The Third Party Complaint procedure was established to strengthen the FLA system by serving as a vehicle through which any person or organization can confidentially report to the FLA about any situation of serious noncompliance with the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct or Principles of Monitoring with respect to the production facilities of FLA-affiliated companies.

Reports
Click here to read summary reports of Third Party Complaints filed with the FLA.

» 1. What is a third-party complaint?
» 2. How do I know whether a labor problem at a factory is a violation of the FLA Code of Conduct?
» 3. How do I know whether a factory produces for FLA companies?
» 4. Why should I use the third-party complaint procedure?
» 5. How can I make a complaint?
» 6. Is my complaint confidential?
» 7. Where should I send a complaint?
» 8. What happens after I make a complaint?

  A "third-party complaint" is a report of an FLA Code violation at a factory that manufactures products for an FLA-affiliated company.

Any individual or group — such as a community organization, NGO, union or relative of a worker — may file a third party complaint with the FLA on behalf of one or more workers employed at a factory producing for FLA companies. This procedure is designed to offer "third parties" (individuals or groups that are outside the factory workforce) a confidential reporting channel to report serious violations of the FLA Code of Conduct to the FLA.

  The FLA Code of Conduct sets a baseline standard for working conditions in factories used by FLA-affiliated companies. In cases of conflicts or differences between the local or national law and the provisions of the FLA Code, companies are obliged to apply the higher standard.

Therefore, a situation in which a factory is mistreating workers or interfering in the exercise of their rights is likely to constitute noncompliance with the FLA Code.

Some examples of FLA Code violations include cases where:

• Child workers (workers who are younger than the legal minimum age) are known to be working in the factory (Child labor).
• Workers are unfairly dismissed for trying to organize a union (Freedom of association).
• Workers are physically barred from leaving the factory premises during work hours (Forced labor).
• A certain category of workers, such as female or migrant workers, is systematically discriminated against (Discrimination).
• Workers' wages are withheld as a form of discipline (Harassment and abuse).

In addition, if you have evidence that a factory is illegally subcontracting production to a smaller factory where labor abuses are taking place, this should be reported to the FLA.

  There are over 1900 companies and 190 colleges and universities affiliated in some capacity with the FLA. These lists are kept updated on the FLA web site. Please check these lists to determine whether a factory produces products for an FLA-affiliated company or college or university.

You may also want to consider the following:

• Are workers sewing labels onto garments or other products in the factory? If so, check the labels against the names of companies on the FLA web site.
• Have workers seen posters in the factories that have brand names on them, such as company codes of conduct? Make a list of these companies.
• Is the factory listed in the Factory Database posted on the FLA web site? (Please note that this database does not list all FLA applicable factories. It only provides the names and locations of factories used in the production of goods for FLA-affiliated colleges and universities.)

If you are still unsure as to whether the factory in question produces for an FLA company, you should contact the FLA staff.

  Through your involvement in the FLA third party complaint system, you are playing an essential role in holding companies accountable for the conditions under which their products are produced.

a. What the third-party complaint procedure does:

• Allows third parties to bring serious situations or patterns of noncompliance with the FLA Code to the attention of the FLA.
• Gives a voice to workers' concerns that is confidential and independent of the factory's internal procedures.
• Identifies problems so that the FLA can work to remediate the situation in an appropriate and timely manner.

b. What the third party complaint procedure does not do:

• Replace or undermine the existing internal channels for relaying grievances at a factory.
• Guarantee that a problem can or will be resolved immediately.

  To send a complaint by mail, e-mail or fax, we encourage you to download and fill out the FLA Third Party Complaint Form.

If you would like to report a situation by phone, you can do so by providing the FLA with the following basic information:

1. The factory name and location.
2. A person to contact to discuss the complaint.
3. An explanation of the Code violation. Please provide as much detail and information as possible, including the date or time period of the incident.
4. If you have already reported the problem to the factory, a buyer, a local labor authority, trade union or other organization, please describe the outcome.
5. Please list any known FLA companies that contract production in the factory.

  If you would like your identity as the complainant to remain confidential from the FLA-affiliated company using the factory in question, the FLA staff will honor this request. Please indicate on your complaint form or in the information you provide the FLA whether you would like your identity to remain confidential with the FLA.

  Complaints can be made directly to the FLA office or via another institution that could reasonably be expected to pass them along to us, such as accredited monitors or members of the FLA's NGO Advisory Council.

Complaints sent to the FLA should be sent to the attention of the FLA staff listed below:

Jorge Perez-Lopez
Executive Director
jperez-lopez@fairlabor.org


Fair Labor Association
1505 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037 USA
Tel. +1-202-898-1000
Fax. +1-202-898-9050

  Complaints that include the information mentioned above and in the Third Party Complaint form will be reviewed by FLA staff. Complaints with a verifiable violation of the FLA Code of Conduct will be investigated by FLA staff, and when necessary, the FLA Executive Director will initiate steps involving relevant actors in the factories — including the applicable FLA company(ies), factory management, monitors, unions and NGO partners — to resolve the problem.