Global Labor Support Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2104 To support global labor rights, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 17, 2021 Mr. MENENDEZ introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To support global labor rights, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Global Labor Support Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS Sec. 101. Statement of policy. Sec. 102. Funding for global labor rights. Sec. 103. Global labor program. Sec. 104. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Labor Rights. VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2104 IS Sec. 105. Imposition of sanctions with respect to gross violations of the human rights of workers. Sec. 106. Annual report on internationally recognized labor rights. Sec. 107. Comptroller General report on United States Government work on labor rights. TITLE II—LABOR RIGHTS IN BANGLADESH Sec. 201. Findings. Sec. 202. Statement of policy. Sec. 203. Updated labor rights and worker safety commitments for Bangladesh. Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations. Sec. 205. Embassy Dhaka labor attache. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The International Labour Organization 3 (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and 4 Rights at Work, which ILO Member States adopted 5 in 1998, recognizes four fundamental rights at work: 6 (A) Freedom of association and the effec- 7 tive recognition of the right to collective bar- 8 gaining. 9 (B) The elimination of all forms of forced 10 or compulsory labour. 11 (C) The effective abolition of child labour. 12 (D) The elimination of discrimination in 13 respect of employment and occupation, which 14 may be referred to as non-discrimination. 15 (2) The ILO Declaration on Social Justice for 16 a Fair Globalization, which ILO Member States 17 adopted in 2008, recognizes four strategic objectives 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2104 IS through which the Decent Work Agenda is ex- 1 pressed: 2 (A) Promoting employment by creating a 3 sustainable institutional and economic environ- 4 ment for the sustainable development of individ- 5 uals, enterprises, and societies. 6 (B) Developing and enhancing measures of 7 social protection, including social security, 8 healthy and safe working conditions, and poli- 9 cies in regard to wages, hours, and other condi- 10 tions of work. 11 (C) Promoting social dialogue for trans- 12 lating economic development into social 13 progress and making labour law and institu- 14 tions effective. 15 (D) Respecting, promoting, and realizing 16 the fundamental principles and rights at work, 17 noting that freedom of association and effective 18 recognition of the right to collective bargaining 19 are particularly important. 20 (3) On June 21, 2019, the International 21 Labour Conference of the ILO adopted the Violence 22 and Harassment Convention (No. 190) and Rec- 23 ommendation (No. 206), which recognize the right 24 of everyone to a world of work free from violence 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2104 IS and harassment, including gender-based violence and 1 harassment. 2 (4) On June 21, 2019, the United States voted 3 in favor of the adoption of ILO Convention 190, but 4 has not ratified it. 5 (5) The Department of State documents worker 6 rights in its annual Country Reports on Human 7 Rights Practices in the following five categories: 8 (A) Freedom of association and the right 9 to collective bargaining. 10 (B) Prohibition of forced or compulsory 11 labor. 12 (C) Prohibition of worst forms of child 13 labor and minimum age for employment. 14 (D) Prohibition of discrimination with re- 15 spect to employment and occupation. 16 (E) Acceptable conditions of work. 17 (6) In 1999, the Department of State created 18 the position of Special Representative for Inter- 19 national Labor Affairs. 20 (7) Section 515 of volume 1 of the Foreign Af- 21 fairs Manual defines the duties of the Special Rep- 22 resentative for International Labor Affairs as fol- 23 lows: ‘‘The Special Representative for International 24 Labor Affairs serves as the senior policy advisor to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2104 IS the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human 1 Rights, and Labor on all matters related to inter- 2 national labor affairs and rights; and reports directly 3 to the Assistant Secretary. The Special Representa- 4 tive alerts the Assistant Secretary to opportunities 5 for advancing existing policy, helps formulate new 6 policy approaches, and serves as a key front office 7 contributor to strategic thinking for the bureau in 8 relation to international labor affairs.’’. 9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 10 In this Act: 11 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 13 mittees’’ means— 14 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 15 and the Committee on Health, Education, 16 Labor and Pensions of the Senate; and 17 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 18 the Committee on Education and Labor of the 19 House of Representatives. 20 (2) INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LABOR 21 RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘internationally recognized 22 labor rights’’ means— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2104 IS (A) the freedom of association and the ef- 1 fective recognition of the right to collective bar- 2 gaining; 3 (B) the elimination of all forms of forced 4 or compulsory labor; 5 (C) the effective prohibition and abolition 6 of all forms of child labor; 7 (D) the elimination of discrimination in re- 8 spect of employment and occupation; and 9 (E) acceptable conditions of work with re- 10 spect to minimum wages, hours of work, and 11 occupational safety and health. 12 (3) VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.—The term 13 ‘‘vulnerable populations’’ means— 14 (A) workers who identify as women or 15 girls; 16 (B) workers with disabilities; 17 (C) child workers above the minimum age 18 of employment as defined by the ILO Minimum 19 Age Convention; 20 (D) workers who identify as lesbian, gay, 21 bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex; 22 (E) workers from marginalized commu- 23 nities; 24 (F) migrant workers; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2104 IS (G) domestic workers; 1 (H) workers in the informal economy; 2 (I) workers in non-standard forms of em- 3 ployment as described by the ILO, including 4 short-term contract employment and home- 5 based employment, among others; and 6 (J) workers who otherwise lack access to 7 social protection. 