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History
- Referred to consumer protection
- Referred to consumer protection
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.
Relates to fees charged by employment agencies for class A or A-1 employment
In Assembly Committee · Consumer Affairs And Protection · Sponsor Francisco Moya
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to fees charged by employment agencies for class "A" or "A-1" employment
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill seeks to prevent fraud by employment agencies by banning them from collecting applicant fees for job placement of class "A" and "A-I" workers without a written contract between the applicant and the agency. It also requires refunds for those applicants who paid fees without contract and were not placed.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 alters the law to ban employment agencies from charging applicant fees without a written contract between the applicant and the agency, unless it is after the agency already successfully placed the applicant. It also requires agencies that collected fees without contacts prior to October 1, 2013 to repay those fees to the applicant by November 1, 2013 if he or she was not placed in a job or if the fee was not applied to the applicant's account for services rendered.
Section 2 bans employment agencies from requiring or accepting a deposit or advance fee from any applicant, except in the case of class A or A-1 employees, who would see the ultimate fee offset once they are provided with employment. Agencies that collected advance fees and deposits without contracts prior to October 1, 2013 must them to the applicant by November 1, 2013 if he or she was not placed in a job or if the fee was not applied to the applicant's account for services rendered.
Justification
Fraud amongst employment agencies is widespread, especially those serving immigrant communities. According to a report by New Immigrant Community Empowerment, 2 out of 3 applicants they surveyed were not given a contract. This legislation ensures that these agencies aren't taking advantage of people already hindered by unemployment, and are held to task for the services they advertise,
Prior legislative history
None
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
October 1, 2015.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.