Two Latino laborers and an employer of day laborers are seeking to stop the implementation of a Vista, California city ordinance that would require those who hire day laborers to register with the city, display a certificate in their car windshield, and present workers with written terms of employment. Violating the ordinance is a misdemeanor and is punishable by no more than six months in prison or a $1000 fine.

Represented by the LSC-funded California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the laborers and the employer filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Vista alleging that the ordinance restrains free speech and discriminates against day laborers. As David Blair-Loy, legal director of the ACLU, says, "We do think there's a strong case to be made that this [ordinance] is motivated by illegal discrimination … They're trying to do through the back door what they can't do through the front, which is ban day labor hiring in Vista." The plaintiffs are asking the judge to stay the ordinance from taking effect. Craig Tenbroeck, Groups Sue Vista Over Law on Day Laborers, North County Times, July 19, 2006; Craig Tenbroeck, Vista Files Response to Restraining Order Application, North County Times, July 22, 2006.