|
California farm labor contractors would face tougher licensing reviews, higher bond requirements and faster wage theft judgments under a bill moving to the Senate after a divided Assembly vote last week.
Assembly Bill 2227 by Asm. Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, is aimed at a narrow but recurring problem for farmworkers. When workers win wage claims, the money may be difficult or impossible to recover if a farm labor contractor disappears, ignores labor commissioner proceedings, or has too little money left in a state-required bond to cover the claims, according to Connolly.
Farm employer groups are warning the bill could raise costs for licensed contractors and saddle law abiding operators with new paperwork and legal exposure; worker advocates say the current system too often leaves farmworkers with a judgment but no paycheck.
Connolly told the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee the bill would provide “comprehensive protections for domestic farmworkers against wage theft,” arguing that farm labor contractors account for a disproportionate share of agricultural wage and hour violations.
Asm. Damon Connolly (office photo)“These changes will ensure that [the contractors] are held accountable and cannot leave workers high and dry,” said Connolly.
The bill would change how California calculates the surety bonds farm labor contractors must carry to get licensed. Current law sets bonds at $25,000, $50,000 or $75,000, depending on annual payroll. AB 2227 would instead tie the bond to annual gross receipts from farm labor contracting. For contractors who are not also registered as foreign labor contractors, the bond levels would double to $50,000, $100,000 or $150,000, depending on gross receipts. Contractors registered as foreign labor contractors would stay at the existing $25,000, $50,000 or $75,000 levels, but those amounts would be based on gross receipts instead of payroll.
The bill also would require more information in contractor license applications, including whether financially interested parties owe unpaid wages; have outstanding judgments, liens or unpaid tax obligations; or have been cited or assessed penalties for labor law violations. The labor commissioner’s office would also have to post bond information on the public farm labor contractor license database.
Farmworkers say judgments can still leave them unpaid
Worker advocates framed the issue through the experience of Iris Flores Bautista, a Salinas farmworker who testified that she harvested strawberries in Santa Maria and the Salinas Valley and was not paid for her final two weeks of work in 2023.
“I worked because I had to help pay the rent for my family, childcare and the necessary living expenses,” Bautista told lawmakers.
She said the contractor threatened her, failed to show up for proceedings and continued operating under different names.
“After almost three years, I've not been able to recover my stolen wages,” she said.
Cut through the clutter! We deliver the news you need to stay informed about farm, food and rural issues. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse here.
Ephraim Camacho, a community worker with California Rural Legal Assistance, told lawmakers that few workers file claims against the contractor bonds because the process is difficult and the information is hard to obtain. He said four CRLA clients were owed more than $50,000 by one contractor and “four workers easily exhausted the $50,000 bond.”
“It takes years before a wage claim is adjudicated because of significant delays at the labor commissioner's office,” said Camacho. He also said CRLA waited four-and-a-half months for bond information through a public records request before pursuing recovery.
Connolly’s arguments for the bill point to broader concerns about farmworker vulnerability, noting that farm labor contractors accounted for half of all federal wage and hour violations in California agriculture from 2005 to 2019. The last increase in bond amounts came in 2000.
The California Farmworker Coalition and other worker advocates say the bill would make bond information more accessible, strengthen license renewal reviews, make bonds available when contractors default in wage-claim proceedings, and create parity between contractors and foreign labor recruiter bonds.
Kimberly Clark, California Farm Labor Contractor Association (CFLCA photo)Ag groups warn of burden on lawful contractors
But labor contractors — along with the California Farm Bureau and Western Growers — oppose the measure, arguing it is too broad and would not solve the labor commissioner delays that prevent workers from being paid.
Kimberly Clark, executive director of the California Farm Labor Contractor Association, says foreign labor contractors represent more than 40% of the state’s farm workforce and many are small, family-owned businesses started by former farmworkers. She said the association agrees with the goal of protecting workers but believes the bill “misunderstands the licensing process, increases administrative burdens on employers and the labor commissioner without increasing protection for farmworkers.”
Clark said the bill would require disclosure of claims or debts that may not be past due or may have been dismissed, with no clear time limit. She also warned that posting bond company information could confuse workers and delay recovery through the commissioner’s office.
“The proposed default judgment would give just 10 days after the notice is mailed, hardly any time at all,” said Clark, citing contractors who travel between farms, have family obligations abroad or may be unable to check mail daily. She added that “just 5% of [the contractors] are responsible for 65% of violations” and urged lawmakers to target bad actors without sweeping in ethical employers.
Asm. Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, echoed the concerns from agricultural employers, saying his constituents are asking what problems the bill would be fixing.
The debate comes as lawmakers consider AB 2646, which would set a $19.75 hourly wage for certain agricultural employees tied to H-2A work and corresponding domestic employees. For farm groups, AB 2227 is part of a broader package of labor measures they say will add costs and compliance burdens in a year when growers are already facing high wage, housing, water, energy and regulatory costs.