8 TITLE I—GLOBAL LABOR 9 RIGHTS 10 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 11 It is the policy of the United States to— 12 (1) support and advance internationally recog- 13 nized labor rights around the world; 14 (2) recognize that barriers to workers, particu- 15 larly workers who identify as women or girls, access- 16 ing their full internationally recognized labor rights 17 include— 18 (A) workplace harassment and violence, 19 particularly gender-based harassment and vio- 20 lence; 21 (B) lack of pay equity; 22 (C) lack of access to family, medical, and 23 sick leave; 24 (D) lack of access to affordable child care; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2104 IS (E) lack of access to safe and adequate 1 water and sanitation facilities and hygienic con- 2 ditions; and 3 (F) restrictive social and gender norms; 4 (3) engage governments directly and through 5 multilateral organizations, such as the International 6 Labour Organization and the Organization for Eco- 7 nomic Cooperation and Development, to advance 8 internationally recognized labor rights, prevent and 9 respond to gender-based harassment and violence in 10 the world of work, and promote safe working condi- 11 tions; 12 (4) oppose the use of force or coercion to pre- 13 vent workers from exercising their internationally 14 recognized labor rights, including by employers and 15 government entities, such as the use of police or 16 military force; 17 (5) engage with labor unions, workers’ organi- 18 zations, nongovernmental organizations, academia, 19 and the private sector, including industry associa- 20 tions and multistakeholder initiatives, to strengthen 21 respect for, and promote protection of, internation- 22 ally recognized labor rights around the world; and 23 (6) support transparency regarding, and cor- 24 porate accountability for, the protection of inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2104 IS nationally recognized labor rights in global supply 1 chains. 2 SEC. 102. FUNDING FOR GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS. 3 (a) GLOBAL LABOR RIGHTS FUND.— 4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in 5 the Treasury of the United States a fund for entities 6 whose main purpose is to protect and promote labor 7 rights, to be known as the Global Labor Rights 8 Fund (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’), 9 consisting of such amounts as are appropriated pur- 10 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 11 paragraph (2) or otherwise appropriated or other- 12 wise made available to the Fund. 13 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 14 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Fund 15 $30,000,000, of which $25,000,000 shall be divided 16 between the Department of State and the United 17 States Agency for International Development and 18 $5,000,000 shall be for the International Labor Af- 19 fairs Bureau at the Department of Labor for each 20 of fiscal years 2022 through 2028. 21 (3) RECIPIENTS OF FUNDS.—Funds from the 22 Global Labor Rights Fund shall be available to enti- 23 ties whose main purpose is to protect and promote 24 labor rights, such as labor unions and nongovern- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2104 IS mental organizations with a demonstrated record of 1 labor rights advocacy or effective implementation of 2 labor rights programs, and may be made available to 3 foreign government entities only for the purposes of 4 providing technical assistance for reforming labor 5 laws, intensifying labor law enforcement, imple- 6 menting transparent reporting on labor inspections, 7 improving monitoring mechanisms to comply with 8 internationally recognized labor rights, and strength- 9 ening the ability of dispute resolution mechanisms 10 and the judicial system to address labor issues in an 11 impartial and independent manner. 12 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Fund 13 shall be used to effectively implement the following 14 goals: 15 (A) To build the capacity of labor rights 16 organizations in foreign countries, including 17 labor unions, to protect internationally recog- 18 nized labor rights, including building their ca- 19 pacity to organize workers into labor unions 20 and to negotiate strong collective bargaining 21 agreements. 22 (B) To build the capacity of government 23 entities to protect internationally recognized 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2104 IS labor rights only under the conditions described 1 in paragraph (3). 2 (C) To develop social protection systems 3 that help workers overcome barriers to access- 4 ing their full internationally recognized labor 5 rights, such as promoting access to paid family, 6 medical, and sick leave. 7 (D) To safeguard and promote the rights 8 of workers facing discrimination, harassment, 9 and violence, particularly workers who identify 10 as women or girls and workers from other vul- 11 nerable populations, including— 12 (i) supporting equal pay for equal 13 work; 14 (ii) supporting workers’ access to jus- 15 tice, including through access to quality 16 legal assistance; 17 (iii) providing protection from retalia- 18 tion; and 19 (iv) providing legal, psychosocial, and 20 other support and services during inves- 21 tigations of abuse or exploitation. 22 (E) To support the development of worker- 23 driven labor monitoring and gender-sensitive 24 complaint and dispute resolution mechanisms. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2104 IS (F) To increase the general population’s 1 awareness of internationally recognized labor 2 rights. 3 (G) To otherwise promote and protect 4 internationally recognized labor rights. 5 (5) IMPLEMENTATION.—In general, the Sec- 6 retary of State, in coordination with the Adminis- 7 trator of the United States Agency for International 8 Development and the Secretary of Labor, shall co- 9 ordinate and carry out activities to achieve the goals 10 described in paragraph (4). 11 (6) BRIEFING ON IMPLEMENTATION.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, 13 in coordination with the Administrator of the 14 United States Agency for International Devel- 15 opment and the Secretary of Labor, shall pro- 16 vide to the appropriate congressional commit- 17 tees an annual briefing on the programs and 18 activities carried out to achieve the goals de- 19 scribed in paragraph (4) during the preceding 20 fiscal year and through fiscal year 2028, includ- 21 ing all programs and activities funded with 22 amounts in the Fund. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:30 Jun 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2104.IS S2104 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 2104 IS (B) ELEMENTS.—Each briefing shall in- 1 clude, with respect to each program or activity 2 described i [Text truncated for display. 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