Farm Labor Bond
A Farm Labor Contractor Bond / Farm Labor Bond (Form DLSE 402) must be
executed by a bonding company. The original must be submitted with the FLC
License Application.
All signatures (both that of the bonding company representative and that of
the principal [license applicant]) must be notarized. The name of the legal
entity shown on the bond must be the same as that of the entity applying for
the license.
Farm Labor Contractor Bonding: Bond amounts required to obtain an Farm Labor
License are:
$25,000 for annual payrolls of up to $500,000
$50,000 for annual payrolls between $500,000-$2 million
$75,000 for annual payrolls of more than $2 million
Farm Labor Contractor Bond Form CA
Farm Labor Contractor Registration and License Requirement
Federal registration and a state license are required before one may operate
as a farm laborer or farm labor contractor (FLC). The United States
Department of Labor,
Wage and Hour Division (WHD), registers FLCs. The California Department of
Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE),
licenses FLCs, including day haulers (i.e., persons transporting farm
workers for a fee). Federal Registration: Every FLC doing business in
California, and every person performing contracting duties for an FLC, must
be registered with the WHD. Registration applications are available at the
local office of the U.S. Department of Labor and are usually available at
local offices of the California Employment Development Department.
Registration Requirement under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA)
The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) covers
such things as safety and health standards for migrant worker housing,
transportation safety, disclosing the terms and conditions of employment to
migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, properly paying covered workers,
and making and keeping accurate payroll records. Generally, the MSPA applies
to any person (or business) who recruits, solicits, hires, employs,
furnishes, or transports migrant or seasonal agricultural workers (the MSPA
refers to these activities as “farm labor contracting activities”).
Under the MSPA, migrant agricultural workers are those employed in
agricultural work of a seasonal or temporary nature who cannot return to
their permanent residence at night because of the distance involved.
Seasonal agricultural workers also are employed in agricultural work of a
seasonal or temporary nature, but who are able to return to their permanent
residence at night.
Before performing any “farm labor contracting activities,” farm labor
contractors are required to apply to the U.S. Department of Labor for a
Certificate of Registration authorizing the applicant to engage in “farm
labor contracting activities.” Persons employed by farm labor contractors
(farm labor contractor employees) to perform such activities on behalf of
the contractor are also required to register with the Department.
Application for a Certificate of Registration is made by completing and
submitting the required application form (Form WH-530). Form WH-530 can be
obtained electronically from this site or by contacting the nearest office
of the Wage and Hour Division. The form can also be obtained from any local
office of the state workforce agency or employment service.
Certain persons and organizations, such as small businesses meeting the
exemption criteria of 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(6)(A), are exempt from the Act and
are not required to register as farm labor contractors. In addition,
establishments meeting the MSPA definition of an “agricultural association”
or “agricultural employer,” are not required to register as a farm labor
contractor. Contact the Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-4US-WAGE
(1-866-487-9243), TTY: 1-877-889-5627, if you have any questions as to
whether you must register with the U.S. Department of Labor as a farm labor
contractor.
Submission of Application Federal
If the applicants permanent place of residence is in Alaska, Arkansas,
Arizona, American Samoa, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho,
Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota,
Texas, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming, the application should be sent to:
U.S. Department of Labor
Wage Hour Division
Western Farm Labor Certificate Processing
90 Seventh Street Suite 13-100
San Francisco, CA 94103
Note: Effective November 1, 2015, applicants with permanent place of
residence in the following states should also send applications to the San
Francisco office: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, or Wisconsin.
If the applicants permanent place of residence is anywhere else in the
country, then the application should be sent to the following address:
Send first class mail, certified mail, and USPS Express Mail to:
U.S. Department of Labor
Wage Hour Division
Southeast Farm Labor Certificate Processing
P. O. Box 56447
Atlanta, GA 30343-0447
State of California Applicants
Department of Industrial Relations
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement – Licensing
455 Golden Gate Avenue, 8th Floor East
San Francisco, CA 94102
Phone: (415) 703-4854