The Fair Labor Association says Apple will join the FLA as a Participating Company, effective immediately. The FLA will independently assess facilities in Apple’s supply chain and report detailed findings on the FLA website. Apple becomes the first technology company to join the Association as a Participating Company.

FLA Participating Companies agree to uphold the FLA Workplace Code of Conduct throughout their supply chains and commit to the FLA’s Principles of Fair Labor and Responsible Sourcing. In 2011, the FLA worked with Apple to assess the impact of Apple’s training programs which help raise awareness of labor rights and standards among workers in its supply chain. Like all new affiliates, Apple will align its compliance program with FLA obligations within the next two years.

“We found that Apple takes supplier responsibility seriously and we look forward to their participation in the Fair Labor Association,” says Auret van Heerden, FLA’s president and CEO. “We welcome Apple’s commitment to greater transparency and independent oversight, and we hope its participation will set a new standard for the electronics industry.”

In addition to conducting independent assessments of participating companies’ supplier facilities, FLA works with civil society organizations, universities and companies to develop and improve social responsibility programs and provide training and capacity building at the facility and brand level.

“We’re extremely proud to be the first technology company admitted to the FLA,” says Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations. “Last year we performed more than 200 audits at our supplier’s facilities around the world. With the benefit of the FLA’s experience and expertise, we will continue to drive improvements for workers and provide even greater transparency into our supply chain.”

Progress reports and findings from Apple assessments will be published as they become available. For more info go to http://www.fairlabor.org .