An act to amend Sections 9998.1, 9998.1.5, 9998.8, and 9998.10 of, to add and repeal Section 9998.12 of, and to repeal and add Section 9998 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to foreign labor contractors.
AB 1362 revises California’s foreign labor contractor registration law to extend its protections to agricultural workers recruited under the federal H-2A visa program, beginning July 1, 2027. The bill keeps the existing framework for foreign labor contractors—registration with the Labor Commissioner, disclosure requirements, surety bonds, and enforcement tools—but broadens who is covered and requires registrants to identify each federal visa program under which they operate. It also requires farm labor contractors who perform foreign labor contracting activities to register under this chapter, while allowing the Labor Commissioner to streamline duplicate application information where possible.
The bill is grounded in legislative findings that foreign recruiters have charged illegal fees, misrepresented work terms, and contributed to labor exploitation and human trafficking. It cites Senate Bill 477 as the original but imperfect attempt to regulate foreign labor recruitment and argues that H-2A workers have been especially vulnerable. AB 1362 also directs the Department of Industrial Relations to submit a study by January 1, 2028, on whether and how to extend registration requirements to additional visa categories not already covered by the chapter.
In terms of state law, AB 1362 amends the Business and Professions Code provisions governing foreign labor contractors, expands the scope of an existing regulatory and criminal scheme, and adds enforcement authority for the Labor Commissioner, including citations and civil actions. Because violations remain misdemeanors and civil penalties apply, the bill is treated as creating or expanding a state-mandated local program, though it states that no reimbursement is required. It also preserves existing remedies and does not preempt other state or federal causes of action.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill’s movement is broadly supportive. It passed committees and floor votes with clear majorities, suggesting substantial legislative agreement with the goal of protecting vulnerable foreign agricultural workers and closing a perceived gap in current law. The bill’s findings emphasize worker protection, anti-trafficking enforcement, and fairness to ethical employers, which likely helped drive support.
The main point of contention appears to be scope and implementation rather than the underlying policy goal. The bill acknowledges that current law does not cover many visa categories and delays the H-2A expansion until 2027, which suggests concern about administrative readiness and compliance burdens. The required study on further expansion also indicates unresolved questions about costs, staffing, data access, and how far the registration regime should ultimately reach.
AB 1362 expands the Business and Professions Code’s foreign labor contractor registration system to cover H-2A agricultural workers and certain farm labor contractors who recruit abroad, while preserving the existing H-2B coverage. It increases disclosure, bonding, and registration obligations, authorizes stronger Labor Commissioner enforcement, and adds a study requirement to evaluate broader expansion to other visa programs. The bill also expands the scope of an existing misdemeanor and civil penalty structure, creating state-mandated local program implications, though it declares no reimbursement is required.
The bill appears to have enjoyed generally favorable sentiment throughout the legislative process. Committee and floor votes were mostly strong, with several unanimous or near-unanimous committee approvals and comfortable floor margins, indicating broad support for the bill’s worker-protection and anti-trafficking objectives. The legislative findings frame the measure as a corrective to an earlier drafting problem and as a response to documented exploitation in the H-2A recruitment process.
The principal areas of concern are operational and jurisdictional rather than ideological. The bill’s delayed effective date, the discretion given to the Labor Commissioner to avoid duplicative paperwork, and the mandated study on expanding coverage to additional visa programs all suggest unresolved questions about administrative capacity, costs, and enforcement logistics. Any opposition likely centered on the burden of additional registration and compliance requirements for farm labor contractors and the possibility of broader future expansion beyond H-2A workers.