Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Productions Chains And Workplace Law Violations: The Case Of Apple And Foxconn , Hilary K. Josephs

Global Business Law Review

For decades U.S. based multinational companies have outsourced production of goods to developing countries with low labor costs and weak implementation of protective legislation. The consumer electronics giant Apple is a prime example: it outsources virtually all of its manufacturing to companies such as Foxconn, a Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer, which employs over a million assembly line workers in China. In the last several years Foxconn's operations have been under scrutiny for violation of Chinese domestic employment law. This paper focuses on the problem of compulsory overtime, a violation of both Chinese law and international labor standards, and various measures …