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Compa Joins Panel

ILR Senior Lecturer Lance Compa has been appointed by the U.S. State Department to a new advisory panel.

The board will advise the agency in applying guidelines for receiving and addressing complaints alleging corporate violations of the guidelines established by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The group's "Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises" are designed for multinational firms investing in overseas operations.

Its areas of rule include:

  • human rights
  • labor rights
  • environmental protection
  • non-corruption policies

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development coordinates economic policy among leading industrial nations and emerging markets. The state department is the agency responsible for U.S. affairs related to the group, based in Paris.

The Stakeholder Advisory Board will advise the U.S. State Department officer who receives complaints and tries to resolve disputes. The complaints can be lodged against U.S. corporations abroad, or against foreign corporations operating in the United States.

Compa joins members from labor, business, nonprofit and university sectors on the 14-member board.

In 2011, Compa was appointed to the Department of Labor's National Advisory Committee for Labor Provisions of Free Trade Agreements.

"These two federal committees are directly related to two of my main areas of research and teaching, on labor rights in international trade and on corporate social responsibility in the global economy," Compa said.

"I look forward to my work on these committees with an eye to enhancing my courses on these topics for students at Cornell."

In addition to courses on U.S. labor and employment law, Compa teaches ILR courses such as "International Labor Law: Workers' Rights in the Global Economy" and "Corporate Social Responsibility: Human Rights, Labor Rights, and the Environment."

More information about the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is available at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/01/182844.html.

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