I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3344 

To ensure that the provision of foreign assistance does not contribute to 

human trafficking and to combat human trafficking by requiring greater 

transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 28, 2013 

Mr. ROYCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Foreign Affairs and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To ensure that the provision of foreign assistance does not 

contribute to human trafficking and to combat human 

trafficking by requiring greater transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fraudulent Overseas 

5 Recruitment and Trafficking Elimination Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 As used in this Act, the following definitions apply: 


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1 (1) FOREIGN LABOR CONTRACTING ACTIVITY.— 

2 The term ‘‘foreign labor contracting activity’’ means 

3 recruiting, soliciting, or related activities with re4 spect to an individual who resides outside of the 

5 United States in furtherance of employment in the 

6 United States, including when such activity occurs 

7 wholly outside of the United States. 

8 (2) FOREIGN LABOR CONTRACTOR.—The term 

9 ‘‘foreign labor contractor’’ means any person who 

10 performs foreign labor contracting activity, including 

11 any person who performs foreign labor contracting 

12 activity wholly outside of the United States, except 

13 that the term does not include any entity of the 

14 United States Government. 

15 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means any 

16 natural person or any corporation, company, firm, 

17 partnership, joint stock company or association or 

18 other organization or entity (whether organized 

19 under law or not), including municipal corporations. 

20 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise speci21 fied, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of 

22 Labor. 

23 (5) WORKER.—The term ‘‘worker’’ means an 

24 individual who is the subject of foreign labor con25 tracting activity and does not include an exchange 


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1 visitor (as defined in section 62.2 of title 22, Code 

2 of Federal Regulations, or any similar successor reg3 ulation). 

4 SEC. 3. ENSURING THAT FOREIGN ASSISTANCE DOES NOT 

5 CONTRIBUTE TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING. 

6 Section 106 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 

7 of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as 

9 subsections (j) and (k), respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(i) PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING IN CONJUNCTION

13 WITH FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The United States Agency 

14 for International Development and the Department of 

15 State shall make reasonable efforts to incorporate anti16 trafficking and anti-slavery priorities into other aspects of 

17 foreign assistance, including the maintenance of systems, 

18 such as appropriate supply chain monitoring, to ensure 

19 that assistance programs do not contribute to vulnerability 

20 to, or the prevalence of, human trafficking and slavery, 

21 consistent with this Act.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY IN FOREIGN RECRUITING. 

23 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR DISCLOSURE.—Any foreign 

24 labor contractor shall ascertain and disclose to each work25 er in writing in English and in the primary language of 


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1 the worker at the time of the worker’s recruitment, the 

2 following information: 

3 (1) The identity and address of the employer 

4 and the identity and address of the person con5 ducting the recruiting on behalf of the employer, in6 cluding any subcontractor or agent involved in such 

7 recruiting. 

8 (2) All assurances and terms and conditions of 

9 employment, from the prospective employer for 

10 whom the worker is being recruited, including the 

11 work hours, level of compensation to be paid, the 

12 place and period of employment, a description of the 

13 type and nature of employment activities, and any 

14 penalties for terminating employment. 

15 (3) An itemized list of any costs or expenses to 

16 be charged to the worker and any deductions to be 

17 taken from wages, including any costs for housing or 

18 accommodation, transportation to and from the 

19 worksite, meals, health insurance, workers’ com20 pensation, costs of benefits provided, medical exami21 nations, health care, tools, or safety equipment 

22 costs. 

23 (4) A signed copy of the work contract between 

24 the worker and the employer. 


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1 (5) The type of visa under which the foreign 

2 worker is to be employed, the length of time for 

3 which the visa will be valid, the terms and conditions 

4 under which the visa may be renewed, and a clear 

5 statement of any expenses associated with securing 

6 or renewing the visa. 

7 (6) Whether and the extent to which workers 

8 will be compensated through workers’ compensation, 

9 private insurance, or otherwise for injuries or death, 

10 including work-related injuries and death, during the 

11 period of employment and, if so, the name of the 

12 State workers’ compensation insurance carrier or the 

13 name of the policyholder of the private insurance, 

14 the name and the telephone number of each person 

15 who must be notified of an injury or death, and the 

16 time period within which such notice must be given. 

