The positive economic value of environmentally sustainable supply chain practices is broadly understood and accepted by the outdoor industry.

Recognizing the high volume of COVID-19 content being published, Perkins Coie developed a one-stop, integrated resource page that addresses key legal and business considerations for companies across essential business areas, from insurance coverage and labor and employment, to privacy and security, corporate governance, tax, construction, supply chain, and more.

The U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015, which was modeled after the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, requires companies falling under its jurisdictional hook (and there are many) to honestly and completely disclose their efforts to eradicate trafficked, slave, indentured, coerced and child (collectively “forced”) labor from their supply chains.

Imagine the public relations nightmare poor Santa Claus would face if forced labor or corruption was found in his factory.

A recent federal appeals court decision addresses a familiar issue for many companies: When can a U.S. exporter be liable for a product that is re-exported to a sanctioned country, such as Iran?

The holiday retail season is an ideal time to check that forced labor and bribery—two top and interconnected supply-chain threats—do not undermine the success of your critical sales period.

The federal government took another step in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor.  President Obama signed into law on February 24, 2016, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA).

In many businesses, supply chain management historically has fallen outside the core of the company's compliance function. But that was then.

Supply Chain Practice Co-Chairs Funk and Hirose’s chart compares human trafficking laws impacting businesses.

This article, written by partners Hartmann Young and T. Markus Funk, examines the application of recent federal human trafficking rules for federal contractors.

Companies doing business in the United Kingdom take note: the U.K. government just made the not-so-long-awaited announcement that businesses with an annual turnover of 36 million British pounds (£36M) will be subject to the reporting requirements of the U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015 (U.K. Act).

This article examines issues a company should consider when, designing a CSR program; drafting CSR program documents; implementing a CSR program and enforcing a CSR program.

This article, written by partner T. Markus Funk, senior counsel Paul Hirose and associate Elizabeth Breakstone, examines the U.K. Modern Slavery Act of 2015 and how it will affect companies doing business in the U.K.

A Practice Note describing key points to consider when developing and implementing a corporate social responsibility (CSR) supply chain compliance program.

Companies that contract with the federal government will soon be subject to new rules aimed to stamp out human trafficking (see discussion of some of the existing rules and regulations here and here).

Whether “Corporate Social Responsibility” (CSR) is a new phrase to your company or is something you have observed and worked on for years, these are perilous times indeed for companies with large, complex, global supply chains.

On September 25, 2012, President Obama signed a groundbreaking Executive Order designed to strengthen protections against trafficking in persons in federal contracting.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently adopted final disclosure and reporting rules as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requiring certain public companies to disclose on a new Form SD their use of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC) or an adjoining country.

Whatever one’s position on the public policy wisdom of the announced final rules, it is now clear that auditing complex supply chains and vetting difficult-to-control vendors, often located worlds away, has become the new corporate imperative. In the morning hours of Aug. 22, the Commission held its highly anticipated public meeting to announce its final Conflict Minerals Rules pursuant to Dodd-Frank Section 1502. Perkins Coie Partners Jean-Jacques Cabou and T. Markus Funk deconstruct the complex new rules, and provide practical "what next" advice for potentially impacted businesses.

Those working in today's in-house law departments or supervising global supply chains and third-party business partners have become sensitive to the significant dangers posed by not complying with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”).  The well-publicized recent events surrounding Wal-Mart's FCPA woes have only raised already-elevated anxiety levels.

Partners Jean-Jacques "J" Cabou, Jason Day, and T. Markus Funk examine the SEC's pending "conflict minerals" rules.  The authors provide a useful flow chart illustrating the proposed rules' logic and flow, and offer specific suggestions for how companies can get ahead of the curve and gauge what impact the anticipated rules are likely to have on their operations and compliance functions.

Earlier this year, Washington state legislators unanimously passed the nation's first criminal law requiring age verification for commercial sexual services advertisements depicting minors. The landmark law's goals are laudable, but its broad reach has some on-line service providers and traditional publishers concerned. For example, on-line service providers that allow users to post content and images on their sites, including on social networking sites, dating sites, discussion forums, blogs and chat rooms, could now face criminal exposure, even if they have absolutely no interest in placing, or permitting the placement of, such ads.

T. Markus Funk's article, "Marketing Opportunity to Business Imperative:  How Yesterday's 'Dolphin-Safe' Tuna Became Today's Child, Human Trafficking, and Slave Labor-Free Product," examines what companies can do to comply with the landmark California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, as well as its pending federal analog.

In the wake of the recent negative publicity deluge, including a segment on a national newsmagazine show, alleging labor violations including the use of child labor, safety violations and unfair pay practices, late last week Apple released a third-party report detailing problems and proposed solutions at one of its largest suppliers.

The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 went into effect January 1, 2012.  The Act requires retail sellers and manufacturers to disclose what efforts, if any, they are taking to eliminate forced labor and human trafficking from their supply chains.

As this article discusses, a fresh wave of legislation designed to foster and promote what its backers alternatively describe as responsible corporate citizenship or corporate social responsibility is cresting on U.S. businesses’ shores - and this time the aim is to combat the world’s most serious forms of labor exploitation.  The requirements of substantial due diligence and disclosures, and the corresponding threat of negative publicity, shareholder and consumer protests and boycotts, and Federal Trade Commission Action for insufficient compliance, are all reasons that the vetting of global supply chains for evidence of human trafficking, forced labor, slavery, and child labor is current hot topic in corporate boardrooms and compliance offices.

A fresh wave of legislation designed to foster and promote what its backers describe as responsible corporate citizenship/corporate social responsibility is cresting on US businesses shores—and this time the aim is to combat the world’s most serious forms of labor exploitation.  Effective January 1, 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act requires qualifying companies to detail and publicly disclose the nature and scope of their efforts to eradicate human trafficking, slavery, child labor, and forced labor from their worldwide supply chains.  This flow chart deconstructs the logic and flow of the California Act's detailed disclosure requirements.

Each year, more than two million children around the world fall victim to commercial exploitation. The numbers of children abused for non-commercial purposes are even higher. Put simply, the growing, increasingly-organized epidemic of child exploitation demands a coordinated response. The aim of this book is to bring some fresh thinking to this complicated area of the law, and to help erase some of its counterproductive mythology.

Are you a manufacturer or supplier of goods or services? Does your company or client source goods or parts from others? From overseas? Learn how to recognize and navigate around the legal landmines posed by various new compliance challenges.