2009 California Business and Professions Code - Section 9998-9998.8 :: Chapter 21.5. Foreign Labor Contractors

9998.  This chapter shall apply only to "nonagricultural workers" as
defined by Section 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of Title 8 of the federal
Immigration and Nationality Act. It shall not apply to any person
duly licensed as a "farm labor contractor" as that term is defined in
Section 1682 of the Labor Code nor shall it apply to any person
exempt from the licensing requirement in Section 1682.5 of the Labor
Code or to any employer employing agricultural workers as defined by
Section 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of Title 8 of the federal Immigration
and Nationality Act.

9998.1.  The following definitions are applicable to this chapter:
   (a) "Person" includes any natural person, company, firm,
partnership, or joint venture, association, corporation, limited
liability company, or sole proprietorship.
   (b) "Compensation" means all forms of remuneration or
consideration for the provision of employment services to foreign
workers by a foreign labor contractor.
   (c) "Employment services" includes, but is not limited to,
procuring employment, marketing labor, or otherwise arranging the
employment or transportation, housing, and other living
accommodations for foreign workers either on behalf of those workers
or on behalf of another party.
   (d) "Foreign worker" means any person seeking employment who is
not a United States citizen but who is authorized by the federal
government to work in the United States, including a person who
engages in temporary nonagricultural labor pursuant to Section 1101
(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b) of Title 8 of the federal Immigration and
Nationality Act.
   (e) "Foreign labor contractor" means any person who for
compensation agrees to assist in securing or who actually secures for
or provides employment services to foreign workers.

9998.2.  Every contract for the provision of employment services to
foreign workers shall be written in the primary language of the
foreign worker and shall include all material terms including, but
not limited to, any and all compensation or consideration to be
provided to the foreign worker in exchange for that worker's labor or
services, any wages, housing, transportation, other living
accommodations, and other benefits which are to be provided.

9998.3.  No foreign labor contractor shall make, publish, or
circulate or cause to be made, published, or circulated, to any
person any false, fraudulent, or misleading representation or
information concerning the terms or conditions of employment at any
place or places of employment.

9998.4.  No foreign labor contractor shall recruit for employment or
cause any minor who is a foreign worker to be employed.

9998.5.  Any foreign labor contractor who recruits or solicits
without a bona fide job order and who induces a foreign worker to be
transported to a proposed jobsite and who does not then provide
employment for the foreign worker shall pay wages to the foreign
worker at the agreed rate of pay for the job to which the foreign
worker was being transported and for the elapsed time from the point
of recruitment to the jobsite to the point the worker returns to the
place of original departure, and for any transportation costs
incurred by the foreign worker in connection with the pursuit of the
labor contractor's services.

9998.6.  No person shall take any action against a foreign worker in
retaliation for the foreign worker's exercise of any right under
this chapter.

9998.7.  No foreign labor contractor shall make promises or
otherwise induce a foreign worker to travel or accept promises of
employment by promising or providing assurances to the foreign worker
that citizenship or permanent residency status in the United States
shall be secured or pursued if the worker accepts the offer of
services of the foreign labor contractor.

9998.8.  (a) Any person who violates this chapter or who causes or
induces another to violate this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000),
or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or
both.
   (b) Any person aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring
an action for injunctive relief or damages, or both. If the person
aggrieved prevails on the action, this person shall recover damages,
costs, and reasonable attorney's fees, but in no case shall recovery
be less than five hundred dollars ($500).