Worker's Rights Brochures

Worker's Rights Brochures

Contractor Responsibilities

The United States has a "zero tolerance" policy against trafficking in persons. Government solicitations and contracts shall prohibit contractors, contractor employees, subcontractor employees, and their agents from:

Engaging in severe forms of trafficking in persons during the performance of the contract;

Procuring commercial sex acts during the period of performance of the contract;

Using forced labor in the performance of the contract;

Destroying, concealing, confiscating, or otherwise denying access by an employee to the employees identity or immigration documents, such as passports or driver's licenses, regardless of issuing authority;

Using misleading or fraudulent practices during the recruitment of employees or offering of employment; such as failing to disclose, in a format and language accessible to the worker, basic information or making material misrepresentations during the recruitment of employees regarding key terms and conditions of employment, including wages and fringe benefits, the location of work, the living conditions, housing and associated costs (if employer or agent provided or arranged) any significant costs to be charged to the employees, and, if applicable the hazardous nature of the work;

Using recruiters that do not comply with local labor laws of the country in which the recruiting takes place;

Charging employees recruitment fees;

Failing to provide return transportation or pay for the cost of return transportation upon the end of employment, for an employee who is not a national of the country in which the work is taking place and who was brought into that country for the purpose of working on a U.S. Government contract or subcontract, for portions of contracts and subcontracts performed outside the United States."

- Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.222-50 Subpart 22.17

Worker's Rights

"The Contractor shall ensure that Contract employees supporting the U.S. Armed Forces are aware of their rights to:

Hold their own identity or immigration documents, such as passport or driver's license, regardless of the document's issuing authority;

Receive agreed upon wages on time;

Take lunch and work-breaks;

Elect to terminate employment at any time;

Identify grievances without fear of reprisal;

Have a copy of their employment contract in a language they understand;

Receive wages that are not below the legal host-country minimum wage;

Be notified of their rights, wages, and prohibited activities prior to signing their employment contract;

If housing is provided, live in housing that meets host-country housing and safety standards."

- Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.225-7040

The DoD created brochures to provide information on worker's rights and contractor responsibilities, as described above. Contractors are required to post these rights in employee work spaces in English and in any foreign language(s) spoken by a significant portion of the workforce. These brochures were translated into the following languages and distributed to U.S. military installations overseas.