Lindsay+E.+-+AI+-+SP12

26 January 2012 New California Law Combats Human Slavery

As many people know, slavery was a major issue in the early stages of the United States. Today we don’t think of slavery occurring with as many rights and laws we have. Unfortunately there are still people who perform Human Trafficking. California has just created a new law to help with awareness and potentially help stop the crime that has been going on. There are many countries in the world that continue to have forced labor and human trafficking. Many consumers are connected to these ways of trafficking without even knowing. These ways of work are so hidden that even some of the big business buyers don’t know that their products have been created from forced laborers. The new law is trying to put some of the blame back on the big corporations so that the company can’t say that they weren’t aware of the situation. In the past, many big businesses have been caught in being associated with human trafficking. The companies had said they didn’t know that the crime was going on. California‘s law will apply to companies who gain $100 million or more in sales. The companies must also go through multiple processes to make sure they know the standards and agree to the new laws that will be in effect. The law had started at the end of January and many companies have already made sure that they can comply with the new regulations.
 * Summary:**

I believe that this is relevant to the course since we are currently talking about work conditions and rights. It also shows how we are still progressing. There are many countries that have human trafficking and forced labor. The U.S. is proving that we are still moving in progress for more rights and for equality. Since slavery was a major part of our history, it really relates to what we know about the U.S. today. It’s strange to hear about slavery today since we have many laws dealing with rights of many people. This shows that the U.S is still going through major changes for the better.
 * Relevance to Course:**

I think that this shows that America is a growing nation and shows that we are trying to take care of all our people. It shows that America is trying to create a more positive and equal society. It is probably one of the first countries globally that are trying to address current day slavery and forced labor. If these laws help, it could potentially put the U.S. in the direction of destroying all forced labor and human trafficking. This proves that America is trying to be the country of freedom and liberty as many other people know it to be. The way it proves American exceptionalism is that the law will hopefully help be one of the first and persuade other countries to do the same as well as other states.
 * Relevance to Theme: American Identity**

Questions: **Bibliography **
 * 1) How will this affect the other countries and states? Will other states try and create the same laws?
 * 2) Will there be any companies that may try and go against these laws?
 * 3) How will this affect the production of goods and prices?
 * 4) Will this affect any business deals that we have with other countries?
 * 5) Will this change the way that average people get jobs or only “under the table” job?

Cernansky, Rachel. "New California Law Combats Human Slavery." www.csmonitor.com. The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Jan. 2012. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.  