Frequently Asked Questions

The following is a list of frequently asked questions about the FLA, divided into subject areas. We are continually updating this section so please check back. If you have a question that is not listed, please feel free to send us an This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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About the Fair Labor Association

Fair Labor Association Stakeholder Obligations

Fair Labor Association Code Implementation and Monitoring Program

Fair Labor Association University and Collegiate Licensee Programs

About the Fair Labor Association

What is the mission of the Fair Labor Association?
The mission of the Fair Labor Association (FLA) is to combine the efforts of industry, civil society organizations, and colleges and universities to protect workers’ rights and improve working conditions worldwide by promoting adherence to international labor standards.

How did the FLA begin?
The FLA is an outgrowth of the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP), an initiative of the Clinton administration, comprising industry representatives; trade unions; and human rights, labor, consumer, and religious groups. The AIP was formed on August 2, 1996 with a mandate to determine a process to ensure that brand-name products were manufactured in compliance with acceptable labor standards and to inform the public about the workplace conditions in the factories in which those products were being made. In the following two years, the AIP developed a common Code of Conduct and a Principles of Monitoring outlining the obligations of companies with respect to the Code. On November 3, 1998, the AIP presented this Code of Conduct and the Principles of Monitoring to President Clinton and the Fair Labor Association was formed.

How is the FLA governed?
The FLA’s policy-making Board of Directors comprises an independent chair and six seats for each constituent group: industry, colleges and universities, and civil society organizations. Carol Bellamy, President and CEO of World Learning, currently serves as Board Chair.

How does the FLA work?
The FLA has developed a Workplace Code of Conduct, based on International Labour Organization (ILO) standards, and created an independent monitoring, remediation and verification process to achieve compliance with this Code. The FLA is a brand accountability system, and companies (including university licensees) that join the FLA commit to enforcing the FLA Code in the domestic and international factories that manufacture their products as well as to fulfilling the ten company obligations outlined in the FLA Charter. The FLA places an emphasis on transparency; detailed reports from the unannounced Independent External Monitoring (IEM) visits the FLA conducts annually are published on the FLA Web site. As the FLA evolves, the core of its work will comprise an innovative new approach to sustainable compliance entitled FLA 3.0. The FLA 3.0 methodology builds on the FLA’s independent monitoring operations and identification of noncompliance, and is designed to create effective solutions to root causes of noncompliance. Several features of the FLA approach help to increase its effectiveness and strengthen the accountability of its affiliated companies:

A collaborative process that brings together industry, colleges and universities, and civil society organizations committed to workers’ rights;
Due diligence of companies’ internal compliance programs through independent external monitoring and verification;
Innovative and sustainable strategies for improving compliance with labor standards;
Transparency of all IEM audit reports; and
A mechanism to address the most serious labor rights violations through our Third Party Complaint process.

What does it mean to be in “compliance with the Fair Labor Association standards”?
To be considered in compliance with FLA standards, the Participating Company must adhere to the following standards as stated in the FLA Charter: (i) effective implementation of an internal compliance program and Independent External Monitoring consistent with the Monitoring Principles; (ii) timely remediation of noncompliance with the Workplace Code or Monitoring Principles found by internal or accredited independent external monitors; and (iii) in situations where monitors have found a significant and/or persistent pattern of noncompliance, or instances of serious noncompliance, with the Workplace Code or Monitoring Principles, taking adequate steps to prevent recurrence in other facilities where the same type of noncompliance may occur.

How is the FLA funded?
Funding comes from the Participating Companies, colleges and universities and their licensees, and grants.

What is the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct?
The FLA Workplace Code of Conduct, based internationally recognized labor standards set down by the ILO, consists of nine key elements on which factories used by affiliated companies are monitored both in the U.S. and overseas: forced labor, child labor, harassment or abuse, nondiscrimination, health and safety, freedom of association and collective bargaining, wages and benefits, hours of work, and overtime compensation. The FLA Code is supplemented by FLA Compliance Benchmarks, which outline specific, measurable benchmarks for each Code element.

How does the FLA improve working conditions?
The FLA process subjects companies’ supply chains to a rigorous system of scrutiny as a means of verifying sustainable solutions in the workplace. This process entails holding companies accountable for their internal compliance programs and providing companies with assistance for remediation of noncompliance and resolution of Third Party Complaints. The FLA encourages collective efforts involving multiple stakeholders to improve workplace conditions and ensure that workers’ rights are protected.

