Plain English Breakdown
The official text notes that expanding these provisions expands an existing crime, but does not detail new criminal penalties beyond those already established for violations.
Registering Contractors Who Hire Foreign Farm Workers
Starting July 1, 2027, this law requires contractors who recruit foreign workers for H-2A agricultural jobs to register with the state.
What This Bill Does
- Expands existing registration rules to include agricultural workers under the federal H-2A visa program beginning July 1, 2027.
- Requires applications for foreign labor contractor registration to list every federal visa program used for recruiting workers starting in 2027.
- Mandates that licensed farm labor contractors who recruit foreign workers must also register as foreign labor contractors by July 1, 2027.
- Allows the Labor Commissioner to remove duplicate information from new applications if it was already provided on a farm labor contractor license application.
- Authorizes the commissioner to issue citations or file civil actions against people who violate these registration rules.
Who It Names or Affects
- Foreign labor contractors who recruit workers for agricultural jobs under H-2A visas.
- Farm labor contractors who perform activities related to recruiting foreign workers.
- The Department of Industrial Relations and the Labor Commissioner's office.
Terms To Know
- Foreign labor contractor
- A person or business that recruits, solicits, hires, employs, furnishes, transports, or houses foreign workers for employment in the United States.
- H-2A visa program
- A federal government program that allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the country to fill temporary agricultural jobs.
- Farm labor contractor
- A person or business licensed by California to recruit, hire, transport, or supervise farm workers for an employer.
Limits and Unknowns
- The law does not take effect until July 1, 2027.
- It currently applies only to agricultural workers under the H-2A visa program and does not cover other types of foreign labor contractors yet.
- The Department of Industrial Relations must submit a study by January 1, 2028, on how to extend these rules further.