STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8999 IN ASSEMBLY January 10, 2018 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection AN ACT to amend the general business law and the arts and cultural affairs law, in relation to certain contracts The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 181 of the general business law, as amended by a 2 chapter of the laws of 2017, amending the general business law and the 3 arts and cultural affairs law relating to certain contracts, as proposed 4 in legislative bills numbers S.6369-A and A.8257-A, is amended to read 5 as follows: 6 § 181. Contracts, statements of terms and conditions, and receipts. It 7 shall be the duty of every employment agency to give to each applicant 8 for employment: 9 1. A true copy of every contract executed between such agency and such 10 applicant, which shall have printed on it or attached to it a statement 11 setting forth in a clear and concise manner the provisions of sections 12 one hundred eighty-five, and one hundred eighty-six of this article. 13 2. (a) For class "C" theatrical employment: 14 [~~(a)~~] (1) Such contract in blank shall be first approved by the 15 commissioner and his or her determination shall be reviewable by 16 certiorari. Each contract shall include the gross commission or fees to 17 be paid by the artist to the theatrical employment agency consistent 18 with section one hundred eighty-five of this article [~~attached, hereto~~]. 19 Each such contract shall also include the name, address, phone number 20 and license number of the theatrical employment agency in addition to 21 the name of the artist, the type of services covered by the contract, 22 and all terms and conditions associated with the payment of such commis- 23 sion or fees. The theatrical employment agency shall keep on file a copy 24 of each contract entered into with an artist and provide a copy of each 25 contract to the artist. 26 [~~(b)~~] (2) Separate from the contract, the agency shall provide to the 27 artist, at the time of each audition or interview for specific employ- 28 ment, information as to the name and address of the person to whom the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11746-06-8

A. 8999 2 1 artist is to apply for such employment, the service to be performed, the 2 anticipated rate of compensation, where such compensation is known prior 3 to the audition or interview, and any other material terms and condi- 4 tions of such employment that are known by the agency prior to the audi- 5 tion or interview. Such information may be provided by electronic commu- 6 nication. 7 [3.] (b) For all other employment, including class "A" and "A-1" 8 employment, each contract shall include, but not be limited to, the 9 following: information as to the name and address of the person to whom 10 the applicant is to apply for such employment, the name, the address, 11 the mailing address, and the telephone number of the employer; the 12 address or addresses of employment, the kind of service to be performed; 13 the anticipated rate of wages or compensation; the anticipated hours of 14 work per day and number of days to be worked per week; the agency's fee 15 for the applicant based on such anticipated wages or compensation; any 16 provision to the employee, and costs associated with that provision 17 including housing, health insurance, healthcare, sick leave, holidays 18 and retirement benefits; whether such employment is permanent or tempo- 19 rary, the anticipated period of employment, the name and address of the 20 person authorizing the hiring of such applicant; and the cost of trans- 21 portation if the services are required outside of the city, town or 22 village where such agency is located. If the job is a conditionally 23 fee-paid job, the conditions under which the applicant will be required 24 to pay a fee shall be clearly set forth in a separate agreement in ten- 25 point type signed by the job applicant. 26 [4.] 3. (a) This paragraph shall apply to all classes of employment 27 except for class "C" theatrical employment. The employment agency shall 28 provide to each applicant, a separate document accompanying each 29 contract summarizing the terms and conditions of the contract. This 30 document shall be entitled "terms and conditions" and shall include the 31 language that the document is not a contract and that such document is 32 not legally binding. The terms and conditions shall be provided in plain 33 and commonly understood terms and language which shall aid the job 34 applicant in understanding the transaction and such document shall limit 35 the use of technical terms whenever possible. 36 (b) The terms and conditions shall conform to any templates estab- 37 lished by the commissioner and be made available to employment agencies 38 in such manner as determined by the commissioner. In developing such 39 templates, the commissioner shall afford the public an opportunity to 40 submit comments on such templates. 41 (c) The commissioner may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to 42 carry out the provisions of this section. 43 (d) An employment agency shall not be penalized for errors or omis- 44 sions in the non-English portions of any templates provided by the 45 commissioner. 46 [5.] 4. A receipt for any fee, deposit, consideration, or payment 47 which such agency receives from such applicant, which shall have printed 48 or written on it the name of the applicant, the name and address of the 49 employment agency, the date and amount of such fee, deposit, consider- 50 ation or payment or portion thereof for which the receipt is given, the 51 purpose for which it was paid, and the signature of the person receiving 52 such payment. If the applicant for employment has been recruited from 53 outside the state for domestic or household employment the receipt shall 54 have printed on it, or attached to it, a copy of section one hundred 55 eighty-four of this article. Except as provided below for class "C" 56 theatrical employment, the receipt shall also include, immediately above