Can an individual or group complain directly to the FLA about a labor violation?
Yes. The FLA Third Party Complaint mechanism is a confidential mechanism that is designed to give voice to workers’ concerns. It also enables the FLA to investigate the problem and ensure that the situation is remediated in an appropriate and timely manner. To learn more about the FLA Third Party Complaint process, visit the Third Party Complaints page here.

What sort of follow-up will the FLA do when it receives a third party complaint?
Firstly, the Executive Director will review the complaint. If it is determined that there is credible evidence about the noncompliance cited in the complaint, the Executive Director will review all internal and external monitoring reports relating to the facility in question and determine whether the problem has already been corrected. If the problem has not been corrected, the Executive Director will contact the company for review. The company will then have 45 days to report on the complaint. If there has been an incident of noncompliance, the company must remediate and develop an effective means to prevent and remedy such noncompliance in the future.

If the Executive Director is dissatisfied with the company's action, he can select an independent monitor to take up the case. The Executive Director is required to communicate the status and outcome of the complaint to the complainant. Universities can seek notification about complaints regarding the manufacture of collegiate product from their licensees, the FLA or both.

Fair Labor Association Stakeholder Obligations

What obligations must affiliated companies fulfill?
When companies join the FLA, they commit to fulfilling the following ten company obligations:

Adopt and communicate a code that meets or exceeds the FLA Code.
Train internal compliance staff.
Provide employees with confidential reporting channels.
Conduct internal monitoring.
Submit to Independent External Monitoring.
Collect and manage compliance information.
Remediate in a timely manner.
Take all steps necessary to prevent persistent forms of noncompliance.
Consult with civil society.
Pay dues and meet other procedural requirements.

Do FLA-affiliated companies own the factories they use?
Very few factories are owned by FLA company affiliates. Most companies place orders with contract factories around the world. Often affiliated companies account for only a small share of their contractors’ business.

Why do companies decide to join the FLA?
By participating in the FLA, companies demonstrate that they are committed to improving workplace conditions in the factories that produce their goods. The FLA offers companies a system for credible independent assessment and monitoring, collaboration on special projects, fair public reporting, and regular contact among FLA stakeholders (companies, NGOs, and colleges and universities.)

Fair Labor Association Code Implementation and Monitoring Program

What is internal monitoring?
Internal monitoring is a process by which affiliated companies can evaluate the workplace conditions of their factories. Companies will use either their internal staff to conduct these audits or hire an external monitor (non-governmental organization or commercial monitor.) Companies most commonly use the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct, country labor law, and international standards as benchmarks against which to monitor the factory. An internal audit usually includes interviews with factory management, workers, and trade union representatives; documentation review of factory policies, payroll, benefits and hours of work; and a tour of the facility to assess conditions. Companies then work with factories to remediate any noncompliances reported during the internal monitoring process and verify that remediation has been completed.

How does Independent External Monitoring work?
The FLA initiates the unannounced Independent External Monitoring (IEM) process by identifying a random, risk-weighted sample of 5% of a company's applicable facilities to be monitored. The association assigns an FLA-accredited monitor to conduct the visit and schedules the visits; neither the company nor the factory is informed. The visit, often conducted over one to two days, comprises interviews with factory management, workers, union representatives (if applicable) and local NGOs; documentation review of factory policies; and a tour of the facility to assess the conditions. The IEM monitors submit a written report of their findings to the FLA and the Participating Company, Participating Supplier or Category B Licensee. The company has 60 days to submit a corrective action plan detailing their remediation of any noncompliance issues found. The FLA will assist in the remediation effort and could conduct a follow-up visit to the factory to verify the remediation.

Are FLA audits announced?
All independent external monitoring audits are unannounced and conducted by FLA-accredited independent external monitors. The FLA selects the accredited monitors and determines which factories will be monitored using a random sampling procedure. Neither the factory nor the brand has advance knowledge about the audit.

How are monitoring organizations accredited and what are the expected requirements?
Eligible applicants, including small businesses and non-governmental organizations, may submit an application to the FLA for accreditation. Accredited monitors must meet specified standards regarding their expertise and independence. These monitors must: (1) abide by clear evaluation guidelines and criteria; (2) verify internal monitoring; (3) have independent access to and conduct independent audits of employee records; (4) conduct unannounced visits and audits; (5) develop relationships with local labor, human rights, or religious organizations; (6) conduct confidential employee interviews; and (6) submit an evaluation report to the company and the FLA. The in-depth Monitoring Guidance and Compliance Benchmarks document is available on the here [link to Monitoring Guidance and Compliance Benchmarks webpage.] This document provides detailed guidelines for accredited monitors as well as the benchmarks, or key principles, for interpreting the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct.

