I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2298
To provide for labor recruiter accountability, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2005
Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. OWENS, Ms. WOOLSEY, 
Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. HOLT, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. 
VAN HOLLEN, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. DAVIS 
of Illinois, Mr. EVANS, Ms. MCCOLLUM of Minnesota, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. 
BROWN of Ohio, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. WATSON, Mr. WEINER, Mr. BERMAN, 
Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. STARK, and Mr. TIERNEY) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide for labor recruiter accountability, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indentured Servitude 
Abolition Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTIONS FOR WORKERS RECRUITED ABROAD. 
(a) BASIC REQUIREMENTS.—(1) Each employer and 
foreign labor contractor who engages in foreign labor con-
tracting activity shall ascertain and disclose to each such 
worker who is recruited for employment the following in-
formation at the time of the worker’s recruitment: 
(A) The place of employment. 
(B) The compensation for the employment. 
(C) A description of employment activities. 
(D) The period of employment. 
(E) The transportation, housing, and any other 
employee benefit to be provided and any costs to be 
charged for each benefit. 
(F) The existence of any labor organizing ef-
fort, strike, lockout, or other labor dispute at the 
place of employment. 
(G) The existence of any arrangements with 
any owner or agent of any establishment in the area 
of employment under which the contractor or em-
ployer is to receive a commission or any other ben-
efit resulting from any sales (including the provision 
of services) by such establishment to the workers. 
(H) Whether and the extent to which workers 
will be compensated through workers’ compensation, 
private insurance, or otherwise for injuries or death, 
including work related injuries and death, during the 
period of employment and, if so, the name of the 
State workers’ compensation insurance carrier or the
name of the policyholder of the private insurance, 
the name and the telephone number of each person 
who must be notified of an injury or death, and the 
time period within which such notice must be given. 
(I) Any education or training to be provided or 
made available, including the nature and cost of 
such training, who will pay such costs, and whether 
the training is a condition of employment, continued 
employment, or future employment. 
(J) A statement, approved by the Secretary of 
Labor, describing the protections of this Act for 
workers recruited abroad. 
(2) No foreign labor contractor or employer shall 
knowingly provide false or misleading information to any 
worker concerning any matter required to be disclosed in 
paragraph (1). 
(3) The information required to be disclosed by para-
graph (1) to workers shall be provided in written form. 
Such information shall be provided in English or, as nec-
essary and reasonable, in the language of the worker being 
recruited. The Department of Labor shall make forms 
available in English, Spanish, and other languages, as nec-
essary, which may be used in providing workers with infor-
mation required under this section.
(4) No fees may be charged to a worker for recruit-
ment. 
(5) No employer or foreign labor contractor shall, 
without justification, violate the terms of any working ar-
rangement made by that contractor or employer. 
(6) The employer shall pay the transportation costs, 
including subsistence costs during the period of travel, for 
the worker from the place of recruitment to the place of 
employment and from the place of employment to such 
worker’s place of permanent residence. 
(7)(A) It shall be unlawful for an employer or a for-
eign labor contractor to fail or refuse to hire or to dis-
charge any individual, or otherwise discriminate against 
an individual with respect to compensation, terms, condi-
tions, or privileges of employment because such individ-
ual’s race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, age, 
or disability. 
(B) For the purposes of determining the existence of 
unlawful discrimination under subclause (A)—
(i) in the case of a claim of discrimination 
based on race, color, creed, sex, national origin, or 
religion, the same legal standards shall apply as are 
applicable under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.);
(ii) in the case of a claim of discrimination 
based on unlawful discrimination based on age, the 
same legal standards shall apply as are applicable 
under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 
1967 (29 U.S.C. 621 et seq.); and 
(iii) in the case of a claim of discrimination 
based on disability, the same legal standards shall 
apply as are applicable under title I of the Ameri-
cans With Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et 
seq.). 
(b) OTHER WORKER PROTECTIONS.—(1) Each em-
ployer shall notify the Secretary of the identity of any for-
eign labor contractor involved in any foreign labor con-
tractor activity for or on behalf of the employer. The em-
ployer shall be subject to the civil remedies of this Act 
for violations committed by such foreign labor contractor 
to the same extent as if the employer had committed the 
violation. The employer shall notify the Secretary of the 
identity of such a foreign labor contractor whose activities 
do not comply with this Act. 
(2) The Secretary shall maintain a list of all foreign 
labor contractors whom the Secretary knows or believes 
have been involved in violations of this Act, and make that 
list publicly available. The Secretary shall provide a proce-
dure by which an employer, a foreign labor contractor, or
someone acting on behalf of such contractor may seek to 
have a foreign labor contractor’s name removed from such 
list by demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfaction that 
the foreign labor contractor has not violated this Act in 
the previous five years. 
(3) No foreign labor contractor shall violate, without 
justification, the terms of any written agreements made 
with an employer pertaining to any contracting activity or 
worker protection under this Act. 
(c) DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED AGAINST WORK-
ERS SEEKING RELIEF UNDER THIS ACT.—No person 
shall intimidate, threaten, restrain, coerce, blacklist, dis-
charge, or in any manner discriminate against any worker 
because such worker has, with just cause, filed any com-
plaint or instituted, or caused to be instituted, any pro-
ceeding under or related to this Act, or has testified or 
is about to testify in any such proceedings, or because of 
the exercise, with just cause, by such worker on behalf 
of himself or others of any right or protection afforded 
by this Act. 
SEC. 3. ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS. 
(a) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—Whoever knowingly vio-
lates this Act shall be fined under title 18, United States 
Code, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 
Upon conviction, after a first conviction under this section,