17 (7) A statement, in a form specified by the Sec18 retary— 

19 (A) stating that— 

20 (i) no foreign labor contractor, agent, 

21 or employee of a foreign labor contractor, 

22 may lawfully assess any fee (including visa 

23 fees, processing fees, transportation fees, 

24 legal expenses, placement fees, and other 


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1 costs) to a worker for any foreign labor 

2 contracting activity; and 

3 (ii) the employer may bear such costs 

4 or fees for the foreign labor contractor, but 

5 that these fees cannot be passed along to 

6 the worker; 

7 (B) explaining that— 

8 (i) no additional significant require9 ments or changes may be made to the 

10 original contract signed by the worker 

11 without at least 24 hours to consider such 

12 changes and the specific consent of the 

13 worker, obtained voluntarily and without 

14 threat of penalty; and 

15 (ii) any significant changes made to 

16 the original contract that do not comply 

17 with clause (i) shall be a violation of this 

18 Act and be subject to the provisions of sec19 tion 10 of this Act; and 

20 (C) describing the protections afforded the 

21 worker by this section and by section 202 of the 

22 William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protec23 tion Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 

24 1375b) and any applicable visa program, in25 cluding— 


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1 (i) relevant information about the pro2 cedure for filing a complaint provided for 

3 in section 10; and 

4 (ii) the telephone number for the na5 tional human trafficking resource center 

6 hotline number. 

7 (8) Any education or training to be provided or 

8 required, including— 

9 (A) the nature, timing, and cost of such 

10 training; 

11 (B) the person who will pay such costs; 

12 (C) whether the training is a condition of 

13 employment, continued employment, or future 

14 employment; and 

15 (D) whether the worker will be paid or re16 munerated during the training period, including 

17 the rate of pay. 

18 (b) RELATIONSHIP TO LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

19 LAWS.—Nothing in the disclosure required by subsection 

20 (a) shall constitute a legal conclusion as to the worker’s 

21 status or rights under any labor or employment law. 

22 (c) PROHIBITION ON FALSE AND MISLEADING IN23 FORMATION.—No foreign labor contractor or employer 

24 who engages in any foreign labor contracting activity shall 

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1 tion to any worker concerning any matter required to be 

2 disclosed under subsection (a). The disclosure required by 

3 this section is a document concerning the proper adminis4 tration of a matter within the jurisdiction of a department 

5 or agency of the United States for the purposes of section 

6 1519 of title 18, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 5. RECRUITMENT FEES. 

8 No employer, foreign labor contractor, or agent or 

9 employee of a foreign labor contractor, shall assess any 

10 fee (including visa fees, processing fees, transportation 

11 fees, legal expenses, placement fees, and other costs) to 

12 a worker for any foreign labor contracting activity. 

13 SEC. 6. REGISTRATION. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENT TO REGISTER.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

16 prior to engaging in any foreign labor contracting 

17 activity, any person who is a foreign labor contractor 

18 or who, for any money or other valuable consider19 ation paid or promised to be paid, performs a for20 eign labor contracting activity on behalf of a foreign 

21 labor contractor, shall obtain a certificate of reg22 istration from the Secretary of Labor pursuant to 

23 regulations promulgated by the Secretary under sub24 section (c). 


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1 (2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYERS.—An 

2 employer, or employee of an employer, who engages 

3 in foreign labor contracting activity solely to find 

4 workers for that employer’s own use, and without 

5 the participation of any other foreign labor con6 tractor, shall not be required to register under this 

7 section. 

8 (b) NOTIFICATION.— 

9 (1) ANNUAL EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION.—Each 

10 employer shall notify the Secretary, not less fre11 quently than once every year, of the identity of any 

12 foreign labor contractor involved in any foreign labor 

13 contracting activity for, or on behalf of, the em14 ployer, including at a minimum, the name and ad15 dress of the foreign labor contractor, a description of 

16 the services for which the foreign labor contractor is 

17 being used, whether the foreign labor contractor is 

18 to receive any economic compensation for the serv19 ices, and, if so, the identity of the person or entity 

20 who is paying for the services. 

21 (2) ANNUAL FOREIGN LABOR CONTRACTOR NO22 TIFICATION.—Each foreign labor contractor shall 

23 notify the Secretary, not less frequently than once 

24 every year, of the identity of any subcontractor, 

25 agent, or foreign labor contractor employee involved 


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1 in any foreign labor contracting activity for, or on 

2 behalf of, the foreign labor contractor. 

3 (3) NONCOMPLIANCE NOTIFICATION.—An em4 ployer shall notify the Secretary of the identity of a 

5 foreign labor contractor whose activities do not com6 ply with this Act. 

