Speech #970019862

It is also similar to legislation introduced last year in the House by Representative LEON PANETTA of California which gained some 160 cosponsors.Mr. President. the Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act is a problem that must be resolved. The act was originally passed by Congress to protect migrant farmworkers from being exploited and abused by Irresponsible crew leaders. acting as independent agents between these workers and agricultural employers. Under the act. crew leaders are required to register as farm labor contractors. be fingerprinted. disclose their salaries. post signs indicating the wages paid employees. give employees in writing the terms and conditions of employment. pass a special medical exam to operate a motor vehicle used to transport migrant farmworkers. and comply with numerous other requirements. The act also prohibits farm labor contractors from knowingly hiring illegal aliens. Specifically exempt from these requirements are farmers. ranchers. and other agricultural employers. including their employees. who meet certain requirements. Unfortunately. despite these exemptions. farmers. ranchers. and other agricultural employers. including their employees. have been required by the Department of Labor to register as farm labor contractors or be subject to civil and possibly criminal penalties. The result has been another laver of unnecessary Government regulation and misdirection of the Departments limited resources. One of the problems has been that the present language in the act is somewhat vague and ambiguous. which can and has resulted in gross misinterpretation. For example. the Department has interpreted the term "migrant worker" to mean anyone employed in agriculture. By this definition even members of the farm family could be considered migrant workers. Clearly. this is not what Congress intended. In fact. according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. migrant farmworkers represent less than 10 percert of the hred agricultural work force. The legislation. which I am introducing today. serves to clarify the meaning of this provision. as well as other provisions In the act. to insure its proper administration and enforcement. By doing so. it eliminates unnecessary and often overlapping regulations for farmers. ranchers. and other agricultural employers. including their employees. At the same time. it increases protections for migrant farmworkers by targeting the Department of Labors enforcement so as to require independent farm labor contractors to register and comply fully with the law. Further. it carefully preserves those protections which are now provided under separate statute. including the Fair Labor Standards Act. Occupational Safety and Health Act. and similar labor laws which apply to agriculture.