As shown in the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Bureau of International Labor Affairs’ International Child Labor & Forced Labor Reports, the use of child labor, forced labor, and child forced labor remains a tragically persistent concern worldwide.
To help companies understand these risks and work to eliminate child labor and forced labor, the DOL developed the mobile app Comply Chain: Business Tools for Labor Compliance in Global Supply Chains in 2017. Recent updates to the Comply Chain app include more robust search and bookmark functions and English, Spanish, and French versions.
The free app, which is available here as a web app and can be downloaded here for iPhone and Android devices, is designed to help businesses develop a social compliance system and mitigate the risks of child and forced labor in global supply chains. The app provides detailed, practical information about creating and maintaining a social compliance program, broken out into eight steps: (1) Engage Stakeholders and Partners; (2) Assess Risks and Impacts; (3) Develop a Code of Conduct; (4) Communicate and Train Across Your Supply Chain; (5) Monitor Compliance; (6) Remediate Violations; (7) Independent Review; and (8) Report Performance. For each step, the app includes learning objectives, key terms, topics to explore, and additional resources, as well as detailed case studies of best practices.
The DOL has also developed the Sweat & Toil mobile app, which allows employers to access comprehensive research about child labor and forced labor, sorted by country and industry. The Sweat & Toil app can be downloaded for free here for iPhone and Android devices.
Taken together, these DOL resources provide companies with critical information and a robust set of tools to build effective labor compliance programs for global supply chains.
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