Notice2022-13374
Request for Information: Forced Labor in Healthcare Supply Chains
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 23, 2022
Issuing agencies
Health and Human Services DepartmentChildren and Families Administration
Abstract
The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) requests information on forced labor, a form of human trafficking, in healthcare supply chains including monitoring, training, and research efforts. This request for information (RFI) is part of OTIP's ongoing efforts to seek public comments to inform implementation of Executive Order 14001 (A Sustainable Public Health Supply Chain), the National Strategy for a Resilient Public Health Supply Chain, and other related efforts on forced labor.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 120 (Thursday, June 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37518-37520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13374]
[[Page 37518]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration for Children and Families
Request for Information: Forced Labor in Healthcare Supply Chains
AGENCY: Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP), Administration for
Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS).
ACTION: Notice of Request for Information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) requests
information on forced labor, a form of human trafficking, in healthcare
supply chains including monitoring, training, and research efforts.
This request for information (RFI) is part of OTIP's ongoing efforts to
seek public comments to inform implementation of Executive Order 14001
(A Sustainable Public Health Supply Chain), the National Strategy for a
Resilient Public Health Supply Chain, and other related efforts on
forced labor.
DATES: Comments on this notice must be received by midnight Eastern
Daylight Time (EDT) 30 days after posting. OTIP will not respond
individually to responders but will consider all comments submitted by
the deadline.
ADDRESSES: Please submit all responses via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#aaefc4cefed8cbccccc3c9c1c3c4cdeacbc9cc84c2c2d984cdc5dc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="baffd4deeec8dbdcdcd3d9d1d3d4ddfadbd9dc94d2d2c994ddd5cc">[email protected]</span></a> with ``RFI: Forced Labor in Healthcare
Supply Chains'' in the subject. Submissions can include attachments of
or links to any supporting documentation (e.g., research, training
materials, policies, data). Please provide your contact information,
including the organization name, for possible follow-up from OTIP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alyssa Wheeler, Policy Analyst, Office
on Trafficking in Persons, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e4a5889d979785cab38c8181888196a4858782ca8c8c97ca838b92"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2465485d5757450a734c4141484156644547420a4c4c570a434b52">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
OTIP is responsible for the development of anti-trafficking
strategies, policies, and programs to prevent human trafficking, build
health and human service capacity to respond to human trafficking,
increase victim identification and access to services, and strengthen
health and well-being outcomes of trafficking survivors. OTIP funds the
National Human Trafficking Hotline, where an analysis of 32,000 cases
reported into the hotline identified healthcare services as one of 25
industries impacted by human trafficking.\1\ OTIP programs also include
grants to community-based organizations to fund comprehensive case
management services for survivors of human trafficking, training and
technical assistance for health and human service organizations to
build capacity to respond to human trafficking, and research and policy
guidance. OTIP serves as the secretariat for the HHS Task Force to
Prevent Human Trafficking.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Typology of Modern Slavery report analyzing data from
the National Human Trafficking Hotline is available at <a href="https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Polaris-Typology-of-Modern-Slavery-1.pdf">https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Polaris-Typology-of-Modern-Slavery-1.pdf</a>.
\2\ Press release for the HHS Task Force to Prevent Human
Trafficking is available at <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/01/31/secretary-becerra-announces-new-hhs-task-force-to-prevent-human-trafficking.html">https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/01/31/secretary-becerra-announces-new-hhs-task-force-to-prevent-human-trafficking.html</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In July 2021, HHS published the National Strategy for a Resilient
Public Health Supply Chain in response to Executive Order 14001 on a
sustainable public health supply chain.\3\ \4\ \5\ The strategy
incorporates learnings from experiences of significant disruptions to
public health supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reinforces
a commitment to an ethical, equitable, and environmentally sustainable
public health supply chain. This includes a call to ``having processes
in place to identify and mitigate sourcing risks such as child labor,
forced labor, and human trafficking.'' The strategy recognizes the
impact of production scarcity, decrease in qualified labor,
insufficient technical skills, and other domestic and international
factors as increasing risk of forced labor. For example, Objective 1.4
incorporates efforts on forced labor while combatting unfair trade.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The National Strategy for a Resilient Public Health Supply
Chain is available at <a href="https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/Documents/National-Strategy-for-Resilient-Public-Health-Supply-Chain.pdf">https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/legal/Documents/National-Strategy-for-Resilient-Public-Health-Supply-Chain.pdf</a>.
