State proposes boosting scrutiny of farm labor contractors

YAKIMA - Farm labor contractors would be subject to background checks and new requirements under draft legislation proposed by the state Department of Labor and Industries.

While the state does not receive an inordinate number of complaints about unlicensed farm labor contractors, past experience indicates they are operating, said Richard Ervin, the agency's program manager for employment standards.

"I hear from licensed contractors that we have an unlevel playing field in Washington state, and that it's hard for them to compete with unlicensed folks who are paying workers under the table, not taking out taxes and probably shorting the workers as well," Ervin said in a telephone interview Wednesday with the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Oregon has nearly 300 licensed farm labor contractors, compared to only about 120 in Washington. However, Washington's total agricultural production is 75 percent greater than Oregon's.

"That tells me we have a problem with unlicensed contractors," Ervin said.

Oregon also has five full-time workers dedicated to regulating farm labor contractors. In Washington, those duties are shared among workers performing other tasks.

An expected increase in the use of farm labor contractors by agricultural employers, who are struggling with a tight labor supply, is another reason to strengthen the law, Ervin said.

A number of Washington farmers turned to contractors this season -- some for the first time -- to recruit foreign workers under a federal guest-worker program.

Under the proposed state legislation, labor contractors would be required to post a repatriation bond to cover room and board for guest workers awaiting return to their native countries, as well as travel expenses.

Fees that contractors could charge workers also would be capped at 25 percent of gross wages for an employee's first 180 hours of work. Based on next year's minimum wage of $7.93 an hour, a worker would gross about $1,427 in the first 180 hours, putting the maximum fee that could be collected at about $357.

The existing Farm Labor Contractor Act puts no cap on fees, but contractors must post a bond to ensure that wages owed can be covered. Required amounts range from $5,000 for up to 10 employees to $20,000 for 100 employees or more.

The proposed changes will be presented to the 2007 Legislature, which convenes Jan. 8.

State officials have already had a high-profile dispute with one farm labor contractor, Los Angeles-based Global Horizons. The company brought about 260 workers from Thailand to the Yakima Valley in 2004 and 2005.

The state revoked the company's license last December, saying it failed to correct labor and insurance-law violations in a timely manner. Among the violations was a failure to fully reimburse workers' travel expenses for returning to Thailand.

Global is fighting the decision.

"One of the problems with Global is that they were out of compliance until we ran into them," Ervin said. "In my view, it would have been a lot better if we had been able to do something on the front end rather than enter that in the middle like we had to."

Dan Fazio of the Washington State Farm Bureau said his members would oppose the changes for a number of reasons. "It's further regulation on a program that already has too many regulations," Fazio said.

He contends there is no evidence that a problem exists. "Making it harder for people to register to be a farm labor contractor is not going to make it easier to reach a group or person that chooses to be an outlaw," Fazio said.

To enforce the new provisions, the state will propose hiring two full-time employees to screen applicants for farm-labor licenses and monitor their activities as they recruit and manage workers.