Section 1683.

(a) A person shall not act as a farm labor contractor until a license to do so has been issued to the person by the Labor Commissioner and the license is in full force and effect and in the person's possession. The Labor Commissioner shall provide by regulation a means of issuing duplicate licenses in case of loss of the original license or any other appropriate instances.

(b) (1) A person who violates this section is subject to a civil penalty as follows:

(A) For any initial citation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person, plus one hundred dollars ($100) for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(B) For a second citation, two hundred dollars ($200) for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person, plus two hundred dollars ($200) for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).

(C) For a third or subsequent citation, five hundred dollars ($500) for each farmworker employed by the unlicensed person, plus five hundred dollars ($500) for each calendar day that a violation occurs, for a total penalty not to exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).

(2) If, upon inspection or investigation, the Labor Commissioner determines that a person has violated this section, the Labor Commissioner shall issue a citation. The procedures for issuing, contesting, and enforcing citations or civil penalties issued by the Labor Commissioner for a violation of this section are the same as those described in Section 1197.1.

(3) The civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Farmworker Remedial Account and shall be available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of this chapter.

(4) The civil penalties provided for in this section are in addition to any other penalty provided by law.

(c) For purposes of this section, "license" includes a letter of authorization issued by the Labor Commissioner pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1695.7.

(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 857, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2013.)