Governor Newsom has vetoed AB 857 (by Assemblymember Ash Kalra and sponsored by the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLA)).  The bill was a reintroduction of SB 1102 (by Senator Monning) which was vetoed in 2020 and would have created the California Legal Rights Disclosure Act for H-2A Farmworkers.

If passed, AB 857 would have required H-2A employers in California to provide all of their employees with a document, drafted by the California Labor Commissioner, outlining all of the existing rights that are afforded to these workers under the H-2A program as well as under California law. CRLA’s main intent in the bill was to expand when travel time was to be paid as well as providing farmworkers with tenant housing rights. Western Growers was actively engaged in negotiations with the Administration this summer on these provisions resulting in their successful removal.

A link to the AB 857 veto message is included here.