AN ACT Relating to transparency in agricultural supply chains; amending RCW 19.320.010; adding a new section to chapter 19.320 RCW; creating new sections; prescribing penalties; and providing an effective date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The legislature finds that as the first state in the nation to criminalize human trafficking, Washington state is a recognized national pioneer in the antihuman trafficking movement. In 2003, a coalition of activists from communities of color championed House Bill No. 1175, setting a historical precedent by making human trafficking a crime on the state level for the first time. Since then, all fifty states have implemented similar laws. However, human trafficking remains a national and global human rights problem exacerbated by supply chains.

Washington state and our corporations have the opportunity to further our exemplary commitment to ending human trafficking by encouraging transparency in certain corporate supply chains. Washington consumers repeatedly demonstrate that they prefer to purchase goods identified as manufactured under good working conditions with a clean supply chain. Ensuring that large corporate retailers of agricultural products provide consumers with information regarding their supply chains allows Washington consumers to make informed purchases from companies that responsibly manage their supply changes.

(2) "Domestic employers of foreign workers" or "domestic employer" means a person or persons residing in the state of Washington who recruit or employ a foreign worker to perform work in Washington state.

(3) "Forced labor" means all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and to which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily.

(4) "Foreign worker" or "worker" means a person who is not a citizen of the United States, who comes to Washington state based on an offer of employment, and who holds a nonimmigrant visa for temporary visitors.

(5) "Human trafficking" or "trafficking" means an act conducted for the purpose of exploitation, including forced labor, by particular means, for example threat of use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud or deception, abuse of power, or abuse of position of vulnerability.

(6) "International labor recruitment agency" means a corporation, partnership, business, or other legal entity, whether or not organized under the laws of the United States or any state, that does business in the United States and offers Washington state entities engaged in the employment or recruitment of foreign workers, employment referral services involving citizens of a foreign country or countries by acting as an intermediary between these foreign workers and Washington employers.

(7) "Menace of any penalty" means all forms of criminal sanctions and other forms of coercion, including threats, violence, retention of identity documents, confinement, nonpayment or illegal deduction of wages, or debt bondage.

(9) "Agricultural product" means cocoa, dairy, coffee, sugar, and fruit products. "Agricultural product" does not mean wheat, potato, onions, asparagus, or other vegetable products.

(13) "Supplier" means an individual, business, or entity in any form, that is contracted by a retailer of agricultural products for the supply of agricultural products.

(1) Every retail seller of agricultural products doing business in Washington state and having annual worldwide gross receipts of two hundred million dollars or more must:

(b) Require its suppliers to report annually to the retail seller any violations of employment-related laws and incidents of slavery, peonage, and human trafficking including any: (i) Court or arbitration rulings; (ii) citations or other rulings by governmental agencies; and (iii) criminal convictions.

(a) The retail seller's specific actions taken, if any, with respect to its product supply chains to: (i) Evaluate and address risks of slavery, peonage, and human trafficking; (ii) comply with employment law obligations; and (iii) respect workers' human rights; and

(3) The disclosure described in subsection (2) of this section must be posted on the retail seller's internet web site with a conspicuous and easily understood link to the required information placed on the business' homepage. In the event the retail seller does not have an internet web site, the retail seller must provide consumers with a written disclosure within thirty days of receiving a written request for the disclosure from a consumer.

(4) Failure of a supplier to report the information to the retail seller as required in subsection (2)(b) of this section is a violation of this section. For purposes of establishing personal jurisdiction under this section, a supplier is deemed to be doing business in Washington and is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Washington state if the supplier contracts for the sale of goods with a retail seller doing business in Washington state or is considered to be doing business in Washington state under any other provision or rule of law.

(5) Failure of a retail seller of agricultural products to meet any of the requirements of this section is a violation of this section.

(6) The attorney general may commence a civil action in a Washington state court against a retail seller of agricultural products or a supplier for a violation of this section. Nothing in this section limits remedies available for a violation of any other state or federal law.

(7) If a court finds that a retail seller of agricultural products or a supplier has violated this section, the court may award to the plaintiff: (a) Statutory damages of not less than five hundred dollars and not more than seven thousand dollars for each such violation; (b) punitive damages for willful violations; (c) reasonable costs and attorneys' fees; and (d) declaratory or injunctive relief as the court deems appropriate.