§ 9998.1.5. — 9998.1.5. (Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 190, Sec. 5.)

California § 9998.1.5.

• Jurisdiction: California
• Code BPC: Business and Professions Code - BPC
• Div. 3.: DIVISION 3. PROFESSIONS AND VOCATIONS GENERALLY
• Ch. 21.5.: CHAPTER 21.5. Foreign Labor Contractors

Text

(a)
(1)
On and after July 1, 2016, a person acting as a foreign labor contractor shall register with the Labor Commissioner in accordance with the terms and procedures for registration established by the commissioner by January 1, 2016.
(2)
On and after July 1, 2027, a person who is licensed or acting as a farm labor contractor pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1682) of Part 6 of Division 2 of the Labor Code and who performs foreign labor contracting activities shall register with the Labor Commissioner pursuant to the terms and procedures for registration described in paragraph (1).
(3)
In registering a person already licensed as a farm labor contractor pursuant
to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1682) of Part 6 of Division 2 of the Labor Code as a foreign labor contractor pursuant to paragraph (2), the Labor Commissioner has discretion, to the extent feasible for the efficient administration of the program, to eliminate duplicative application information requirements for information previously obtained from the farm labor contractor’s license application if both of the following conditions are met:
(A)
The applicant provides their farm labor contractor license number.
(B)
The applicant attests that there are no changes to the information previously provided to the Labor Commissioner.
(4)
The commissioner shall post on its internet website the names and contact information for all registered foreign labor contractors and a list of the names and contact information for
any foreign labor contractors denied renewal or registration.
(b)
The Labor Commissioner may not register a person to act as a foreign labor contractor, and may not renew a registration, until all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(1)
The person has executed a written application in a form prescribed by the commissioner, subscribed and sworn to by the person, and containing all of the following:
(A)
A statement by the person of all facts required by the commissioner concerning the applicant’s character, competency, responsibility, and the manner and means by which the person proposes to conduct operations as a foreign labor contractor if registered.
(B)
The names and addresses of all persons, except bona fide employees on stated salaries,
financially interested, either as partners, associates, or profit sharers, in the proposed operation as a foreign labor contractor, together with the amount of their respective interests.
(C)
A declaration consenting to the designation by a court or the commissioner as an agent available to accept service of summons in any action against the registrant, if the registrant has left the jurisdiction in which the action is commenced or otherwise has become unavailable to accept service.
(D)
On and after July 1, 2027, a listing of each federal visa program under which the person will be performing foreign labor contractor activities.
(2)
The commissioner, after investigation, is satisfied as to the character, competency, and responsibility of the person.
(3)
(A)
The person has deposited with the commissioner a surety bond in an amount based on the size of the person’s annual gross receipts from operations as a foreign labor contractor, as follows:
(i)
For gross receipts up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), a fifty-thousand-dollar ($50,000) bond.
(ii)
For gross receipts of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to two million dollars ($2,000,000), a one-hundred-thousand-dollar ($100,000) bond.
(iii)
For gross receipts greater than two million dollars ($2,000,000), a one-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar ($150,000) bond.
(B)
If the foreign labor contractor has been the subject of a final judgment in a year in an amount equal to that of the bond required, that
contractor shall be required to deposit an additional bond within 60 days. The bond shall be payable to the people of the State of California and shall be conditioned on the foreign labor contractor complying with all the terms and provisions of this chapter and paying all damages occasioned to any person by failure to do so, or by any violation of this chapter, or false statements or misrepresentations made in the registration process. The bond shall also be payable for interest on wages and for any damages arising from violation of applicable orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission, and for any other monetary relief awarded to a foreign worker as a result of a violation of law by the foreign labor contractor.
(4)
The person has paid to the commissioner a registration fee and a filing fee in a total amount the commissioner determines is sufficient to support the ongoing costs of the program.
(c)
The commissioner may not register a person as a foreign labor contractor, if the person was found by a court, the Secretary of Labor, or the commissioner to have violated any of the following provisions:
(1)
The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Division A, Public Law 106-386), as amended.
(2)
Sections 1682 to 1699, inclusive, of the Labor Code.
(3)
Section 236.1 of the Penal Code.
(4)
An applicable guest worker program.

Legislative History

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 190, Sec. 5. (AB 1362) Effective January 1, 2026.