How do non-governmental organizations (NGOs) fit into the process of monitoring and into the broader work of the FLA?
Local NGOs, including human and labor rights groups and religious organizations, can serve as channels of communication for workers and can help identify areas of noncompliance in a factory. As part of the monitoring process, independent external monitors and companies subject to IEM audits (Participating Companies, Participating Suppliers and Category B licensees) must establish relationships with these local groups and view them as a reliable source for local experience and knowledge and the trust of workers. In return, NGOs can play a vital role in developing, implementing, and verifying remediation plans.

Does the FLA certify factories or companies?
The FLA is a brand accountability system. It places its focus on the labor compliance program of a company to assess sustainable implementation of the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct. When joining the FLA, each Participating Company may opt for a two- or three-year implementation period during which it must adhere to FLA independent external monitoring, remediation and verification. Upon conclusion of the implementation phase, the FLA Board of Directors will accredit the program if it has met the FLA’s requirements. Accreditation does not mean that every factory in the company’s supply chain, or even any single factory in its supply chain, is in full compliance with the FLA code. It does mean that the company has implemented mechanisms and procedures to increase code awareness, monitor and remediate noncompliance, and prevent persistent patterns of noncompliance. The accredited company’s performance is assessed each year through the tracking charts of IEM audits conducted of its factories and the annual report affiliated companies are required to submit to the FLA each year. Each company's accreditation must be reviewed every two years.

Are there any mechanisms, other than inspections, to find out about factory conditions?
The FLA requires monitors to consult regularly with local NGOs; to conduct periodic confidential interviews with employees in their own language; and to utilize local NGOs to facilitate communication with employees in the conduct of employee interviews and in the reporting of noncompliance. In addition, the Charter provides for a Third Party Complaint procedure.

What happens if independent external monitors find violations in a factory?
The independent external monitor informs the Company/Supplier and the FLA; the FLA requires that the company work with factory management to remediate the noncompliance through a corrective action plan and verify the remediation.

Where can I find out about violations that have been found?
Reports resulting from IEM audits (called Tracking Charts) are posted on the FLA Web site. The FLA annual public report provides a comprehensive analysis of the previous year’s monitoring findings recorded in the tracking charts. In addition, the FLA reports on the nature of violations and how they were resolved through our third party complaint system. The annual public report and the Tracking Charts can be accessed through our Web site.

Fair Labor Association University and Collegiate Licensee Programs

Why should colleges and universities affiliate with the FLA?
Colleges and universities and their students are catalysts for positive social change – they help create greater awareness and spur action around the issue of exploitative labor conditions in factories worldwide. In a global market economy where products, including university-logoed goods, are manufactured in a number of developing countries, colleges and universities are concerned about the working conditions in which their products are made. Increasingly, they want evidence from their licensees that university-logoed goods are not manufactured in sweatshops.

Affiliating with the FLA helps colleges and universities make the transition from a lack of knowledge about factory conditions to better informed decision-making about sourcing of licensed product. The FLA offers a comprehensive program of internal and external monitoring in which colleges and universities can require their licensees to participate.

Currently, over 200 colleges and universities in both the United States and Canada are affiliated with the FLA. Collegiate licensees, by participating in the FLA, gain access to a monitoring methodology that allows them to fulfill labor compliance commitments and obligations, including adoption of the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct, in all production of collegiate merchandise.

What is the University Advisory Council?
The University Advisory Council (UAC) is comprised of a representative from each college or university affiliated with the FLA. The UAC works closely with the FLA and provides guidance and feedback on the implementation of the FLA University and Collegiate Licensee Programs. The UAC meets annually and actively participates throughout the year in the FLA’s work. Affiliated colleges and universities are kept informed about FLA initiatives via the UAC listserv. The UAC votes to elect six university members on the FLA Board of Directors.

Which universities are currently affiliated with the FLA?
Over 200 colleges and universities in both the United States and Canada are currently affiliated with the FLA. A comprehensive list is available on the FLA Web site.

Why does the FLA have university representatives on its Board?
The University and collegiate Licensee Programs are integral to the FLA’s work. The FLA’s long partnership with colleges and universities extends to its formal incorporation in 1999. The current six seats assigned to university representatives on the FLA’s policy-making Board of Directors, the same number as companies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), is indicative of the FLA’s commitment to full and equal participation and governance from the university constituency. The six university members represent the University Advisory Council (UAC) on the FLA Board; the UAC comprises a representative from each university affiliated with the FLA. The Board members help guide the UAC in its participation in the FLA’s work.

