Howard R. Rosenberg
To obtain a farm labor contracting license in California requires filing a written application, paying a $350 annual license fee, depositing a $10,000 surety bond, undergoing an investigation of character and responsibility, and passing a test of knowledge essential to the occupation. These requirements do not, however, always translate into effective influence on the behavior of first-line supervisors - known as foremen, crew bosses, or mayordomos - who are responsible for the bulk of day-to-day employee relations in all but the smallest FLC businesses. Although contractors may be held accountable for the conduct of these supervisors acting as their agents, crew bosses often operate with a large degree of autonomy.
A new law signed by Governor Wilson in September, and effective January 1993, explicitly obligates licensed labor contractors to provide all their supervisory employees with training on laws that regulate terms and conditions of agricultural employment, including worker safety. Introduced as AB 3146 by Assemblyman Areias last February, this modification of the Labor Code also expands the scope of the FLC licensing examination, directs the Labor Commissioner to suspend contractor licenses for two failures within five years to pay wages due, and establishes a phone information line to advise workers or growers about individual FLC compliance with applicable laws.
Will FLCs be expected to cover with their supervisors all of the myriad laws that pertain to hiring, wage determination, payroll deductions, meal and rest periods, workers' compensation, disability and unemployment insurances, discipline and discharge, transportation, housing, child labor, collective bargaining, and more? How much information on any topic that is included will be enough? In what form is it to be given - will a one-sheet summary of everything be sufficient, or should contractors start booking classroom space? The newly enacted statute does not have answers to these questions. Guidelines are awaited from the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to clarify standards of adequacy for content and method of the required training.
A legislative measure that would have involved the government much more directly in the control of FLC supervisory employees was vetoed by the Governor in September. With objectives overlapping those of AB 3146, this rejected bill (AB 1544) had proposed to require licensing and bonding of every such labor contractor employee or agent. It would also have nearly tripled the FLC license fee and established a new agricultural enforcement unit in the state Department of Industrial Relations. Specifications for this unit would have created and set staffing levels for four permanent field offices, ordered outreach to individuals and worker groups, and targeted farm labor contractors for a compliance campaign to be completed by July 1, 1993.
By administrative initiative, rather than legislation, DIR had already implemented a few of the ideas contained in AB 1544. Since last April the Department has had a toll-free telephone line, staffed by bilingual personnel, for farm worker use to inquire about their rights and report labor law violations. It has given extra scrutiny to farm labor contractors through a special mail audit of payroll records and customer lists, and through an effort to identify unlicensed contractors. Results of this program, with which more than 80 percent of all state licensed FLCs have complied, are being used in choosing contractors for on-site inspection.
Coordination of worker protection activity by DIR and other public agencies has recently been formalized in a new Targeted Industries Program (see article on page 7). "TIP" is stepping up labor law enforcement in agriculture more generally and in garment manufacturing, beginning November 1, 1992.
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