Survivors of labor abuse, legislators, business leaders, and rights advocates are celebrating a historic victory: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed ground-breaking legislation into law following tireless campaigning by Freedom United and partners.

For too long, foreign labor recruiters operated in California without accountability, enabling the unscrupulous to exploit workers from abroad into California’s thriving agriculture sector with little fear of repercussion. Now, California has become the first state in the nation to directly oversee foreign labor recruiters—a huge step forward offering protection to tens of thousands of workers, preventing labor exploitation and human trafficking before it even begins.

Ground-breaking legislation raises the bar

The newly signed law AB 1362 introduced by Assembly member Kalra, requires recruiters of agricultural workers to register with the state and post a bond. These critical safeguards will strengthen protections for the 40,000 to 50,000 farmworkers California recruits each year. Advocates explain that this will create “a vetted system” that hiring companies can trust to keep exploitation out of their supply chains and create a level playing field for responsible recruiters.

Speaking about how these changes will help prevent modern slavery, El Latino reports CIERTO Executive Director Joe Martinez said: 

“With this law, incentives for recruiters who deceive are eliminated and responsible businesses are strengthened”

At a time when the federal government has been stripping away protections for immigrant and agricultural workers, California is taking bold leadership. Rights advocates hope this law will serve as a model for the entire country to keep labor abuse and trafficking out of the hiring process whilst protections for many are weakening.

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