2020 New York Laws
GBS - General Business
Article 11 - Employment Agencies.
185 - Fees.

§  185.  Fees.   1. Circumstances permitting fee. An employment agency
shall not charge or accept  a  fee  or  other  consideration  unless  in
accordance with the terms of a written contract with a job applicant and
after  such agency has been responsible for referring such job applicant
to an employer or such employer to a job applicant and where as a result
thereof such job applicant has been employed by  such  employer,  except
for  class  "C" employment: (a) after an agency has been responsible for
referring an artist to an employer or such employer  to  an  artist  and
where  as  a  result  thereof  such  artist  has  been  employed by such
employer; or (b) after an agency represents an artist in the negotiation
or renegotiation of an original or pre-existing employment contract  and
where  as  a  result  thereof  the  artist  enters  into a negotiated or
renegotiated employment contract. For class "C" employment  pursuant  to
this  paragraph,  an  employment  agency  shall provide an artist with a
statement setting forth in a clear and concise manner the provisions  of
this section and section one hundred eighty-six of this article.
  The  maximum  fees  provided for herein for all types of placements or
employment may be charged to the job applicant and a similar fee may  be
charged   to  the  employer  provided,  however,  that  with  regard  to
placements in class "B" employment, a fee of  up  to  one  and  one-half
times  the  fee  charged  to  the  job  applicant  may be charged to the
employer. By agreement with  an  employment  agency,  the  employer  may
voluntarily  assume payment of the job applicant's fee. The fees charged
to employers by any licensed person conducting an employment agency  for
rendering  services  in  connection with, or for providing employment in
classes "A", "A-1" and "B", as hereinafter defined in  subdivision  four
of  this  section  where  the  applicant  is  not charged a fee shall be
determined by agreement between the employer and the employment  agency.
No  fee  shall be charged or accepted for the registration of applicants
for employees or employment.
  2. Size of fee; payment schedule. The gross fee  charged  to  the  job
applicant  and  the  gross  fee  charged  to the employer each shall not
exceed the amounts  enumerated  in  the  schedules  set  forth  in  this
section,  for any single employment or engagement, except as hereinabove
provided; and such fees shall be subject to the  provisions  of  section
one  hundred  eighty-six  of  this article. Except as otherwise provided
herein, and except for class "C" employment, an employment agency  shall
not  require  an  applicant  while  employed  in  the continental United
States, and paid weekly to pay any fee at a rate  greater  than  in  ten
equal  weekly  installments each of which shall be payable at the end of
each of the first ten weeks of employment, or if paid  less  frequently,
in five equal installments, each of which shall be payable at the end of
the  first five pay periods following his employment, or within a period
of ten weeks, whichever period is longer. An employer's fee shall be due
and  payable  at  the  time  the  applicant  begins  employment,  unless
otherwise determined by agreement between the employer and the agency.
  3.  Deposits,  advance fees. An employment agency shall not require or
accept a deposit or advance fee from any applicant.
  4. Types of employment. For the purpose of placing a ceiling over  the
fees  charged  by  persons  conducting  employment  agencies,  types  of
employment shall be classified as follows:
  Class "A"--domestics,  household  employees,  unskilled  or  untrained
manual workers and laborers, including agricultural workers;
  Class  "A1"--non-professional trained or skilled industrial workers or
mechanics;
  Class  "B"--commercial,  clerical,   executive,   administrative   and
professional  employment,  all employment outside the continental United

States, and all other employment not included in classes "A", "A1",  "C"
and "D";
  Class "C"--theatrical engagements;
  Class  "D"--nursing  engagements  as  defined  in  article one hundred
thirty-nine of the education law.
  5. Fee ceiling: For a placement in class "A" employment the gross fee,
including the deposit if any, shall not exceed,  in  percentage  of  the
first full month's salary or wages, the following:
 
where no meals or lodging are provided ............................ 10 %
where one meal per working day is provided ........................ 12 %
where two meals per working day are provided ...................... 14 %
where three meals and lodging per working day are
provided .......................................................... 18 %
 
