M6. TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (April 2016)
a. The recipient, subawardee, or contractor, at any tier, or their employees, labor
recruiters, brokers or other agents, must not engage in:
(1) Trafficking in persons (as defined in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress,
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,
supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime) during the period of this award;
(2) Procurement of a commercial sex act during the period of this award;
(3) Use of forced labor in the performance of this award;
(4) Acts that directly support or advance trafficking in persons, including the
following acts:
i. Destroying, concealing, confiscating, or otherwise denying an
employee access to that employee's identity or immigration
documents;
ii. Failing to provide return transportation or pay for return transportation
costs to an employee from a country outside the United States to the
country from which the employee was recruited upon the end of
employment if requested by the employee, unless:
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a) exempted from the requirement to provide or pay for such return
transportation by USAID under this award; or
b) the employee is a victim of human trafficking seeking victim
services or legal redress in the country of employment or a
witness in a human trafficking enforcement action;
iii. Soliciting a person for the purpose of employment, or offering
employment, by means of materially false or fraudulent pretenses,
representations, or promises regarding that employment;
iv. Charging employees recruitment fees; or
v. Providing or arranging housing that fails to meet the host country
housing and safety standards.
b. In the event of a violation of section (a) of this provision, USAID is authorized to
terminate this award, without penalty, and is also authorized to pursue any other
remedial actions authorized as stated in section 1704(c) of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Pub. L. 112-239, enacted January 2,
2013).
c. If the estimated value of services required to be performed under the award
outside the United States exceeds $500,000, the recipient must submit to the
Agreement Officer, the annual “Certification regarding Trafficking in Persons,
Implementing Title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2013” as required prior to this award, and must implement a compliance plan to
prevent the activities described above in section (a) of this provision.
The
recipient must provide a copy of the compliance plan to the Agreement Officer
upon request and must post the useful and relevant contents of the plan or
related materials on its website (if one is maintained) and at the workplace.
d. The recipient’s compliance plan must be appropriate to the size and complexity
of the award and to the nature and scope of the activities, including the number
of non-United States citizens expected to be employed. The plan must include, at
a minimum, the following:
(1) An awareness program to inform employees about the trafficking related
prohibitions included in this provision, the activities prohibited and the
action that will be taken against the employee for violations.
(2) A reporting process for employees to report, without fear of retaliation,
activity inconsistent with the policy prohibiting trafficking, including a
means to make available to all employees the Global Human Trafficking
Hotline at 1-844-888-FREE and its e-mail address at help@befree.org.
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(3) A recruitment and wage plan that only permits the use of recruitment
companies with trained employees, prohibits charging of recruitment fees
to the employee, and ensures that wages meet applicable host-country
legal requirements or explains any variance
.
(4) A housing plan, if the recipient or any subawardee intends to provide or
arrange housing. The housing plan is required to meet any host-country
housing and safety standards.
(5) Procedures for the recipient to prevent any agents or subawardee at any
tier and at any dollar value from engaging in trafficking in persons
activities described in section a of this provision. The recipient must also
have procedures to monitor, detect, and terminate any agents or
subawardee or subawardee employees that have engaged in such
activities.
e. If the Recipient receives any credible information regarding a violation listed in
section a(1)-(4) of this provision,
the recipient must immediately notify the
cognizant Agreement Officer and the USAID Office of the Inspector General; and
must fully cooperate with any Federal agencies responsible for audits,
investigations, or corrective actions relating to trafficking in persons.
f. The Agreement Officer may direct the Recipient to take specific steps to abate an
alleged violation or enforce the requirements of a compliance plan.
g. For purposes of this provision, “employee” means an individual who is engaged
in the performance of this award as a direct employee, consultant, or volunteer of
the recipient or any subrecipient.
h. The recipient must include in all subawards and contracts a provision prohibiting
the conduct described in section a(1)-(4) by the subrecipient, contractor, or any
of their employees, or any agents. The recipient must also include a provision
authorizing the recipient to terminate the award as described in section b of this
provision.
