Violation Tracker Global User Guide
Violation Tracker Global, produced by the Corporate Research Project of Good Jobs First, brings together enforcement data from more than 700 regulatory agencies in 45 countries on issues such as consumer protection, antitrust/competition, banking, investor protection, labor standards, environmental protection, data protection, bribery, and money laundering. The data primarily comes from what is disclosed on agency websites. Because agencies in some countries do not make enforcement information available--especially with regard to environmental and employment cases--Violation Tracker Global does not have data in every category for all of the 45 countries. Where major cases have become public despite their absence from agency websites, we have created entries using reliable secondary sources. Going forward, we will seek to fill in other gaps through methods such as open records requests. In some countries with strict privacy rules, full data will remain unavailable.
A list of the agency websites from which we were able to obtain data can be found here.
Searching and displaying search results can be done free of charge, but downloading search results into spreadsheet form requires either a subscription or a one-time payment. Details can be found by clicking on the download link on any search results page.
Violation Tracker was created with the invaluable help of Rich Puchalsky of Grassroots Connection. Rich created the system that generates the parent-subsidiary matches (which we also check manually); he built the underlying databases; and he programmed and designed the search pages, which were refined by IndieTech Solutions.
Details of the Data
We have put all the information into a standardized set of categories to allow users to search across many types of cases at the same time. These include eight broad Offense Groups (Competition, Consumer Protection, Employment, Environment, Financial, Government Contracting, Healthcare, and Safety). We also tag each entry with one of about 100 specific Offense Categories. Individual entries include more than about 20 data fields, including a link back to the information source we used to create the entry. We include only those cases with a monetary penalty of at least US$5,000. Entries also include the penalty amount in the original currency.
The enforcement actions and lawsuits documented in Violation Tracker Global are resolved cases; we do not include those that are pending. When a penalty is overturned through a court appeal or agency decision, it is removed from the database. If the penalty amount is revised, we change the entry to show the new amount.
Violation Tracker Global is patterned on our U.S. Violation Tracker and Violation Tracker UK. Whereas those databases cover cases involving companies of all sizes, VT Global is limited to enforcement actions linked to a universe of about 1,600 large global corporations for the period from January 2010 to the present. A comparison of the content in the three databases can be found here.
We primarily match entities to their current parent, even if they were part of a different corporate “family” at the time the penalty was imposed. We also show the parent at the time of the penalty announcement. If those two parents differ, we summarize the ownership changes that took place.
Joint ventures are treated like subsidiaries when one of the owners has a stake of more than 50 percent; those in which no owner has a majority interest are treated like independent companies. Portfolio companies of private equity firms are treated the same way.
Parent penalty totals are adjusted to avoid double-counting of penalty amounts reported both by more than one agency.
Accessing the Data
There are three main ways of accessing the data in Violation Tracker Global: using the basic search feature on the homepage; viewing a variety of summary pages; or constructing a custom search using numerous variables listed on the Advanced Search page.
Basic Search
The homepage of Violation Tracker Global contains a search box in which you can enter the name of a company or parent. Type in the text and hit Search. A list of results will appear. You can click on any of the links at the left to see the full entry (see details below).
Summary Pages
The second way to access Violation Tracker data is by viewing the parent summary pages shown in the dropdown menu on the home page or the various choices shown on the Summaries page.
Current Parent Summaries. This menu provides access to the pages we have created to summarize information for each of the 1,600 parent companies whose cases are included in the database.
The parent pages include the following features:
Current Parent Industry Summaries. The second dropdown menu on the Summaries page provides access to summary pages for about 50 industry groups into which we have divided the parent companies based on their major field of operation. These pages show aggregate penalty amounts for the parents assigned to that industry as well as a list of the ten parents with the most penalties. There is also a list of the individual records connected to all the parents in the industry. The default setting for the table is to show the individual penalties ranked by dollar amount, but it can be re-sorted by company name, parent name, offense category, year or jurisdiction.
Country/Jurisdiction Summaries. The third dropdown provides access to summary pages for each of the countries and other jurisdictions (such as the European Commission) from which we obtain enforcement data. These pages show the aggregate penalty amounts for the records from that jurisdiction as well as a list of the ten parents with the largest shares of those penalties. There is also a list of the individual records connected to all the parents with cases from that jurisdiction. The default setting for the table is to show the individual penalties ranked by dollar amount, but it can be re-sorted by company name, parent name, parent industry, offense category, or year.
Region Summaries. The fourth dropdown provides access to pages summarizing the data we have for the following regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America (U.S. and Canada) and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand). These are structured like the Jurisdiction Summary pages.
Offense Group Summaries. The fifth dropdown menu provides access to summary pages for each of the eight broad offense groups into which cases have been divided. These pages show aggregate penalty amounts for cases tagged with penalty types that fall within the group. A list of which offense categories have been assigned to which groups can be found here. There is a list of the ten parents with the most penalties in the group. Below that is a list of the related individual records. The default setting for the table is to show the individual penalties ranked by dollar amount, but it can be re-sorted by company name, parent name, parent industry, offense category, year or jurisdiction.
Agency Summaries. The sixth dropdown menu provides access to summary pages for each of the regulatory agencies covered in Violation Tracker Global, arranged by jurisdiction. These pages show aggregate penalty amounts for cases originating with the agencies. There is also a list of the ten parents with the most penalties stemming from cases brought by the agency as well as a list of the individual records connected to the agency. The default setting for the latter is to show the individual penalties ranked by dollar amount, but it can be re-sorted by company name, parent name, parent industry, offense category, year or jurisdiction.
