State Will Crack Down on Farmhand Abuse : Agriculture: It will try to thwart unscrupulous labor contractors.

Acknowledging a history of ineffectual enforcement, state officials say they will conduct a series of unscheduled sweeps of California agriculture operations to ferret out abuse of farm workers by labor contractors.

The sweeps are part of an unprecedented enforcement effort by the state Department of Industrial Relations that will be unveiled today in San Francisco. Although laws ensuring safe and sanitary conditions for farm workers have been on the books for years, enforcement has been spotty, according to industrial relations officials.

That is why farm worker advocates are skeptical that any meaningful change will take place.

“As far as we’re concerned, when we see them enforce these labor laws with penalties, fines and jail sentences, then we’ll begin to believe this is a serious effort,” said Don Villarejo, executive director for the California Institute of Rural Studies. “We’re supportive, but we want to be sure that this plan has some real teeth in it.”

Farm worker safety has been an issue for years, with workers complaining about unfair wages and unsanitary working conditions. Although it is difficult to determine how many farm workers there are in California because of the transient nature of the business, the Employment Development Department estimates 800,000. Of those, about 22,000 report injuries each year through workers’ compensation.

“However, many people would continue to work rather than give up the income because they need the money,” Villarejo said.

Under the 10-point Farm Worker Protection Plan, state officials will make surprise visits to fields and offices of farm labor contractors to inspect working conditions and business records. Contractors will also be required to complete mail-in audits of payroll records and provide names of growers with whom they contract.

“We’re trying to strengthen efforts in the field and send a message out that labor laws will and are being enforced,” said John Duncan, deputy director of the Department of Industrial Relations. “But it is important to emphasize that we prefer education to penalizing these people.”

They will also investigate contractors who have federal, not state, licenses. A hot line will be set up for contractors and growers to report unlicensed contractors, as well as for farm workers to report abuse.

If contractors fail to cooperate, they will be fined, the amount varying with the offense. Officials said scenarios in which contractors would be jailed are rare.