AB2227 - Farm labor contractors: surety bonds.

Enrolled September 02, 2026 Passed IN Senate August 27, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 28, 2026 Amended IN Senate August 13, 2026 Amended IN Senate June 15, 2026 Amended IN Assembly May 18, 2026 Amended IN Assembly April 09, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 2227 Introduced by Assembly Member Connolly (Coauthors: Assembly Members Elhawary and Kalra) (Coauthor: Senator Durazo) February 19, 2026 An act to amend Sections 1683 and 1684 of the Labor Code, relating to farm labor contractors. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2227, Connolly. Farm labor contractors: surety bonds. 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 provides that a person who violates the above-described provision is subject to a civil penalty, including, for any initial citation, $100 for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person, plus $100 for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed $10,000. This bill would instead provide that a person who violates employment laws applicable to farm labor contractors, unless otherwise specified, is subject to a civil penalty, including, for any initial citation, $100 for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person or licensed farm labor contractor, plus $100 for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed $10,000. 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, for payrolls up to $500,000, a $50,000 bond, for payrolls of $500,000 to $2,000,000, a $100,000 bond, and for payrolls greater than $2,000,000, a $150,000 bond. The bill would require the bond amounts to be deposited when a farm labor contractor first registers or files the application for their first annual renewal. The bill would require the Labor Commissioner to, among other things, include bond information on the public farm labor contractor license database, as described. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 1683 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 1683. (a) A person shall not act as a farm labor contractor until a license to do so has been issued to the person by the Labor Commissioner and the license is in full force and effect and in the person’s possession. The Labor Commissioner shall provide by regulation a means of issuing duplicate licenses in case of loss of the original license or any other appropriate instances. (b) (1) A person who violates this section or any provision of this chapter unless otherwise specified, is subject to a civil penalty as follows: (A) For any initial citation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person or licensed farm labor contractor, plus one hundred dollars ($100) for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (B) For a second citation, two hundred dollars ($200) for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person or licensed farm labor contractor, plus two hundred dollars ($200) for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). (C) For a third or subsequent citation, five hundred dollars ($500) for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person or licensed farm labor contractor, plus five hundred dollars ($500) for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). (2) If, upon inspection or investigation, the Labor Commissioner determines that a person has violated this section or any other section of this chapter unless otherwise specified, the Labor Commissioner shall issue a citation. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing citations or civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner for a violation of this section or any other section of this chapter unless otherwise specified are the same as those described in Section 1197.1. (3) The civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Farmworker Remedial Account and shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of this chapter. (4) The civil penalties provided for in this section are in addition to any other penalty provided by law. (c) For purposes of this section, “license” includes a letter of authorization issued by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1695.7. SEC. 2. Section 1684 of the Labor Code is amended to read: 1684. (a) The Labor Commissioner shall not issue to any person a license to act as a farm labor contractor, nor shall the Labor Commissioner renew that license, until all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The person has executed a written application in a form prescribed by the Labor 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 Labor Commissioner concerning the applicant’s character, competency, and responsibility, and the manner and method by which the person proposes to conduct operations as a farm labor contractor if the license is issued. (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 farm labor contractor, together with the amount of their respective interests. (C) A declaration consenting to the designation by a court of the Labor Commissioner as an agent available to accept service of summons in any action against the licensee if the licensee has left the jurisdiction in which the action is commenced or otherwise has become unavailable to accept service. (D) The names and addresses of all persons who in the previous calendar year performed any services described in subdivision (b) of Section 1682 within the scope of their employment by the licensee on whose behalf they were acting, unless the person was employed as an independent contractor. (2) The Labor Commissioner, after investigation, is satisfied as to the character, competency, and responsibility of the person. (3) (A) The person has deposited with the Labor Commissioner a surety bond in an amount based on the size of the person’s annual payroll for all employees, as follows: (i) For payrolls up to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000), a fifty-thousand-dollar ($50,000) bond. (ii) For payrolls of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to two million dollars ($2,000,000), a one-hundred-thousand-dollar ($100,000) bond. (iii) For payrolls greater than two million dollars ($2,000,000), a one-hundred-fifty-thousand-dollar ($150,000) bond. (iv) The bond amounts in this subparagraph shall be deposited when a farm labor contractor first registers or files the application for their first annual renewal. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, the Labor Commissioner shall require documentation of the size of the person’s annual payroll, which may include, but is not limited to, information provided by the person to the Employment Development Department, the Franchise Tax Board, the Division of Workers’ Compensation, the insurer providing the licensee’s workers’ compensation insurance, or the Internal Revenue Service. (C) If the contractor has been the subject of a final judgment in a year in an amount equal to or greater than the amount of the bond required, they shall be required to deposit an additional bond within 60 days. (D) All bonds required under this chapter shall be payable to the people of the State of California and shall be conditioned upon the farm labor contractor’s compliance with all the terms and provisions of this chapter and subdivisions (j) and (k) of Section 12940 of, and Sections 12950 and 12950.1 of, the Government Code, and payment of all damages occasioned to any person by failure to do so, or by any violation of this chapter or of subdivision (j) or (k) of Section 12940 of, or of Section 12950 or 12950.1 of, the Government Code, or any violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352), or false statements or misrepresentations made in the procurement of the license. The bond shall also be payable for 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 this code or of subdivision (j) or (k) of Section 12940 of, or Section 12950 or 12950.1 of, the Government Code, or any violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352). (E) The Labor Commissioner shall include bond information on the public farm labor contractor license database, including the bond number, effective and expiration dates, bond size, and contact information for the surety company for all active bonds for the previous five years. (F) The Labor Commissioner shall disclose information about the availability of the surety bond and the process to access the surety bond to any worker that has filed a claim against a farm labor contractor. (4) The person has paid to the Labor Commissioner a license fee of five hundred dollars ($500) plus a filing fee of ten dollars ($10). However, when a timely application for renewal is filed, the ten-dollar ($10) filing fee is not required. The license fee shall increase by one hundred dollars ($100), to six hundred dollars ($600), on January 1, 2015. The amount attributable to this increase shall be expended by the Labor Commissioner to fund the Farm Labor Contractor Enforcement Unit and the Farm Labor Contractor License Verification Unit. The Labor Commissioner shall deposit one hundred fifty dollars ($150) of each licensee’s annual license fee into the Farmworker Remedial Account. Funds from this account shall be disbursed by the Labor Commissioner only to persons determined by the Labor Commissioner to have been damaged by any licensee or to persons determined by the Labor Commissioner to have been damaged by an unlicensed farm labor contractor. (A) In making these determinations, the Labor Commissioner shall disburse funds from the Farmworker Remedial Account to satisfy claims against farm labor contractors or unlicensed farm labor contractors, which shall include unpaid wages, interest on wages, and any damages or other monetary relief arising from the violation of orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission or from a violation of this code, including statutory penalties recoverable by an employee determined to be due to an agricultural worker and for all damages arising from any violation of subdivision (j) or (k) of Section 12940 of, or of Section 12950 or 12950.1 of, the Government Code, or any violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public Law 88-352). (B) A disbursement shall be made pursuant to a claim for recovery from the account in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Labor Commissioner. (C) Disbursed funds subsequently recovered from a liable party by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to Section 1693, or otherwise, shall be returned to the Farmworker Remedial Account. (5) The person has taken a written examination that demonstrates an essential degree of knowledge of the current laws and administrative regulations concerning farm labor contractors as the Labor Commissioner deems necessary for the safety and protection of farmers, farmworkers, and the public, including the identification and prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. To successfully complete the examinations, the person must correctly answer at least 85 percent of the questions posed. The examination period shall not exceed four hours. The examination may only be taken a maximum of three times in a calendar year. The examinations shall include a demonstration of knowledge of the current laws and regulations regarding wages, hours, and working conditions, penalties, employee housing and transportation, collective bargaining, field sanitation, and safe work practices related to pesticide use, including all of the following subjects: (A) Field reentry regulations. (B) Worker pesticide safety training. (C) Employer responsibility for safe working conditions. (D) Symptoms and appropriate treatment of pesticide poisoning. (6) The person has registered as a farm labor contractor pursuant to the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1801 et seq.), when registration is required pursuant to federal law, and that information is provided by the person to the Labor Commissioner. (7) Each of the person’s employees has registered as a farm labor contractor employee pursuant to the federal Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1801 et seq.) if that registration is required pursuant to federal law, and that information is provided by the person to the Labor Commissioner. (8) (A) The person has executed a written statement, that has been provided to the Labor Commissioner, attesting that the person’s supervisorial employees, including any supervisor, crewleader, mayordomo, foreperson, or other employee whose duties include the supervision, direction, or control of agricultural employees, have been trained at least once for at least two hours each calendar year in the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace, and that all new nonsupervisorial employees, including agricultural employees, have been trained at the time of hire, and that all nonsupervisorial employees, including agricultural employees, have been trained at least once every two years in identifying, preventing, and reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. (B) Sexual harassment prevention training shall consist of training [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]