Where all parties to the employment agreement understand or agree at the
time  the  employment  is  entered  into  that  it shall be for a period
shorter than one month, the gross fee shall not  exceed  ten  per  cent,
twelve  per cent, fourteen per cent or eighteen per cent respectively of
the salary or wages actually paid.
  6. Fee ceiling: For a placement in Class "A1" employment the gross fee
shall not exceed one week's wages where all parties  to  the  employment
agreement understand or agree at the time the employment is entered into
that  it  shall be for a period for ten weeks or more. Where all parties
to the  employment  contract  agree  and  understand  at  the  time  the
employment  contract  is  entered  into  that  it  shall be for a period
shorter than ten weeks, the gross fee shall not exceed ten per  cent  of
the wages or salary actually received.
  7.  Fee ceiling: For a placement in Class "B" employment the gross fee
shall not exceed, in percentage of the  first  full  month's  salary  or
wages, the following:
  where such first full month's salary or wages is
 
less than $750 .................................................... 25 %
at least $ 750 but less than $ 950 ................................ 35 %
at least $ 950 but less than $1150 ................................ 40 %
at least $1150 but less than $1350 ................................ 45 %
at least $1350 but less than $1500 ................................ 50 %
at least $1500 but less than $1650 ................................ 55 %
at least $1650 or more ............................................ 60 %
 
Provided however, that where the placement is for employment in which
the applicant will be paid on a straight commission basis or on the
basis of a drawing account plus commissions, the gross fee shall be
based on percentages in the above schedule applied to an amount
equivalent to one-twelfth of the estimated first year's earnings, as
estimated by the employer.
  Where  all  parties to the employment contract agree and understand at
the time the employment contract is entered into that it shall be for  a
period  shorter  than  four  months the gross fee shall not exceed fifty
percent of the fee prescribed in the schedule in this subdivision or ten
percent of the wages or salary actually received, whichever is less.
  8. Fee ceiling: For a placement in class "C" employment the gross  fee
shall  not  exceed,  for  a  single  engagement,  ten  per  cent  of the
compensation payable to the applicant, except  that  for  employment  or
engagements  for  orchestras  and  for  employment or engagements in the
opera and concert fields such fees shall not exceed twenty per  cent  of
the compensation.

  9.  Fee ceiling: For a placement in class "D" employment the gross fee
shall not exceed, for a single engagement, the following:
  (1)  for  private  nursing  duty, five per cent of the salary or wages
received each week through the first ten weeks of that engagement  only,
and such fee shall be due and payable at the end of each such week;
  (2)  for any other nursing duty, the amount of the first week's salary
or wages unless the first year's computed salary or wages to be  derived
for  at  least  one  year's employment is twenty-five hundred dollars or
more, in which event the gross fee shall not exceed,  in  percentage  of
such salary or wages, the following:
 
  where such first year's salary or wages is
at least $2500 but less than $3000 ............................. 2 1/2 %
at least $3000 but less than $3500 ............................. 3     %
at least $3500 but less than $4000 ............................. 3 1/2 %
at least $4000 but less than $4500 ............................. 4     %
at least $4500 but less than $5000 ............................. 4 1/2 %
$5000 or more .................................................. 5     %
  10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no fee
may  be  charged  or  collected  for  services rendered by an employment
agency not licensed pursuant to section one hundred seventy-two of  this
article at the time such services were rendered. In an action to collect
a  fee, the court shall void all or any part of an agreement or contract
with an employment agency that did not have a valid license at the  time
the  contract  was entered into or services were rendered; however, such
contract shall not be considered void if a  court  finds  a  good  faith
effort  by an employment agency to maintain its license despite clerical
error or delay  by  the  department  of  labor  or  the  New  York  city
department of consumer affairs.