7 (4) AGREEMENT.—Not later than 7 days after 

8 receiving a request from the Secretary, an employer 

9 shall provide the Secretary with the identity of any 

10 foreign labor contractor with which the employer has 

11 a contract or other agreement. 

12 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall pro14 mulgate regulations to establish an efficient electronic 

15 process for the timely investigation and approval of an ap16 plication for a certificate of registration of foreign labor 

17 contractors, including— 

18 (1) a declaration, subscribed and sworn to by 

19 the applicant, stating the applicant’s permanent 

20 place of residence, the foreign labor contracting ac21 tivities for which the certificate is requested, and 

22 such other relevant information as the Secretary 

23 may require; 

24 (2) a set of fingerprints of the applicant; 


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1 (3) an expeditious means to update registra2 tions and renew certificates; 

3 (4) providing for the consent of any foreign 

4 labor contractor to the designation by a court of the 

5 Secretary as an agent available to accept service of 

6 summons in any action against the applicant, if the 

7 applicant has left the jurisdiction in which the action 

8 is commenced, otherwise has become unavailable to 

9 accept service, or is subject to personal jurisdiction 

10 in no State; 

11 (5) providing for the consent of any foreign 

12 labor contractor to jurisdiction in any Federal or 

13 State court in the United States for any action 

14 brought by any aggrieved individual or worker; 

15 (6) providing for cooperation in any investiga16 tion by the Secretary or other appropriate authori17 ties; 

18 (7) providing for consent to the forfeiture of 

19 any bond for failure to cooperate with these provi20 sions; 

21 (8) providing for consent to be liable for viola22 tions of this Act by any agents or subcontractors of 

23 any level in relation to the foreign labor contracting 

24 activity of the agent or subcontractor to the same 


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1 extent as if the foreign labor contractor had com2 mitted the violation; and 

3 (9) providing for consultation with other appro4 priate Federal agencies to determine whether any 

5 reason exists to deny registration to a foreign labor 

6 contractor. 

7 (d) TERM OF REGISTRATION.—Unless suspended or 

8 revoked, a certificate under this section shall be valid for 

9 2 years. 

10 (e) APPLICATION FEE.— 

11 (1) REQUIREMENT FOR FEE.—In addition to 

12 any other fees authorized by law, the Secretary shall 

13 impose a fee, to be deposited in the general fund of 

14 the Treasury, on a foreign labor contractor that sub15 mits an application for a certificate of registration 

16 under this section. 

17 (2) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The amount of the fee 

18 required by paragraph (1) shall be set at a level that 

19 the Secretary determines sufficient to cover the full 

20 costs of carrying out foreign labor contract registra21 tion activities under this Act, including worker edu22 cation and any additional costs associated with the 

23 administration of the fees collected. 

24 (f) REFUSAL TO ISSUE; REVOCATION.—In accord25 ance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, the 


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1 Secretary shall refuse to issue or renew, or shall revoke 

2 and debar from eligibility to obtain a certificate of reg3 istration for a period of not greater than 5 years, after 

4 notice and an opportunity for a hearing, a certificate of 

5 registration under this section if— 

6 (1) the applicant for, or holder of, the certifi7 cation has knowingly made a material misrepresen8 tation in the application for such certificate; 

9 (2) the applicant for, or holder of, the certifi10 cation is not the real party in interest in the applica11 tion or certificate of registration and the real party 

12 in interest— 

13 (A) is a person who has been refused 

14 issuance or renewal of a certificate; 

15 (B) has had a certificate revoked; or 

16 (C) does not qualify for a certificate under 

17 this section; 

18 (3) the applicant for, or holder of, the certifi19 cation has been convicted within the preceding 5 

20 years of— 

21 (A) any felony under State or Federal law 

22 or crime involving robbery, bribery, extortion, 

23 embezzlement, grand larceny, burglary, arson, 

24 violation of narcotics laws, murder, rape, as25 sault with intent to kill, assault which inflicts 


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1 grievous bodily injury, prostitution, peonage, or 

2 smuggling or harboring individuals who have 

3 entered the United States illegally; or 

4 (B) any crime relating to gambling, or to 

5 the sale, distribution or possession of alcoholic 

6 beverages, in connection with or incident to any 

7 labor contracting activities; or 

8 (4) the applicant for, or holder of, the certifi9 cation has materially failed to comply with this sec10 tion. 

