Farm labor contractors: surety bonds

Higher bonds provide greater financial backing for farmworkers’ wage, damages, and other monetary claims. The law also makes penalties apply more clearly to violations by licensed contractors as well as unlicensed operators.

What the law does ​

• Raises required surety bonds to $50,000, $100,000, or $150,000 based on annual payroll, doubling the prior amounts.
• Requires contractors to deposit the applicable bond when first registering or applying for their first annual renewal.
• Applies citation penalties for violations of farm labor contractor laws, unless another penalty is specified, based on each farmworker employed by an unlicensed person or licensed contractor.
• Requires the Labor Commissioner to publish active bond details from the prior five years in the public contractor-license database.
• Requires the Labor Commissioner to tell workers who file claims how to access available surety bonds.

Who it affects ​

• Farm labor contractors seeking initial licenses or annual renewals.
• Agricultural workers with wage, damages, or other monetary claims against contractors.
• The Labor Commissioner, which administers bonds, citations, disclosures, and the public database.