Critical Standards

Critical Standards Violations

Target requires transparency and unimpeded access throughout the execution of audit. Any action, whether
explicit or implicit that impedes an RS process is a violation of the Ethical Business Practices SOVE principle.

3b. Ensure that Target or authorized third party is permitted to conduct employee interviews.

3h. Target or authorized third party is allowed to conduct management interviews.

3k. Recent time records are available for review at all times.

3l. Recent payroll records are available for review at all times.

20j. Factory must maintain only one set of payroll and time records that accurately reflect all
regular and overtime hours worked.
Critical Standards Violations

Target does not condone the imposition, by any actor, of employee deposits and/or fees in order to secure
employment, regardless of local law. Exorbitant deposits and/or fees that require employee payment through
wage garnishment or other means inhibit or prohibit an employee’s freedom of movement; Target defines this
as a form of forced or bonded labor. The factory is required to pay all recruitment agency, employment agency,
and/or labor agent/broker fees; factory cannot deduct worker wages in order to cover deposits and/or fees.

26a. Employees must be reimbursed for any deposit or fee paid for employment
Critical Standards Violations
Target is committed to a safe and secure workplace. Emergency exits must, at a minimum, be commensurate
with local law requirements (quantity, size, etc.) In absence or ambiguity of local law, RS maintains a minimum
standard of two (2) per floor that are unobstructed.

9i. Inadequate number of emergency exits in the dormitory.

9b. Inadequate number of emergency exits in the factory.

9l. Emergency exits are locked.

9j. Emergency exits are blocked.

Critical Standards Violations
Target is committed to a safe and secure workplace. Adequate fire safety provisions must, at a minimum, be
commensurate with local law requirements; In absence or ambiguity of local law, RS maintains explicit
minimum fire safety standards. Fire safety provisions serve as the primary fire prevention and countermeasure
to fire incidences; fire safety provisions are critical risk mitigation measures.

12g. Alarm must be functional with battery back-up within the factory to signal an emergency evacuation. The alarm
must be visible and heard by all employees. The fire alarm must be equipped with a smoke detector to sound
automatically and must be interconnected throughout the factory, meaning if activated in warehouse must also be
activating in the production and other buildings.

8c. Provide enough fire extinguishers/hoses and/or hydrants per local law and place in the appropriate locations
throughout the factory.

32i. Must have an updated fire license/No Object Certificate (NoCi asked ) from Fire Department
Critical Standards Violations
Target supports employee rights to freely associate with trade unions, or other worker associations without
adverse actions, retaliation, harassment, and/or discrimination from factory, or other interested actor e.g. vendor,
with respect to local law.

28b. Ensure that all employees are able to freely affiliate with a trade union or other
worker association without retaliation. Sensitivity training should be conducted for
supervisors/managers.
Critical Standards Violations
Target does not condone the impediment of worker movement, regardless of local law. We consider the
prohibition of workers from leaving factory/dormitory and/or unreasonably retaining worker identification is
considered a form of forced or bonded labor. The factory is required to allow free movement to and from
factory/dormitory at will. Factory cannot retain worker identification for any purpose other than to record
information for data records, once data recording is complete, factory must return identification to worker;
unreasonable retention is considered a form of forced or bonded labor.

19i. Allow employees to freely leave the factory when their shift is done.

22c. Ensure that if management keeps identification certificate etc., employees are able to
obtain it at any time. Identification cannot be kept by management for purposes of
restricting movement of employees.
Critical Standards Violations
Target will not tolerate suppliers operating without valid current permits. Permits and/or licenses must reflect
the most current operational condition of the factory. Renovations, demolitions, construction, environmental
impact, and/or any other significant modification to the structural form and/or integrity of a factory must be
inspected and sanctioned by the local approval authority, in accordance with local law.

32r. Factory does not have an approved building plan.

32s. Factory has not updated the building plan after major changes, alterations or
modifications have been made.

EV8c. Ensure that the factory has all valid environmental permits and licenses as required by
local law

EV8d. The environmental permits and licenses provided are expired or outdated.
Critical Standards Violations
Target requires that all factories pay employees for all hours worked in accordance with local law. Work
performed outside of the factory may indicate work performed without compensation.

20b. Employee wage is below minimum per local law.

24b. Employees perform work in their home or dormitory.

Critical Standards Violations

Target requires that all factories utilize a functional time-keeping system in order to record accurate working
hours. The time-keeping system must be either a punch time clock system, scan card system, or
biometrics system (fingerprint scan) which accurately tracks all hours worked for regular workers, piece-rate
workers, contract workers, migrant workers and temporary workers. It cannot be a
manual time-keeping system or supplemented by a manual time-keeping system. It must also have a battery
back-up which starts immediately in the case of power loss to prevent loss of data.

17d. There is no functioning electronic or mechanical time keeping system in the factory for
all employees to use.

17e. Time clock/time keeping system is not in use at the factory

Critical Standards Violations

Target requires that all factories employ workers that are fifteen (15) years of age or older. Target considers
local law standards exceeding fifteen (15) years of age to be the prevailing requirement e.g. Factory A’s
national government requires all workers be seventeen (17) years of age or older so Target will evaluate that
factory’s compliance against their national standard. Employment of workers under this age requirement is a
violation of our Standards of Vendor Engagement.

22b. Provide a completed personnel record that includes the employment date and proof
of legal age verification at the time of hire for each employee.

23a. Ensure all employees meet minimum age requirements at the time of hire, and that
proper age verification documentation is obtained.
15+
Critical Standards Violations

Target requires that all facilities foster an environment free from intimidation, hostility, and/or offensive
language/gestures/innuendo.

27b. Employees are verbally mistreated

Critical Standards Violations
Target requires that if a factory offers overtime hours to workers that they are always voluntary. Factories that
subject workers to coercion, financial penalty e.g. wage deduction, and/or disciplinary action up and to
termination in response to worker refusal to accept overtime violate the Standards of Vendor Engagement.

Additionally factories must limit working hours exceeding sixty (60) hours per week or the local law standard,
whichever is lesser; regularly paid hours are not to exceed forty-eight (48) hours per week and overtime paid
hours are not to exceed twelve (12) hours per week or the local law standard, whichever is lesser.

19c. Employees are not allowed to decline overtime without penalty

19o. Some employees worked greater than (>) 80 hours per week
Critical Standards Violations
Target expects factories to monitor wastewater discharge and mitigate the introduction of pollutants in excess
of local law permitted standards.

EV7c. Factory has ETP but some of the wastewater is still bypassing the ETP and directly discharged into
surrounding environment or municipal system illegally.