Joint Liability Approaches to Regulating Recruitment

Abstract

This paper argues that efforts to regulate global labor recruitment for low-wage work should target the firm at the top of the labor supply chain (ie, the ultimate employer of the recruited workers, or -- where that employer is a subcontractor -- the end user firm to which the employer provides goods or services) as the actor in the best position to take responsibility for violations of the labor recruiters in its subcontracting network. In support of this assertion, I present and analyze six new case studies of governments and civil society organizations that have piloted this approach. I conclude with a set of best practices to guide the next generation of organizing and regulatory initiatives in this field. A version of this paper will be published in early 2015 by the International Labor Organization.