11 (g) RE-REGISTRATION OF VIOLATORS.—The Sec12 retary shall establish a procedure by which a foreign labor 

13 contractor that has had its registration revoked under sub14 section (f) may seek to re-register under this subsection 

15 by demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfaction that the 

16 foreign labor contractor has not violated this Act in the 

17 previous 5 years and that the foreign labor contractor has 

18 taken sufficient steps to prevent future violations of this 

19 Act. 

20 (h) BONDING REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary is au21 thorized to require a foreign labor contractor to post a 

22 bond in an amount sufficient to ensure the protection of 

23 workers recruited by the foreign labor contractor, and to 

24 establish, by regulation, the conditions under which the 

25 bond amount is determined, paid, and forfeited. Any bond 


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1 requirements or the forfeiture of any bond under this sub2 section are in addition to other remedies under this Act 

3 or any other law. 

4 SEC. 7. MAINTENANCE AND POSTING OF LISTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain— 

6 (1) a list of all foreign labor contractors reg7 istered under this subsection, including— 

8 (A) the countries from which the contrac9 tors recruit; 

10 (B) the employers for whom the contrac11 tors recruit; 

12 (C) the visa categories and occupations for 

13 which the contractors recruit; and 

14 (D) the States where recruited workers are 

15 employed; and 

16 (2) a list of all foreign labor contractors whose 

17 certificate of registration the Secretary has revoked. 

18 (b) UPDATES AND AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary 

19 shall— 

20 (1) update the lists required by subsection (a) 

21 on an ongoing basis, not less frequently than every 

22 6 months; 

23 (2) make such lists publicly available, including 

24 through continuous publication on Internet websites; 

25 and 


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1 (3) provide such lists to the Secretary of State, 

2 who shall make such lists available in written form 

3 at, and on the websites of, each United States diplo4 matic mission in the official language of the host 

5 country. 

6 SEC. 8. OBLIGATIONS OF UNITED STATES CONSULAR OFFI7 CERS. 

8 Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

9 (8 U.S.C. 1184) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(s) A visa shall not be issued under the subpara12 graph (A)(iii), (B)(i) (but only for domestic servants de13 scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of section 274a.12(c)(17) of 

14 title 8, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on De15 cember 4, 2007)), (G)(v), (H), (J), (L), (Q), or (R) of 

16 section 101(a)(15) until the consular officer— 

17 ‘‘(1) has provided to and reviewed with the ap18 plicant, in the applicant’s language (or a language 

19 the applicant understands), a copy of the informa20 tion and resources pamphlet required by section 202 

21 of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Pro22 tection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 

23 1375b); and 

24 ‘‘(2) has reviewed and made a part of the visa 

25 file the foreign labor recruiter disclosures required 


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1 by section 4 of the Fraudulent Overseas Recruit2 ment and Trafficking Elimination Act of 2013, as 

3 well as a notation of whether the foreign labor re4 cruiter is registered pursuant section 6 of that 

5 Act.’’. 

6 SEC. 9. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

7 (a) OVERSEAS AVAILABILITY OF FOREIGN LABOR

8 CONTRACTOR LISTS.—The Secretary of State shall make 

9 the lists required by section 7(a) publicly available in writ10 ten form at, and on the websites of, each United States 

11 diplomatic and consular post in the official language of 

12 the host country. 

13 (b) DESIGNATION OF PERSONNEL TO RECEIVE COM14 PLAINTS OVERSEAS.—The Secretary of State shall— 

15 (1) designate personnel at each such post who 

16 are responsible for receiving information regarding 

17 alleged violations of this Act by foreign labor con18 tractors, and for conveying such information to the 

19 Secretary of Labor for potential use in a complaint 

20 or investigation pursuant to section 10; and 

21 (2) make publicly available on the website of 

22 each such post, in the official language of the host 

23 country, information on how to contact the per24 sonnel designated at that mission pursuant to para25 graph (1). 


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1 SEC. 10. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) COMPLAINTS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—The Sec3 retary— 

4 (1) shall establish a process for the receipt, in5 vestigation, and disposition of complaints filed by 

6 any person regarding the compliance of any em7 ployer or foreign labor contractor with this Act; and 

8 (2) either pursuant to the process required by 

9 paragraph (1) or otherwise, may investigate employ10 ers or foreign labor contractors, including actions oc11 curring in a foreign country, as necessary to deter12 mine compliance with this Act. 