\4\ Executive Order 14001 is available at <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/26/2021-01865/a-sustainable-public-health-supply-chain">https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/26/2021-01865/a-sustainable-public-health-supply-chain</a>.
\5\ More information on mitigating labor trafficking in public
health supply chains is available at <a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/blog/2021/10/mitigating-labor-trafficking-public-health-supply-chains">https://www.acf.hhs.gov/blog/2021/10/mitigating-labor-trafficking-public-health-supply-chains</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As part of this response, the Procurement and Supply Chains
Committee of the Senior Policy Operating Group under the President's
Interagency Taskforce to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
established a subgroup on Forced Labor in Global Supply Chains. This
subgroup is coordinating relevant federal efforts on corporate
accountability and compliance, including with the healthcare industry.
Public comments responding to this RFI may inform OTIP, HHS, and
federal interagency efforts on trainings, policy guidance, resources,
and coordination on data and due diligence tailored to healthcare
organizations, procurement professionals, and suppliers.
II. Definitions
The term ``forced labor'' is defined for U.S. enforcement purposes
in two separate sections of the United States Code. First, the criminal
statutes of Title 18 encompass the range of activities involved in
obtaining the labor or services of a person including (1) force,
threats of force, physical restraint, or threats of physical restraint;
(2) serious harm, threats of serious harm; (3) abuse or threatened
abuse of the legal process; (4) or by a ``scheme, plan or pattern''
designed to cause fear of serious harm or physical restraint (18 U.S.C.
1589). Once a person's labor is obtained by such means, the person's
previous consent or effort to obtain employment with the trafficker
does not preclude the person from being considered a victim, or the
government from prosecuting the offender. Title 18 also defines forced
labor as occurring when an individual or entity ``knowingly benefits,
financially or by receiving anything of value, from participating in a
venture which has engaged in providing or obtaining labor or services
by prohibited means, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that
the venture has engaged in providing or obtaining labor or services by
such prohibited means.'' \6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ Additional text on 18 U.S.C. 1589 is available at <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-2000-title18-section1589&num=0">https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-2000-title18-section1589&num=0</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Second, the customs-related statute of Title 19 defines forced
labor in connection with the prohibition on the importation of goods
mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by convict labor,
forced labor, and/or indentured labor (19 U.S.C. 1307). In this
context, forced and/or indentured labor includes children and is
defined as ``all work or service which is exacted from any person under
the menace of any penalty for its nonperformance and for which the
worker does not offer himself voluntarily.'' \7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ Additional text on 19 U.S.C. 1307 is available at <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=">https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=</a>(title:19%20section:1307%20edition:prelim).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Forced labor is also referenced in connection to human trafficking
protections codified in Title 22, specifically in forms of labor
trafficking (22 U.S.C. 7102). Labor trafficking, one type of ``severe
forms of trafficking in persons,'' means ``the recruitment, harboring,
transportation, provision, or
[[Page 37519]]
obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force,
fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary
servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.'' \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Additional text on 22 U.S.C. 7102 is available at <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title22/html/USCODE-2011-title22-chap78.htm">https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title22/html/USCODE-2011-title22-chap78.htm</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pursuant to concepts set out in the National Strategy for a
Resilient Public Health Supply Chain, healthcare supply chains include
the ``finished product . . . raw materials, equipment, and ancillary
supplies needed to make and use that product'' (e.g., drugs, biological
products, medical devices, personal protective equipment). For the
purposes of the RFI, healthcare supply chains also include nutrition-
related procurement and the acquisition of services, including delivery
of clinical services (e.g., nursing) and ancillary services (e.g.,
food, custodial, and laundry services).
For purposes of this RFI, ``healthcare product'' will mean any item
sourced or produced in the healthcare supply chain, and ``healthcare
services'' will refer to any services procured by an organization in
the healthcare sector, including clinical and support services.
III. Request for Comments
OTIP is interested in all the questions listed below, but
respondents are welcome to address as many or as few as they choose and
to address additional areas of interest not listed.
A. Information on Monitoring Forced Labor in the Procurement of
Healthcare Services
<bullet> Does your organization or another organization have
established standard operating procedures for preventing, identifying,
reporting, and addressing suspected forced labor or unfair labor
practices by staffing agencies or other subcontractors providing
workforce personnel?
<bullet> What are your current reporting mechanisms in procuring
clinical services and services in general? Would it be feasible to
incorporate measures on forced labor in those mechanisms?
<bullet> How can service contracting practices be strengthened in
the healthcare sector?
