Labor Recruiter Accountability Act of 2003
Latest action · Jan 30, 2004 Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 19, 2003
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Labor Recruiter Accountability Act of 2003 - Requires foreign labor contractors (recruiters) and employers to accurately inform foreign workers of specified terms and conditions of their employment at the time they are recruited. Requires such information to be provided in written form in English or, as necessary and reasonable, in the language of the worker being recruited.
Prohibits charging fees to workers for recruitment.
Requires employers to pay such a worker's transportation costs, including subsistence costs during the period of travel: (1) from the place of recruitment to the place of employment; and (2) from the place of employment to the worker's place of permanent residence.
Requires employers to notify the Secretary of Labor of the identity of: (1) any recruiter involved in any foreign labor contractor activity for or on behalf of the employer; and (2) any such recruiter whose activities do not comply with this Act. Subjects employers to the civil remedies of this Act for violations committed by such recruiters to the same extent as if the employers had committed the violations. Directs the Secretary to: (1) maintain a public list of recruiters whom the Secretary knows or believes have been involved in violations of this Act; and (2) provide a procedure for removal of a recruiter's name from the list upon demonstration that such recruiter has not been in violation in the previous five years.
Provides for criminal fines and imprisonment for knowing violations. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) assess civil fines; and (2) seek injunctive relief and specific performance of contractual obligations to assure employer compliance.
Provides that rights and remedies under this Act are in addition to any other contractual or statutory rights and remedies of workers who are subject to foreign labor contracting activity.
Cosponsors 35
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Nov 19, 2003 to Dec 8, 2003, with 33 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-MA | Bill Delahunt | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-TX | Ciro D. Rodriguez | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-MI | Dale E. Kildee | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-TX | Gene Green | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-CA | Howard L. Berman | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-CA | Joe Baca | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-MA | John F. Tierney | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
| D-NY | Joseph Crowley | Original | Nov 19, 2003 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 30, 2004Referred to the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations.
- Nov 20, 2003Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E2341)
- Nov 19, 2003Introduced in House
- Nov 19, 2003Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Alien labor
- Civil actions and liability
- Commerce
- Contractors
- Crime and Law Enforcement
- Directories
- Disciplining of employees
- Discrimination in employment
- Dismissal of employees
- Employee benefit plans
- Employee rights
- Employee training
- Employers' liability
- Fees
- Fines (Penalties)
- Fraud
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government paperwork
- Government publicity
- Housing and Community Development
- Immigration
- Industrial relations
- Injunctions
- Labor and Employment
- Labor disputes
- Law
- Lockouts
- Recidivists
- Recruiting of employees
- Transportation and Public Works
- Travel costs
- Wages
- Whistle blowing
- Witnesses
- Workers' compensation
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.