Current Parent Headquarters Summaries. The final dropdown menu provides access to summary pages for each country in which Violation Tracker Global parents are headquartered. These pages show aggregate penalty amounts for the parents headquartered in each place as well as a list of the ten parents with the most penalties. There is also a list of the individual records connected to all the parents based in the country. The default setting for the table is to show the individual penalties ranked by dollar amount, but it can be re-sorted by company name, parent name, parent industry, offense category, year or jurisdiction.
To the right of the dropdown menus on the Summaries page are links to seven list pages:
Most Penalized Current Parent Companies. A list of the 100 parents with the most total penalties based on current ownership relationships.
Parent Industry Totals. A list of the penalty totals for each of the industry groups into which we have divided the parent companies.
Offense Group Totals. A list of the penalty totals for each of the eight offense groups used to tag all entries.
Largest Individual Monetary Penalties. A list of the 100 largest individual penalties included in Violation Tracker Global.
Jurisdiction Totals. A list of the penalty totals for each of the countries and other jurisdictions from which we derive the data in Violation Tracker Global.
Parent Roster by Headquarters Country. A list, divided by headquarters country, of the 1,600 parent companies whose cases are included in Violation Tracker Global. Click on a country name to jump to that portion of the list.
Most Penalized Historical Parent Companies. A list of the 100 parents with the most total penalties based on ownership relationships at the time each penalty was announced.
Summary pages and lists (except for the parent roster) contain links allowing the user to download the content in CSV spreadsheet or XML form. The records obtained from the summary page downloads contain full individual entries, which contain more detail than what is displayed in the summaries. The list downloads contain only what is displayed on the webpages. Payment is required for downloads, either with subscription or a one-time payment of US$5 for up to 50 records.
Advanced Search
This option allows the user to enter a single variable or multiple ones in searching for penalties. The variables are as follows:
Intermediate Search Results
After choices have been made from the categories above and the search button has been pressed, the site will display an intermediate search results page with up to 10,000 entries. The page contains the following fields:
The company name in the left column is hyperlinked to the individual entry for the penalty, which contains additional information (see below). The parent name is linked to the summary page for the parent company. The table can be sorted by any of the columns.
Search results pages contain links allowing the user to download the content in CSV spreadsheet or XML form. The records obtained from these downloads contain full individual entries, which contain more detail than what is displayed in the search results. Downloads also contain a field called Cross Database ID, which allows users to easily identify which records are derived from the U.S. and UK versions of Violation Tracker. Those are the records whose ID begins with everything other than VTG. Those beginning with VTG are derived from all countries other than the U.S. and the UK. Payment is required for downloads, either with subscription or a one-time payment of US$5 for up to 50 records.
Data Fields for Individual Entries
There is no standard set of data fields used by all regulatory agencies in their violation reporting. We thus have to re-arrange and re-label the data we collect in order to conform to our standard set of fields. The following is the full set of data fields that appear in the individual entries:
Company: The name of the company as it appears in the original agency records. To avoid online display problems, we remove accents and diacritical marks.
Current Parent Company: The current ultimate operational owner of the firm named in the enforcement record, as derived from research using a variety of outside sources such corporate annual reports. These entries are hyperlinked to the summary page for that parent. To avoid online display problems, we remove accents and diacritical marks.
Parent at the Time of the Penalty Announcement: Using a variety of sources, we have identified the parent company at the time the penalty was announced.
Recap of Ownership Changes: If the parent at the time of the penalty announcement was different from the current parent, we summarize the ownership changes that led from one to the other. Some records include multiple ownership changes.
Jurisdiction: The country or other entity (such as the European Commission) responsible for imposing the penalty.
Region: The part of the world in which the jurisdiction is located. The regions we cover are: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America (U.S. and Canada) and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand).
Penalty Currency: The name of the currency in which the penalty was imposed.
Penalty Amount in the Original Currency: The amount of the penalty in the original currency.
U.S. Dollar Equivalent: We display the U.S. dollar equivalent of the original penalty based on the exchange rate at the time of the penalty announcement.
Year. The year the penalty was announced, according to the original source.
Date: The precise date the penalty was announced, according to the original source.
Agency: The regulatory agency which originated the case.
Offense Group: Each entry has been tagged with one of eight offense groups encompassing multiple offense categories. A list of which offense categories have been assigned to which groups can be found here.
Offense Category: Each entry has been tagged with one of about 100 specific categories.
Description: An explanation of the nature of the violation, often consisting of an excerpt of the penalty announcement issued by the regulatory agency.
HQ Country of Current Parent: The country in which the parent company is headquartered.
Ownership Structure of Parent. One of the following ownership categories in which we have tagged our universe of parent companies: cooperative, employee-owned, government-owned, joint venture, mutual, non-profit, privately held or publicly traded.
Major Industry of Parent: One of the industries into which we have grouped our universe of parent companies.
Specific Industry of Parent: A more focused industry designation. These are not included in the industry dropdown on the Summaries page but are covered in the text search.
Source of Data: A link showing the source from which the penalty information was obtained. In most cases this is the website of the regulatory agency, but in some instances we needed to use a reliable secondary source.
Notes: Explanatory information about this entry only or a larger set of entries to which this entry belongs. (Not in every entry.)
Link to Violation Tracker or Violation Tracker UK: For those entries taken from the U.S. or UK Violation Tracker, we provide a link to the record on those sites, which may contain additional details.
If you have questions about the data, contact Philip Mattera
