§ 3605 : REGISTRATION

REQUIREMENT TO REGISTER.—

1.

IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), prior to engaging in any foreign labor contracting activity, any person who is a foreign labor contractor or who, for any money or other valuable consideration paid or promised to be paid, performs a foreign labor contracting activity on behalf of a foreign labor contractor, shall obtain a certificate of registration from the Secretary of Labor pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Secretary under subsection (c).

2.

EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYERS.—An employer, or employee of an employer, who engages in foreign labor contracting activity solely to find employees for that employer’s own use, and without the participation of any other foreign labor contractor, shall not be required to register under this section.

NOTIFICATION.—

1.

ANNUAL EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION.—Each employer shall notify the Secretary, not less frequently than once every year, of the identity of any foreign labor contractor involved in any foreign labor contracting activity for, or on behalf of, the employer, including at a minimum, the name and address of the foreign labor contractor, a description of the services [Blumenthal5]for which the foreign labor contractor is being used, whether the foreign labor contractor is to receive any economic compensation for the services, and, if so the identity of the person or entity who is paying for the services.

2.

ANNUAL FOREIGN LABOR CONTRACTOR NOTIFICATION.—Each foreign labor contractor shall notify the Secretary, not less frequently than once every year, of the identity of any subcontractee, agent, or foreign labor contractor employee involved in any foreign labor contracting activity for, or on behalf of, the foreign labor contractor.

3.

NONCOMPLIANCE NOTIFICATION.—An employer shall notify the Secretary of the identity of a foreign labor contractor whose activities do not comply with this subtitle.

4.

AGREEMENT.—Not later than 7 days after receiving a request from the Secretary, an employer shall provide the Secretary with the identity of any foreign labor contractor with which the employer has a contract or other agreement.

REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to establish an efficient electronic process for the timely investigation and approval of an application for a certificate of registration of foreign labor contractors, including—

1.

a declaration, subscribed and sworn to by the applicant, stating the applicant’s permanent place of residence, the foreign labor contracting activities for which the certificate is requested, and such other relevant information as the Secretary may require;

2.

a set of fingerprints of the applicant;

3.

an expeditious means to update registrations and renew certificates;

4.

providing for the consent of any foreign labor recruiter to the designation by a court of the Secretary as an agent available to accept service of summons in any action against the applicant, if the applicant has left the jurisdiction in which the action is commenced, otherwise has become unavailable to accept service or is subject to personal jurisdiction in no State;

5.

providing for the consent of any foreign labor recruiter to jurisdiction in the Department or Federal or State court in the United States for any action brought by any aggrieved individual or worker;

6.

providing for cooperation in any investigation by the Secretary or other appropriate authorities;

7.

providing for consent to the forfeiture of the bond for failure to cooperate with these provisions;

8.

providing for consent to be liable for violations of this subtitle by any agents or subcontractees of any level in relation to the foreign labor contracting activity of the agent or subcontractee to the same extent as if the foreign labor contractor had committed the violation; and

9.

providing for consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies to determine whether any reason exists to deny registration to a foreign labor contractor.

TERM OF REGISTRATION.—Unless suspended or revoked, a certificate under this section shall be valid for 2 years.

APPLICATION FEE.—

1.

REQUIREMENT FOR FEE.—In addition to any other fees authorized by law, the Secretary shall impose a fee, to be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury, on a foreign labor contractor that submits an application for a certificate of registration under this section.

2.

AMOUNT OF FEE.—The amount of the fee required by paragraph (1) shall be set at a level that the Secretary determines sufficient to cover the full costs of carrying out foreign labor contract registration activities under this subtitle, including worker education and any additional costs associated with the administration of the fees collected.

REFUSAL TO ISSUE; REVOCATION.—In accordance with regulations promulgated by the Secretary, the Secretary shall refuse to issue or renew, or shall revoke and debar from eligibility to obtain a certificate of registration for a period of not greater than 5 years, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, a certificate of registration under this section if—

1.

the applicant for, or holder of, the certification has knowingly made a material misrepresentation in the application for such certificate;

2.

the applicant for, or holder of, the certification is not the real party in interest in the application or certificate of registration and the real party in interest—

A.

is a person who has been refused issuance or renewal of a certificate;

B.

has had a certificate revoked; or

C.

does not qualify for a certificate under this section;

3.

the applicant for, or holder of, the certification has been convicted within the preceding 5 years of —

A.

any felony under State or Federal law or crime involving robbery, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, grand larceny, burglary, arson, violation of narcotics laws, murder, rape, assault with intent to kill, assault which inflicts grievous bodily injury, prostitution, peonage, or smuggling or harboring individuals who have entered the United States illegally; or

B.

any crime relating to gambling, or to the sale, distribution or possession of alcoholic beverages, in connection with or incident to any labor contracting activities ; or

4.

the applicant for, or holder of, the certification has materially failed to comply with this section.

RE-REGISTRATION OF VIOLATORS.—The Secretary shall establish a procedure by which a foreign labor contractor that has had its registration revoked under subsection (f) may seek to re-register under this subsection by demonstrating to the Secretary’s satisfaction that the foreign labor contractor has not violated this subtitle in the previous 5 years and that the foreign labor contractor has taken sufficient steps to prevent future violations of this subtitle.