BY RONNIE GREENE

More than half of Florida's farmworkers labor in the shadows, working in an underground industry that brings food to dinner tables but leaves the sweat-soaked laborers vulnerable to abuse.

But now those workers, and others around the country, may be handed a way to work their way into the light.

Key U.S. Congress members have filed a bill in Washington that, if passed, could transform the lives of the men and women who pluck the country's fruit and vegetables. It could also reshape the industry itself.

An estimated 100,000 undocumented farmworkers in Florida, and 500,000 nationwide, could gain legal status by working in agriculture over several years under the Agricultural Job Opportunity Benefits and Security Act.

''It's a huge empowerment of the most poorly paid and the most exploited people in the American workforce,'' said U.S. Rep. Howard Berman, D-California, a cosponsor of the bill.

A recent Herald series, Fields of Despair, detailed how workers in America's second richest agricultural state have suffered sweatshop hours, slum housing, poverty pay and criminal abuse.

U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, cited The Herald's report as the bill was introduced in Congress last month.

''This series substantiates what we have all known anecdotally for years,'' Graham said.

''Farmworkers in our country -- those who are legal citizens or residents of the United States, as well as those who are undocumented -- live in uninhabitable housing, are transported in vehicles that do not meet basic safety standards, and are subject to predatory lending practices that require payment of as much as 100 percent interest,'' Graham said.

UNCERTAIN EFFECT

Advocates won't know for sure how many of Florida's estimated 100,000 unauthorized farm hands would apply -- or qualify -- under the law. Nor do they expect it to eliminate all abuses.

''This is 100,000 workers that can come out of the shadows, live a life of some security, not be fearful of being apprehended and sent back, not having to pay the coyote these extortionate fees,'' said Rob Williams, Director of the Migrant Farmworker Justice Project in Tallahassee, referring to the transporters paid to bring illegal immigrants into the United States.

Some of the workers who have toiled in Florida's fields for years say they would benefit from the protections.

''Not having these papers keeps us in jobs that pay very little,'' said South Dade's Elvira Carvajal, who has worked at farms and nurseries for 17 years. ``We work hard, underneath the sun, for a low salary. So that would be a way to find a better paying job.''

Mexican-born Carvajal said she has already earned legal status.

Thousands of migrants cross the U.S. border illegally seeking cash in the fields. They then pay coyotes thousands to ferry them in tint-covered vans to farm states like Florida.

DESPERATE LIVES

The workers, desperate for cash but unlikely to complain about mistreatment, become easy targets. Scofflaw crew bosses cheat their pay, charge high fees for shabby housing or bibill exorbitant interest on loans.

Five federal prosecutions since 1996 have sent Florida farm bosses or smugglers to prison for abusing or enslaving workers, and four of the cases involved primarily immigrant victims.

Advocates expect opposition to the bill in Congress from a cluster of politicians who traditionally oppose measures that could be viewed as giving amnesty to undocumented residents.

Bill sponsors say this is no simple amnesty, but a one-time legalization earned only after years of work. According to the Justice Project's Williams:

• To qualify for temporary residency, an immigrant would have to have completed at least 100 days of farm work over 12 months during an 18-month window that ended Aug. 31, 2003. The worker would have to meet other requirements as well, such as not having been convicted of a felony or three misdemeanors.

• To become a permanent resident, workers must complete at least 360 days of farm work over six years. That requirement couldn't be met simply by working 360 days in one year. The law requires at least 75 days of agricultural work in each of three years, ensuring the industry has a steady supply of laborers.

To qualify, workers will have to provide payroll or other work records. If those records are not available, they may be able to provide other evidence, experts say.

Advocates are hopeful they'll gain approval by session's end in November.

''We're going to move it very hard,'' said Utah Rep. Chris Cannon, one of the Republican cosponsors. ``We have lots of support, but this is a very complex environment.''

WORKER PROTECTION

Giving workers protections will help ensure the nation's agricultural workforce -- and therefore, its food supply -- remains strong, Cannon said.

''You wouldn't have milk or pork or chicken or turkey or strawberries or green peppers'' without the laborers, he said.

''It's also just a human thing,'' Cannon said. ``You've got people here living in difficult circumstances, abused by their employers perhaps, certainly abused by criminals among them.''

The bill has been embraced by two groups often at bitter odds: The United Farm Workers and National Council of Agricultural Employers.

Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, also have endorsed the proposal.

And 50 Florida-based groups recently sent a letter of support to Congress.

''We know that there are certain instances where workers are not legal and are taken advantage of,'' said Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Mutual trade association.

``It will help ensure that we have a stable workforce.''

Advocates say the law allows workers to move from employer to employer, so they don't have to stay in an abusive farm job just to gain status.

The bill is ''a delicate, sensitive compromise,'' Berman said.