<bullet> Are there mechanisms in place for individuals delivering
clinical or supporting services in the healthcare sector to report
abuse, fraud, or forced labor? If so, what are those practices and
mechanisms? What protections from retaliation are in place for
individuals reporting? Are these mechanisms being successfully
utilized?
<bullet> What steps does your organization take to investigate and,
if needed, remediate forced labor violations?
<bullet> Are there any barriers in federal policies, programs, and
systems that make it challenging to monitor and address forced labor
risks in healthcare services procurement? If so, what are those
barriers?
B. Information on Monitoring Forced Labor in the Procurement of
Healthcare Products
<bullet> Does your organization or another organization have
established standard operating procedures for preventing, identifying,
reporting, and addressing suspected forced labor or unfair labor
practices by potential suppliers or contractors for healthcare
products?
<bullet> What are your current due diligence and reporting
mechanisms in procuring healthcare products in general? Would it be
feasible to incorporate measures on forced labor in those mechanisms?
<bullet> How can supply chain transparency practices be
strengthened to combat forced labor in the healthcare products?
<bullet> Are there practices and mechanisms in place for
procurement professionals, administrators, contractors, and/or anyone
else who might become aware of forced labor risks in procurement of
goods to report abuse, fraud, or forced labor? If so, what are those
practices and mechanisms? What protections from retaliation are in
place for individuals reporting? Are these mechanisms being
successfully utilized?
<bullet> What steps does your organization take to investigate and,
if needed, remediate forced labor violations?
<bullet> Are there any barriers in federal policies, programs, and
systems that make it challenging to monitor and address forced labor
risks in healthcare product procurement? If so, what are those
barriers?
C. Information on Training and Public Awareness on Forced Labor in
Healthcare Supply Chains
<bullet> Do you think healthcare procurement professionals and
suppliers are aware of forced labor in supply chains (e.g., production
of personal protective equipment, medical equipment) or in the
workforce (e.g., patient care services, ancillary support services)?
<bullet> What resources currently exist to help healthcare
procurement professionals and suppliers prevent, identify, report, and
address forced labor in supply chains? Please provide links to
resources or information on organizations developing resources.
<bullet> What trainings, information sharing, or information
collection efforts have successfully integrated content on forced labor
in the acquisition of healthcare products and services?
<bullet> What are the gaps in training, technical assistance, and
awareness on identifying, monitoring, and addressing forced labor in
healthcare supply chains?
D. Information on Research and Data on Forced Labor in Healthcare
Supply Chains
<bullet> Who do you consider a subject matter expert on forced
labor in healthcare supply chains and/or in supply chains more broadly?
Please provide the name, affiliation, and email for any individuals you
list.
<bullet> Do you currently rely on research, data, or information on
forced labor in healthcare supply chains to inform your organization's
practices to prevent, monitor, and respond to concerns? If so, what
type of information and where do you access that information?
<bullet> What research, data, or information would be helpful to
inform and/or strengthen due diligence processes for healthcare
procurement professionals and suppliers?
<bullet> What diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations
should inform understanding of how forced labor occurs in healthcare
supply chains from both the administrative and workforce perspectives?
This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed
as a policy, solicitation for applications, or as an obligation on the
part of the Government to provide support for any ideas identified in
response to it. OTIP will use the information submitted in response to
this RFI at its discretion and will not provide comments to any
responder's submission. However, responses to the RFI may be reflected
in future solicitation(s), policies, or publications. Respondents will
not be identified in any published reports. Respondents are advised
that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of
the information received or provide feedback to respondents with
respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified,
confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your
response, unless marked as Business Confidential Information (BCI).
Materials submitted may be made public.
Material submitted by members of the public that is properly marked
as BCI with a valid statutory basis will not be disclosed publicly. For
any comments that contain BCI, the file name of the business
confidential version should begin with the characters `BCI'. Any
[[Page 37520]]
page containing BCI must be clearly marked `BUSINESS CONFIDENTIAL' on
the top of that page, and the submission should clearly indicate, via
brackets, highlighting, or other means, the specific information that
is business confidential. A filer requesting business confidential
treatment must certify that the information is business confidential
and that they would not customarily release it to the public. Filers of
comments containing BCI also must submit a public version of their
comments. The file name of the public version should begin with the
character `P'.
Dated: June 16, 2022.
Roshelle M. Brooks,
Office of the Executive Secretariat, Administration for Children and
Families.
[FR Doc. 2022-13374 Filed 6-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-47-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 23, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.