have used forced labor1 including the use of forced labor in their supply chain or by their on-site service providers4 #c4 ,audit requirements 7a7 ,in general ,each audit conducted under section #b7;b77#a77;,a7 shall meet the following requirements3 7#a7 ,worker interviews ,the auditor shall-- 7,a7 select a cross-section of workers to interview that represents the full diversity of the workplace1 and includes1 if applicable1 men and women1 migrant workers and local workers1 workers on different shifts1 workers performing different tasks1 and members of various production teams2 7,b7 if individuals under the age of #ah are employed at the facility of the direct supplier or on-site service provider1 interview a representative group using age-sensitive interview techniques2 7,c7 conduct interviews-- 7i7 on-site and1 particularly in cases where there are indications of egregious violations about which employees may hesitate to discuss at work1 off-site of the facility and during non-work hours2 and 7ii7 individually or in groups 7except for purposes of subparagraph 7,b772 7,d7 use audit tools to ensure that each worker is asked a comprehensive set of questions2 7,e7 collect from interviewed workers copies of the workers' pay stubs1 in order to compare the pay stubs with payment records provided by the direct supplier2 7,f7 ensure that all worker responses are confidential and are never shared with management2 and 7,g7 interview a representative of the labor organization or other worker representative organization that represents workers at the facility or1 if no such organization is present1 attempt to interview a representative from a local worker advocacy group4 7#b7 ,management interviews ,the auditor shall-- 7,a7 interview a cross-section of the management of the supplier1 including human resources personnel1 production supervisors1 and others2 and 7,b7 use audit tools to ensure that managers are asked a comprehensive set of questions4 7#c7 ,documentation review ,the auditor shall-- 7,a7 conduct a documentation review to provide tangible proof of compliance and to corroborate or find discrepancies in the information gathered through the worker and management interviews2 and 7,b7 review1 at a minimum1 the following types of documents3 7i7 ,age verification procedures and documents4 7ii7 ,a master list of juvenile workers4 7iii7 ,selection and recruitment procedures4 7iv7 ,contracts with labor brokers1 if any4 7v7 ,worker contracts and employment agreements4 7vi7 ,introduction program materials4 7vii7 ,personnel files4 7viii7 ,employee communication and training plans1 including certifications provided to workers including skills training1 worker preparedness1 government certification programs1 and systems or policy orientations4 7ix7 ,collective bargaining agreements1 including collective bargaining representative certification1 descriptions of the role of the labor organization1 and minutes of the labor organization's meetings4 7x7 ,contracts with any security agency1 and descriptions of the scope of responsibilities of the security agency4 7xi7 ,payroll and time records4 7xii7 ,production capacity reports4 7xiii7 ,written human resources policies and procedures4 7xiv7 ,occupational health and safety plans and records including legal permits1 maintenance and monitoring records1 injury and accident reports1 investigation procedures1 chemical inventories1 personal protective equipment inventories1 training certificates1 and evacuation plans4 7xv7 ,disciplinary notices4 7xvi7 ,grievance reports4 7xvii7 ,performance evaluations4 7xviii7 ,promotion or merit increase records4 7xix7 ,dismissal and suspension records of workers4 7xx7 ,records of employees who have resigned4 7xxi7 ,worker pay stubs4 7#d7 ,closing meeting with management ,the auditor shall hold a closing meeting with the management of the covered business entity to-- 7,a7 report violations and nonconformities found in the facility2 and 7,b7 determine the steps forward to address and remediate any problems4 7#e7 ,report preparation ,the auditor shall prepare a full report of the audit1 which shall include-- 7,a7 a disclosure of the direct supplier's or on-site service provider's-- 7i7 documented processes and procedures that relate to eradicating forced labor2 and 7ii7 documented risk assessment and prioritization policies as such policies relate to eradicating forced labor2 7,b7 a description of the worker interviews1 manager interviews1 and documentation review required under paragraphs 7#a71 7#b71 and 7#c72 7,c7 a description of all violations or suspected violations by the direct supplier of any forced labor laws of the ,united ,states or1 if applicable1 the laws of another country as described in section #b7;b77#b77;,b77ii72 and 7,d7 for each violation described in subparagraph 7,c71 a description of any corrective and protective actions recommended for the direct supplier consisting of1 at a minimum-- 7i7 the issues relating to the violation and any root causes of the violation2 7ii7 the implementation of a solution2 and 7iii7 a method to check the effectiveness of the solution4 7b7 ,additional requirements relating to audits ,each covered business entity shall include1 in any contract with a direct supplier or on-site service provider1 a requirement that-- 7#a7 the supplier or provider shall not retaliate against any worker for participating in an audit relating to forced labor2 and 7#b7 worker participation in an audit shall be protected through the same grievance mechanisms available to the worker available for any other type of workplace grievance4 #d4 ,enforcement 7a7 ,civil damages ,the ,secretary may assess civil damages in an amount of not more than #ajj1jjj1jjj if1 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing1 the ,secretary determines that a covered business entity has violated any requirement of section #b7;b74 7b7 ,punitive damages ,in addition to damages under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary may assess punitive damages in an amount of not more than #ejj1jjj1jjj against a covered business entity if1 after notice and an opportunity for a hearing1 the ,secretary determines the covered business entity willfully violated any requirement of section #b7;b74 7c7 ,declarative or injunctive relief ,the ,secretary may request the ,attorney ,general institute a civil action for relief1 including a permanent or temporary injunction1 restraining order1 or any other appropriate order1 in the district court of the ,united ,states for any district in which the covered business entity conducts business1 whenever the ,secretary believes that a violation of section #b7;b7 constitutes a hazard to workers4 #e4 ,regulations ,not later than #ahj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall promulgate rules to carry out this ,act4