We encourage student participation in the FLA. The student community’s commitment to the issue of sweatshops is integral to the resolution of the problems that plague so many factories around the world. We are open to engaging students in constructive dialogue and will continue our efforts to reach out to students on campuses across the country.

How does the FLA monitor factories that manufacture goods for colleges and universities?
Colleges and universities affiliated with the FLA require their licensees to register with the FLA and ensure that the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct is implemented throughout their supply chains. Depending on their total annual revenues, licensees fall under one of the FLA’s licensee categories B, C or D. Companies with collegiate (and non-collegiate) products that make a corporate commitment to the FLA join in the Participating Company category. When Participating Companies or Category B licensees affiliate with the FLA, they are required to provide the FLA with a list of factories they use for manufacturing of university products and must set up a compliance program to meet FLA company obligations. The FLA has developed an independent monitoring, remediation and verification labor compliance system that it enforces with companies and university licensees in the FLA program.

In Fall 2007, the FLA introduced a pilot of the Enhanced Licensee Program. The Enhanced Program is a robust complement of online and offline tools and systems to encourage greater compliance from the smaller and very diverse Category C collegiate licensees. Approximately 100 licensees and 10 licensing universities are participating in the pilot. In Fall 2008, all the remaining Category C licensees and their licensing universities will be integrated into the Enhanced Program.

Does the FLA monitor for its own Code of Conduct or the university code?
We require that companies and collegiate licensees adopt a code that meets or exceeds the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct. If university licensees are required to adopt their licensing university’s code of conduct, the FLA will monitor for that code as long as it meets or exceeds the FLA Code.

Are the companies that are licensed to produce merchandise for schools in the FLA required to disclose the locations of the factories that produce that merchandise?
Under the terms of a resolution adopted by the University Advisory Council (UAC) in June 2000, all university affiliates with licensing programs require public disclosure of factory locations by their licensees. The factory disclosure database will be posted on the FLA Web site subsequent to the launch of its new online registration and factory information collection system in Fall 2008.

How does the FLA’s Enhanced Licensee Program affect universities?
The Enhanced Licensee Program that is currently being piloted by the FLA is a strong complement of online and offline tools and systems to encourage greater compliance from Category C collegiate licensees. This program provides universities and their licensees with training programs and enhanced tools to better monitor the working conditions in factories that manufacture their goods. Historically, smaller licensees have presented more of a challenge in labor compliance efforts because they are geographically more scattered, have fewer resources to manage labor compliance programs, and have generally displayed a relative lack of knowledge about factory conditions. The Enhanced Program is targeted at making both universities and their licensees more aware of conditions in factories, and provides them with opportunities to work together and with the FLA to correct any labor violations.

How frequently does the FLA monitor factories that produce collegiate goods and who monitors these factories?
Factories of FLA-affiliated companies in the Participating Company, Participating Supplier, and Category B Licensee categories are subject to annual unannounced external monitoring by independent FLA-accredited monitors. This is complemented by the internal monitoring that these companies are required perform and report on throughout the year for the factories from which they source products. Most collegiate licensees fall into FLA’s category C with annual revenues between $5 - $50 million. Through the Enhanced Licensee Program, the FLA plans to achieve a greater level of labor compliance than we have seen in the past from these smaller licensees.

Why does the FLA monitor for minimum wage and not living wage?
Experience shows that it is difficult, if not impossible, to arrive at a region-specific living wage. No one has been able to successfully determine a living wage that would be appropriate for the specific countries in which suppliers of collegiate goods are located. Attempting to arrive at an appropriate living wage for regions in this country has proved to be a great challenge, despite the relative wealth of economic data for the United States. In light of this, the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct, which is based on ILO standards, does not include a living wage element. Our Code recognizes that wages are essential to meeting an employee's needs. It specifies that employers shall pay employees at least the minimum wage required by local law or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits. Ensuring that workers are paid at least the legally-mandated wage goes a long way to improve the living standards of workers who are often intentionally underpaid by their employers.

The FLA continues to look into the possibility of developing a living wage, including working with multi-stakeholder initiatives that have a living wage requirement in their code of conduct. In addition, the FLA Board of Directors has mandated further examination of the issue, and we have done that in a number of different ways. For instance, the FLA held a living wage forum in 2003, the report from which you can read here. The FLA has been involved in the Jo-In project, a collaborative effort of six organizations committed to improving labor standards in global supply chains, and has actively discussed how to include and monitor for living wage. We will continue to engage in further dialogue about possible ways to monitor for living wage in our efforts to protect workers' rights around the world.

For a quick overview of the Fair Labor Association, please take a look at our FLA Fact Sheet.