A. 8999 3 1 the place for signature of the person receiving payment, set off in a 2 box and printed in bold capital letters, the following statement: "An 3 employment agency may not charge you, the job applicant, a fee before 4 referring you to a job that you accept. If you pay a fee before accept- 5 ing a job or pay a fee that otherwise violates the law, you may demand a 6 refund, which shall be repaid within seven days". For class "C" employ- 7 ment such receipt shall state: "A theatrical employment agency may not 8 charge you, the artist, a fee before referring you to a job that you 9 accept. A theatrical employment agency may charge you, the artist, a fee 10 after an agency represents you in the negotiation or renegotiation of an 11 original or pre-existing employment contract. If you pay a fee that 12 otherwise violates the law, you may demand a refund, which shall be 13 repaid within seven days". 14 [6.] 5. The completed original or duplicate-original copy of each such 15 contract, statement of terms and conditions, receipts, and any other 16 documents given to the applicant shall be retained by every employment 17 agency for three years following the date on which the contract is 18 executed or the payment is made, and shall be made available for 19 inspection by the commissioner or his or her duly authorized agent or 20 inspector, upon his or her request. Notwithstanding the other provisions 21 of such contracts, the monetary consideration to be paid by the appli- 22 cant shall not exceed the fee ceiling provided in subdivision eight of 23 section one hundred eighty-five of this article. 24 § 2. Section 37.03 of the arts and cultural affairs law, as amended by 25 a chapter of the laws of 2017, amending the general business law and the 26 arts and cultural affairs law relating to certain contracts, as proposed 27 in legislative bills numbers S.6369-A and A.8257-A, is amended to read 28 as follows: 29 § 37.03. Theatrical employment; contracts. Contracts between a theat- 30 rical employment agency and an artist shall include the gross commission 31 or fees to be paid by the artist to the theatrical employment agency 32 consistent with section one hundred eighty-five of the general business 33 law [~~attached, hereto~~]. Such contracts shall contain no other condi- 34 tions and provisions except such as are equitable between the parties 35 thereto and do not constitute an unreasonable restriction of business. 36 In addition, such contracts in blank shall be first approved by the 37 commissioner of labor, except that in the city of New York, such 38 contracts in blank shall be first approved by the commissioner of 39 consumer affairs of such city, pursuant to section one hundred eighty- 40 nine of the general business law, and his or her determination shall be 41 reviewable by certiorari. Each such contract shall also include the 42 name, address, phone number and license number of the theatrical employ- 43 ment agency in addition to the name of the artist, the type of services 44 covered by the contract, and all terms and conditions associated with 45 the payment of such commission or fees. The theatrical employment agency 46 shall keep on file a copy of each contract entered into with an artist 47 and provide a copy of each contract to the artist. Separately from the 48 contract, the agency shall provide to the artist, at the time of each 49 audition or interview for specific employment, information as to the 50 name and address of the person to whom the artist is to apply for such 51 employment, the service to be performed, the anticipated rate of compen- 52 sation, where such compensation is known prior to the audition or inter- 53 view, and any other material terms and conditions of such employment 54 that are known by the agency prior to the audition or interview. Such 55 information may be provided by electronic communication.

A. 8999 4 1 § 3. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 2 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2017, amending the general business 3 law and the arts and cultural affairs law relating to certain contracts, 4 as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.6369-A and A.8257-A, takes 5 effect.

Relates to certain contracts

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