Worker Protection

We are deeply committed to upholding high standards for the treatment of all workers in our supply chain, and we expect the same from our suppliers, including ensuring that all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations are followed, and that all people are treated with respect.

We hold all people in high regard, and we respect the dignity of everyone. Hormel Foods doesn’t tolerate any violations of labor laws, labor abuses or human trafficking. Our human rights practices and expectations for our operations, partners and suppliers stem from our Human Rights and Modern Slavery Policy, Code of Ethical Business Conduct, Supplier Code of Conduct and supplier contracts, but they go far beyond those documents. Inclusion, equity and diversity are part and parcel of our culture at Hormel Foods. Simply put, we treat others as we want to be treated.

As an example, Hormel Foods goes above and beyond federal regulations to restrict the employment of minors. No one under the age of 18 is permitted to work in the production areas of our facilities throughout our enterprise, even if the job is not considered hazardous. This includes the team members employed directly by our company and the employees of any third-party contractors working in our facilities.

If we determine that a supplier is not in compliance with our standards or an applicable law, we will give such supplier an opportunity to remedy the noncompliance. Should the supplier continue to fail to meet our standards, we will end our relationship with the supplier.

To avoid or limit the need to terminate supplier agreements, we use training, stakeholder engagement, compliance management and industry partnerships to actively participate in dialogues and initiatives that allow us to ensure fair labor treatment across our value chain. Also, our team members are trained annually on human rights policies and procedures relevant to our operations. In 2022, we conducted more than 159,930 hours of this training, which was primarily focused on educating and reinforcing our beliefs with our operations and supply chain team members.

Freedom of Association

We respect the rights of team members to decide if they want to be represented by a collective bargaining unit; we do not have any operations in which the right to exercise freedom of association is at significant risk. As of 2022, approximately 20% of our U.S.-based team members were covered by collective bargaining agreements. We had one work stoppage in 2022.

Regulatory Compliance

With oversight from our audit committee, our compliance team upholds local and national labor laws that are in effect in the regions where we operate. By reporting, tracking and investigating possible violations, our compliance program ensures that our operations and the labor practices of our suppliers align with the requirements for working conditions. These are outlined in regulations and in our policies — including our Code of Ethical Business Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct.

All team members are empowered to speak up when they witness or experience something that is contrary to our human rights beliefs and policies. In order to facilitate anonymous feedback and address any concerns, we have a global hotline and website that are operated by an independent third-party organization.

In 2022, there were no human rights incidents determined to be violations of our Code of Ethical Business Conduct or Supplier Code of Conduct.

Human Rights Statement

Hormel Foods follows local and national laws in the United States and other regions in which we operate. We are committed to treating people with the utmost dignity and respect throughout our entire supply chain, and promoting and protecting the rights of all workers, including at-risk populations such as minors, women and minorities. Our human rights practices and expectations for our operations, partners and suppliers are part of our Code of Ethical Business Conduct, other policies, Supplier Code of Conduct and supplier contracts. Please see additional information below regarding our efforts to ensure our supply chain is free from slavery and human trafficking.

To ensure adherence to our Code of Ethical Business Conduct and Supplier Code of Conduct, we established a compliance program that upholds accountability through reporting, tracking and investigating possible violations. The Audit Committee of the company’s Board of Directors oversees the compliance program. In order to facilitate anonymous feedback and address concerns, we provide a hotline number and website that are operated by an independent, third-party organization. In 2020, there were no human rights incidents determined to be violations of our Code of Ethical Business Conduct or Supplier Code of Conduct.

Hormel Foods supports the Consumer Goods Forum resolution on human rights and its priority principles. We also value and respect the international principles, guidelines and goals aimed at promoting and protecting human rights, including the:

International Bill of Human Rights;
International Labour Organization Conventions;
International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work;
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises;
U.N. Declaration of Human Rights;
U.N. Global Compact’s 10 Principles;
U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and the
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

When Hormel Foods considers international investments, acquisitions and joint ventures, as part of the due diligence process we conduct research on human rights parameters to ensure compliance with all governing country or province laws regarding investment agreements, including:

Verifying that the workforce is of appropriate and legal age.
Determining whether the company is in compliance with the governing country or province laws regarding paying for overtime, as well as setting aside and disbursing legally required employee welfare funds for areas such as housing and education.
Addressing overarching questions to determine whether the company adheres to all governing country or province laws and whether there are outstanding litigation or enforcement actions underway or expected.
Documenting the company’s adherence to employee safety and right to work policies, ensuring they meet governing country or province laws.

We are committed to engaging in meaningful consultation with stakeholders regarding this important topic as we make updates to this statement, which is reviewed annually by the senior vice president of human resources. The company’s Code of Ethical Business Conduct is reviewed yearly by the Audit Committee of the company’s Board of Directors.

Information about employee safety, training, human rights training and diversity is reported annually in our global impact report.

Modern Slavery
Hormel Foods does not tolerate forced labor or human trafficking. Our efforts to ensure our supply chain is free from slavery and human trafficking include the following:

Identifying and analyzing risks.
Requiring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, our purchase order terms and conditions and our Supplier of Code of Conduct.
Performing supplier due diligence, including assessing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and programs of our suppliers through a survey assessment process. Third-party audits may be conducted based on the results of assessments.
Providing the ability for anyone to report a concern through our third-party compliance website or hotline (1-833-672-1232), which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Reporters may choose to be anonymous.
Implementing corrective actions for any supplier not in compliance with our standards or applicable laws. Should a supplier continue to fail to meet our standards, we will initiate our supplier discontinuation process.
Providing training on our Supplier Code of Conduct, which includes the topics of slavery and human trafficking, for our team members and managers who have responsibility for supply chain management and procurement.

For additional information about these efforts, please see our California Transparency in Supply Chains Act disclosure.

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