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Sponsors
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History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Establishes protections for those who enter certain personal service contracts
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Keith L.T. Wright
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to certain personal service contracts protections
Purpose or general idea of bill
Establishes protections for those who enter certain personal service contracts.
Summary of specific provisions
§1 of the bill articulates the legislative intent to ensure that artists in our state are empowered to create and perform without the encumbrance of unreasonable and unduly restrictive covenants, and to support their right to freedom of personal association, to the benefit of the public.
§2 of the bill contains the title, the "Artistic Freedom Act of 2002."
§3 of the bill adds a new section to the labor law, Article 20-D, concerning Personal Service Contract Protections.
§742 is added to the labor law to provide definitions for the terms "artist," "employer," and "contract."
§743 is added to the labor law concerning the applicability of the provisions of this act.
§744 is added to the labor law to provide enforcement parameters.
§745 is added to the labor law to ensure that the provisions of the act shall not be waived.
§4 of the bill establishes that the act shall take effect immediately.
Effects of present law which this bill would alter
Present law establishes time frames for personal service contracts when relevant to the services of minors or those acting on behalf of minors.
Justification
The "Artistic Freedom Act of 2002," will protect certain performing artists in the sound recording industry from the restrictions of overly long personal service contracts. New York is a national center of artistic expression, a dynamic which benefits the entire community of our state. It is incumbent upon the legislature to ensure that creative artists are not unduly restrained in their efforts to obtain work, participate in the free market or to associate freely. Various prominent groups, including AFTRA and the Artist Empowerment Coalition have testified in public hearings before the California state legislature that personal service contracts should be reasonable in length in order to protect the artist and the artist's work. This testimony has application in our state. Many creative artists reside in New York and the sound recording industry has a dominant presence here. It is undisputed that the creative arts represent a significant economic factor in our state and that the interests of the state are advanced when this market sector flourishes. This bill will replicate the current New York state law's time restriction on personal service contracts for minors in the entertainment industry. It establishes a time limit of three years for unrepresented artists and seven years for artists represented by qualified counsel. This period will allow both the employer and the artist to benefit from their bargain for a reasonable length of time. It is limited to certain performing artists in the sound recording industry where binding time frames of as long as 25 years have been found to unfairly burden the artist.
Prior legislative history
2007 - A.429 2005 - A.7330
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediate.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.