Ethics and Compliance

We are proud of our culture and the values upon which it is centered—they form the foundation of our ongoing success. One of our foremost core values, “Integrity is Everything,” guides the actions of our leaders and associates for our Company and is one of our competitive differentiators. Essential policies that guide ADP include.

Global Ethics

ADP’s Global Ethics team offers our associates advice, training, counsel and support on all aspects of the Code of Business Conduct & Ethics and the Anti-Bribery Policy. In addition, Global Ethics conducts investigations into ethical matters and issues reported through a variety of ways, including ADP's Ethics Helpline, and supports the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in reporting to the Board of Directors and Audit Committee.

Global Compliance

The Global Compliance team identifies and prioritizes compliance risks and determines if they are effectively managed. Global Compliance activities not only reduce the likelihood of non-compliance with ADP policies and applicable laws, but also contribute to ADP’s profitability and growth by supporting compliance as a centerpiece of our products and services.

Integrated assurance and risk management

All assurance functions, including both Global Compliance and Global Ethics, take an integrated, systemic approach to risk management. They are based on a coordinated model of coverage between business line management, which has responsibility for the day-to-day control environment and the assurance functions. Our Board of Directors, acting directly and through its committees, is responsible for the oversight of ADP’s risk management activities. With Board oversight, ADP has implemented programs and practices that are designed to inspire ethical behavior, manage and govern risk to protect the Company’s brand and reputation and grow shareholder value.

In 2021, we took the next step in bolstering our risk management processes by adding a new leadership position of Chief Data Officer (CDO) and have continued to improve our Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program. Our CDO will use our existing ERM structures to identify areas of opportunity. Through this process, the CDO will help our team reevaluate how we capture and address data risks, the findings of which will integrate with and further enhance our overall ERM process.

As we continue building upon and improving our risk and assurance procedures, we are planning to perform an assessment against an independent framework to further assess opportunity. We are committed to continuously improving and investing in our risk management program for both our own security and our clients’ peace of mind.

Facilitating our clients’ compliance

ADP designs products and solutions to help our clients meet their particular compliance obligations. This includes delivering updates and best practices on the latest legislative and regulatory developments through the ADP SPARK blog. To see examples of how ADP designs compliance into our products and services, visit our ADP COVID-19 Employer Preparedness Toolkit, ADP SmartCompliance® and HR Compliance pages.

Ethics and compliance training

Every year, each associate completes our Code of Business Conduct & Ethics training, with 100 percent participation and completion achieved again in FY'21. We also conduct specialized compliance trainings specific to our associates’ roles. This training is supplemented by awareness programs and initiatives such as internal articles, blogs, videos and other global compliance communications.

Public policy and government relations

As the largest single source of U.S. tax payments and employment tax reports, ADP has considerable expertise in tax administration and other employment-related administrative matters. We contribute to sound government policy by educating and collaborating with policymakers. For example, ADP worked with the U.S. Treasury Department to implement the 2020 CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program. We also worked with the Internal Revenue Service to develop employer reporting for paid leave mandates under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Employee Retention Credits under the CARES Act and 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. Similarly, ADP worked with several states to design employer reporting for new paid sick leave and family leave programs. ADP’s expertise is also valued by government policymakers who are focused on DE&I standards. ADP met with state officials from California and Illinois to offer technical advice for their new pay equity reporting requirements.

Campaign contributions

ADP has a strict policy of “no financial support” for any political candidate, party or government office worldwide. ADP does not contribute funds to political campaigns of any sort and does not sponsor or maintain a political action committee (PAC). Read more on our Political Contributions Policy.