13 (b) ENFORCEMENT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A worker who believes that 

15 he or she has suffered harm from a violation of sec16 tion 4 or 5 may seek relief from an employer or for17 eign labor contractor by— 

18 (A) filing a complaint with the Secretary 

19 within 3 years after the date on which the viola20 tion occurred or date on which the worker be21 came aware of the violation; or 

22 (B) if the Secretary has not issued a final 

23 decision within 120 days of the filing of the 

24 complaint and there is no showing that such 

25 delay is due to the bad faith of the claimant, 

26 bringing an action at law or equity for de novo 


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1 review in the appropriate district court of the 

2 United States, which shall have jurisdiction 

3 over such an action without regard to the 

4 amount in controversy. 

5 (2) PROCEDURE.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise pro7 vided herein, a complaint under paragraph 

8 (1)(A) shall be governed under the rules and 

9 procedures set forth in paragraphs (1) and 

10 (2)(A) of section 42121(b) of title 49, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notification of a com13 plaint under paragraph (1)(A) shall be made to 

14 each person or entity named in the complaint 

15 as a defendant and to the employer. 

16 (C) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 

17 filed in a district court of the United States 

18 under paragraph (1)(B) shall be commenced 

19 not later than 180 days after the last day of the 

20 120-day period referred to in that paragraph. 

21 (D) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an action 

22 brought under paragraph (1)(B) shall be enti23 tled to trial by jury. 

24 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary finds, after 

2 notice and an opportunity for a hearing, that any 

3 foreign labor contractor or employer failed to comply 

4 with any of the requirements of this Act, the Sec5 retary may impose the following against such con6 tractor or employer— 

7 (A) a fine in an amount not more than 

8 $10,000 per violation; and 

9 (B) upon the occasion of a third violation 

10 or a failure to comply with representations, a 

11 fine of not more than $25,000 per violation. 

12 (d) AUTHORITY TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE.—The 

13 Secretary is authorized to take other such actions, includ14 ing issuing subpoenas and seeking appropriate injunctive 

15 relief and recovery of damages, as may be necessary to 

16 assure compliance with the terms and conditions of this 

17 Act. 

18 (e) BONDING.—Pursuant to any bond required pur19 suant to section 6(h), bond liquidation and forfeitures 

20 shall be in addition to other remedies under this section 

21 or any other law. 

22 (f) CIVIL ACTION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or any person 

24 aggrieved by a violation of this Act may bring a civil 

25 action against any foreign labor contractor that does 


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1 not meet the requirements under subsection (g)(2) 

2 in any court of competent jurisdiction— 

3 (A) to seek remedial action, including in4 junctive relief; 

5 (B) to recover damages on behalf of any 

6 worker harmed by a violation of section 4 or 5; 

7 and 

8 (C) to ensure compliance with require9 ments of this section. 

10 (2) ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY.— 

11 (A) SUMS RECOVERED.—Any sums recov12 ered by the Secretary on behalf of a worker 

13 under paragraph (1) or through liquidation of 

14 any bond held pursuant to section 6(h) shall be 

15 held in a special deposit account and shall be 

16 paid, on order of the Secretary, directly to each 

17 worker affected. Any such sums not paid to a 

18 worker because of inability to do so within a pe19 riod of 5 years shall be credited as an offsetting 

20 collection to the appropriations account of the 

21 Secretary for expenses for the administration of 

22 this section and shall remain available to the 

23 Secretary until expended or may be used for en24 forcement of the laws within the jurisdiction of 

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1 ferred to the Secretary of Health and Human 

2 Services for the purpose of providing support to 

3 programs that provide assistance to victims of 

4 trafficking in persons or other exploited per5 sons. The Secretary shall work with any attor6 ney or organization representing workers to lo7 cate workers owed sums under this section. 

8 (B) REPRESENTATION.—Except as pro9 vided in section 518(a) of title 28, United 

10 States Code, the Attorney General may appear 

11 for and represent the Secretary in any civil liti12 gation brought under this paragraph. All such 

13 litigation shall be subject to the direction and 

14 control of the Attorney General. 

