What is a Responsible Contractor Code of Conduct?

A responsible contractor code of conduct usually includes standards that apply to fair wages, compliance with state and federal laws, labor peace requirements or neutrality toward worker organizing, and worker retention when contractors change.Private companies voluntarily adopt and implement these policies and enforce them with their contractors.

A Model Responsible Food Service Contractor Code of Conduct

Our company, like many in the Bay Area, is a responsible employer that provides high quality jobs, with excellent wages and benefits. With major operations in the area, we contract with other companies that provide noncore services, such as operating cafes in our buildings.

We recognize that jobs in service industries, such as food service, are not of the same caliber as the ones we provide. Therefore we adopt the following principles to apply to our relationship with food service contractors as a way to make sure that the jobs indirectly provided by our business are good jobs that build the surrounding communities. Upon adoption of this policy, we will notify our existing food service contractors of this Code of Conduct.

A responsible food service contractor:

• Provides affordable family health care coverage and access to health care when needed;
• Pays wages that its employees and their families can live on;
• Complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances, including (but not limited to) those related to insurance, wages, non-discrimination, health and safety, and environmental matters; and
• Respects the right to organize a union without management interference when employees want to improve their lives.

If it comes to our attention that a contractor does not act in accordance with these principles, either at our company’s facilities or at other locations, we will remind the contractor of these principles and ask them to rectify any problems.

If for any reason we elect to change contractors, we will seek out an alternative contractor who will hire the employees already working in our buildings, will offer comparable or better compensation and working conditions to these employees and who respects the right of these employees to organize.