Role of Business in Respecting Human Rights in the Covid-19 Pandemic

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the Covid-19 outbreak as “a serious threat to the right to life and to health of people everywhere” and argued that the international human rights framework could provide “crucial guideposts that can strengthen the effectiveness” of the collective global response to the pandemic.[1]  A joint call issued by 60 UN human rights experts included a reminder that the response to the Covid-19 crisis should go beyond public health and emergency measures to address all other human rights as well and emphasized that “the business sector in particular continues to have human rights responsibilities in this crisis”.[2]  In a paper examining companies’ responsibilities for workers and affected communities in the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (“IHRB”) pointed out that companies that have the capacity to act (because of their assets or the resources at their command) can be expected to have a role to play in helping states meet their obligations to protect human rights and went on to say[3]:

“Companies have clear responsibilities towards their employees.  But it is also the case that they have a responsibility towards contractors and their employees (in particular those who work on premises) as well as suppliers, associates, and other partners, consumers, and wider society and the general public who are affected by a company’s presence and operations.”

Experts have identified a range of key human rights concerns relating to the outbreak and management of the Covid-19 pandemic including the need to respect rights, include everyone and ensure access; protection of the vulnerable; focusing on the disproportionate impact of the crisis on women; elimination of racism and xenophobia; limitations on restrictions and surveillance; deployment and use of technology; and permitting dissent.[4]  According to the IHRB and others, businesses have a role to play in many of these areas[5]:

• Companies have a duty of care towards their workers during an emergency situation such as the Covid-19 pandemic that includes providing safe and sanitary work conditions in the workplace, protecting workers from exposure to the virus, assisting workers in working from home, providing flexible and generous leave benefits for workers who get sick or must take care of family members who are ill and acting compassionately when reducing staff due to pandemic-related drops in business
• Companies involved in the development, production and sale of devices and software that enable surveillance should be mindful of potential misuse of such technologies during the crisis and establish safeguards against such misuse through contractual obligations and other measures that reduce the likelihood of misuse
• Companies must be mindful of the surge in racism and xenophobia that has accompanied the spread of the Covid-19 virus and take steps to ensure that their goods and services are equally available to all users, regardless of their ethnicity, nationality or other distinguishing features, and that their workers are protected against racial discrimination in the workplace and from acts of customers and others with whom the company conducts business
• Companies that employ migrant workers directly, or that are aware of migrant workers in their supply chains, should be mindful of the special needs of such workers for security and safety due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic
• Companies need to be aware of the specific disproportionate impact of measures taken during the pandemic on women due to the jobs that they generally fulfill, the responsibilities that societies often impose on them as primary caregivers for their children and other family members and their often limited access to technology
• Companies need to ensure that workers are adequately informed about the risks associated with working during the Covid-19 crisis and that such workers are able to give their informed consent after taking into account issues such as literacy, language and age
• Companies that offer consumer credit, or essential goods and services, should develop special facilities and solutions to provide continuing access for consumers from poorer groups and consumers who have recently lost their jobs and are in need of support for managing their debt or purchasing power
• Companies should be aware of the human rights risks and impacts to consumers and other users of their goods and services resulting from potential exposure to the virus and contagion risk, provision of digital services and the continuity of the provision of basic goods and services
• Companies will be relying on technology for many aspects of their response to the Covic-19 pandemic and implementation of technological solutions must take into account potential infringement of the privacy rights of workers (e.g., health checks in the workplace and surveillance of productivity for remote working) and customers (e.g., protection of personal information collected as companies rollout digital alternatives for customer service)
• Companies should consider the impacts of their decisions and actions relating to the Covid-19 pandemic on the communities in which they operate such as the economic and social impact of reducing operations and laying off employees and provide communities with information on the steps being taken to strengthen health and safety measures in the company’s facilities

While the crisis has been difficult for many businesses, there are also heartening examples of companies going “Beyond the Call” by providing relief to their communities and support to essential workers, taking extraordinary steps to protect the safety and economic wellbeing of their employees and repurposing aspects of their business in order to provide new products and services required by consumers to get through the pandemic.

The United Nations Development Programme designed an accessible Covid-19 rapid assessment tool for businesses that could be used to conduct human rights due diligence analysis in several key areas: occupational health and safety, labor rights, environmental and community impacts, safeguarding privacy, preventing stigma and discrimination and corporate policies and management procedures.  The tool includes various actions to be taken in each of the areas, such as implementing procedures to safeguard the health of workers in the workplace (e.g., personal protective equipment, hygiene standards, cleaning etc.) and preserve workers’ rights in the employment relationship.  The actions recommended for corporate policies track the elements of the human rights due diligence framework in the UN Guiding Principles including making a public commitment to respect human rights relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and additional steps such as adopting relevant policies, engaging in transparent communications to workers and other stakeholders, providing immediate and adequate compensation through effective grievance mechanisms and establishing an accessible procedures for workers and consumers to report issues that may arise out of the Covid-19 crisis. 

This article is an excerpt from the author’s forthcoming book on Business and Human Rights to be published by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association in Fall 2020. For further information, see the Business and Human Rights page on the website of the Sustainable Entrepreneurship Project.

[1] As reported and quoted in Respecting Human Rights in the Time of the Covid-19 Pandemic: Examining Companies’ Responsibilities for Workers and Affected Communities (Institute for Human Rights and Business, April 2020), 9.

[2] Id. at 10.

[3] Id. at 16.

[4] Id. at 10.

[5] Id. at 11-15.  See also Covid-19: Business and Human Rights (Business & Human Rights/Semilla, April 2020).