Damon Connolly

Existing law requires a farm labor contractor to be licensed by the Labor Commissioner and to comply with specified employment laws applicable to farm labor contractors. Existing law prohibits the Labor Commissioner from issuing or renewing a license to act as a farm labor contractor unless specified requirements are met.

Existing law requires an applicant for the issuance or renewal of a farm labor contractor license to have deposited with the Labor Commissioner a surety bond to be payable for, among other things, interest on wages and for any damages arising from violation of orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission and for any other monetary relief awarded to an agricultural worker as a result of a violation of specified employment laws. Existing law requires the amount of the surety bond to be based on the size of the person's annual payroll for all employees, and requires, for payrolls up to $500,000, a $25,000 bond, for payrolls of $500,000 to $2,000,000, a $50,000 bond, and for payrolls greater than $2,000,000, a $75,000 bond. Existing law requires the Labor Commissioner to require documentation of the size of the person's annual payroll for purposes of these provisions, as provided.

This bill would instead require the amount of the surety bond to be based on the size of the person's annual gross receipts from operations as a farm labor contractor and whether the person is also a foreign labor contractor. Specifically, for a farm labor contractor who is registered as a foreign labor contractor, the bill would maintain the required bond amount for each of the above-specified ranges measured instead by annual gross receipts. For a person who is not registered as foreign labor contractor, the bill would double the required bond amount. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to require documentation of the size of the person's gross receipts for purposes of these provisions, as provided. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to, among other things, include bond information on the public farm labor contractor license database, as described.

Existing law authorizes the Labor Commissioner to investigate employee complaints and to provide for a hearing in any action to recover wages, penalties, and other demands for compensation. Existing law sets forth various timelines, including for a defendant to answer a complaint, for the Labor Commissioner to file a copy of the order, decision, or award, and for parties to file an appeal.

If a grower, a farm labor contractor, or person acting in the capacity of a farm labor contractor fails to appear or answer within the time allowed after a complaint is filed, as described above, this bill would require the Labor Commissioner to issue an order, decision, or award in the amount stated in the notice, as specified. The bill would authorize the order, decision, or award to be appealed, as specified.