15 (3) ACTIONS BY INDIVIDUALS.— 

16 (A) AWARD.—If the court finds in a civil 

17 action filed by an individual under this section 

18 that the defendant has violated any provision of 

19 this Act (or any regulation issued pursuant to 

20 this Act), the court may award— 

21 (i) damages, up to and including an 

22 amount equal to the amount of actual 

23 damages, and statutory damages of up to 

24 $1,000 per plaintiff per violation, or other 


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1 equitable relief, except that with respect to 

2 statutory damages— 

3 (I) multiple infractions of a sin4 gle provision of this Act (or of a regu5 lation under this Act) shall constitute 

6 only 1 violation for purposes of sec7 tion 3(a) to determine the amount of 

8 statutory damages due a plaintiff; and 

9 (II) if such complaint is certified 

10 as a class action the court may 

11 award— 

12 (aa) damages up to an 

13 amount equal to the amount of 

14 actual damages; and 

15 (bb) statutory damages of 

16 not more than the lesser of up to 

17 $1,000 per class member per vio18 lation, or up to $500,000; and 

19 other equitable relief; 

20 (ii) reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

21 costs; and 

22 (iii) such other and further relief, in23 cluding declaratory and injunctive relief, as 

24 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this 

25 Act. 


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1 (B) CRITERIA.—In determining the 

2 amount of statutory damages to be awarded 

3 under subparagraph (A), the court is author4 ized to consider whether an attempt was made 

5 to resolve the issues in dispute before the resort 

6 to litigation. 

7 (C) BOND.—To satisfy the damages, fees, 

8 and costs found owing under this subparagraph, 

9 the Secretary shall release as much of any bond 

10 held pursuant to section 6(h) as necessary. 

11 (D) APPEAL.—Any civil action brought 

12 under this section shall be subject to appeal as 

13 provided in chapter 83 of title 28, United 

14 States Code (28 U.S.C. 1291 et seq.). 

15 (E) ACCESS TO LEGAL SERVICES COR16 PORATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi17 sion of law, the Legal Services Corporation and 

18 recipients of its funding may provide legal as19 sistance on behalf of any alien with respect to 

20 any provision of this Act. 

21 (g) AGENCY LIABILITY.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 180 days after 

23 the Secretary has promulgated regulations pursuant 

24 to section 6(c), an employer who retains the services 

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1 eign labor contractors who are registered under sec2 tion 6. 

3 (2) SAFE HARBOR.—An employer shall not have 

4 any liability under this section if— 

5 (A) each worker claiming harm for any 

6 violation of this Act was referred to the em7 ployer by a foreign labor contractor that had a 

8 valid registration with the Secretary pursuant 

9 to section 6 at the time of referral; and 

10 (B) prior to the initiation of any complaint 

11 or investigation under subsection (a), the em12 ployer did not fail to notify the Secretary of any 

13 violation of this Act by a foreign labor con14 tractor of which the employer had actual knowl15 edge. 

16 (3) LIABILITY FOR AGENTS.—Foreign labor 

17 contractors shall be subject to the provisions of this 

18 section for violations committed by the foreign labor 

19 contractor’s agents or subcontractors of any level in 

20 relation to their foreign labor contracting activity to 

21 the same extent as if the foreign labor contractor 

22 had committed the violation. 

23 (h) RETALIATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall intimidate, 

25 threaten, restrain, coerce, discharge, or in any other 


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1 manner discriminate or retaliate against any worker 

2 or their family members (including a former em3 ployee or an applicant for employment) because such 

4 worker disclosed information to any person that the 

5 worker reasonably believes evidences a violation of 

6 this section (or any rule or regulation pertaining to 

7 this section), including seeking legal assistance of 

8 counsel or cooperating with an investigation or other 

9 proceeding concerning compliance with this section 

10 (or any rule or regulation pertaining to this section). 

11 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—An individual who is sub12 ject to any conduct described in paragraph (1) may, 

13 in a civil action, recover appropriate relief, including 

14 reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, with respect to 

15 that violation. Any civil action under this subpara16 graph shall be stayed during the pendency of any 

17 criminal action arising out of the violation. 

18 (i) WAIVER OF RIGHTS.—Agreements by workers 

19 purporting to waive or to modify their rights under this 

20 Act shall be void as contrary to public policy. 

21 (j) PRESENCE DURING PENDENCY OF ACTIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—If other immigration relief is 

23 not available, the Attorney General and the Sec24 retary shall grant advance parole to permit a non25 immigrant to remain legally in the United States for 


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1 time sufficient to fully and effectively participate in 

2 all legal proceedings related to any action taken pur3 suant to this section. 

4 (2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec6 retary shall promulgate regulations to carry out 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 SEC. 11. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

9 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt or 

10 alter any other rights or remedies, including any causes 

11 of action, available under any other Federal or State law. 

12 SEC. 12. REGULATIONS. 

13 The Secretary is authorized to prescribe regulations 

14 to implement this Act and to develop policies and proce15 dures to enforce the provisions of this Act. 

Æ 


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