N.Y. GBS Law § 185 — New York Code / Act GBS / Article 11 / Section 185
Fees
Status: in_force

§ 185. Fees.  1. Circumstances permitting fee. An employment agency\nshall not charge or accept a fee or other consideration unless in\naccordance with the terms of a written contract with a job applicant and\nafter such agency has been responsible for referring such job applicant\nto an employer or such employer to a job applicant and where as a result\nthereof such job applicant has been employed by such employer, except\nfor class "C" employment: (a) after an agency has been responsible for\nreferring an artist to an employer or such employer to an artist and\nwhere as a result thereof such artist has been employed by such\nemployer; or (b) after an agency represents an artist in the negotiation\nor renegotiation of an original or pre-existing employment contract and\nwhere as a result thereof the artist enters into a negotiated or\nrenegotiated employment contract. For class "C" employment pursuant to\nthis paragraph, an employment agency shall provide an artist with a\nstatement setting forth in a clear and concise manner the provisions of\nthis section and section one hundred eighty-six of this article.\n  The maximum fees provided for herein for all types of placements or\nemployment may be charged to the job applicant and a similar fee may be\ncharged to the employer provided, however, that with regard to\nplacements in class "B" employment, a fee of up to one and one-half\ntimes the fee charged to the job applicant may be charged to the\nemployer. By agreement with an employment agency, the employer may\nvoluntarily assume payment of the job applicant's fee. The fees charged\nto employers by any licensed person conducting an employment agency for\nrendering services in connection with, or for providing employment in\nclasses "A", "A-1" and "B", as hereinafter defined in subdivision four\nof this section where the applicant is not charged a fee shall be\ndetermined by agreement between the employer and the employment agency.\nNo fee shall be charged or accepted for the registration of applicants\nfor employees or employment.\n  2. Size of fee; payment schedule. The gross fee charged to the job\napplicant and the gross fee charged to the employer each shall not\nexceed the amounts enumerated in the schedules set forth in this\nsection, for any single employment or engagement, except as hereinabove\nprovided; and such fees shall be subject to the provisions of section\none hundred eighty-six of this article. Except as otherwise provided\nherein, and except for class "C" employment, an employment agency shall\nnot require an applicant while employed in the continental United\nStates, and paid weekly to pay any fee at a rate greater than in ten\nequal weekly installments each of which shall be payable at the end of\neach of the first ten weeks of employment, or if paid less frequently,\nin five equal installments, each of which shall be payable at the end of\nthe first five pay periods following his employment, or within a period\nof ten weeks, whichever period is longer. An employer's fee shall be due\nand payable at the time the applicant begins employment, unless\notherwise determined by agreement between the employer and the agency.\n  3. Deposits, advance fees. An employment agency shall not require or\naccept a deposit or advance fee from any applicant.\n  4. Types of employment. For the purpose of placing a ceiling over the\nfees charged by persons conducting employment agencies, types of\nemployment shall be classified as follows:\n  Class "A"--domestics, household employees, unskilled or untrained\nmanual workers and laborers, including agricultural workers;\n  Class "A1"--non-professional trained or skilled industrial workers or\nmechanics;\n  Class "B"--commercial, clerical, executive, administrative and\nprofessional employment, all employment outside the continental United\nStates, and all other employment not included in classes "A", "A1", "C"\nand "D";\n  Class "C"--theatrical engagements;\n  Class "D"--nursing engagements as defined in article one hundred\nthirty-nine of the education law.\n  5. Fee ceiling: For a placement in class "A" employment the gross fee,\nincluding the deposit if any, shall not exceed, in percentage of the\nfirst full month's salary or wages, the following:\nwhere no meals or lodging are provided ............................ 10 %\nwhere one meal per working day is provided ........................ 12 %\nwhere two meals per working day are provided ...................... 14 %\nwhere three meals and lodging per working day are\nprovided .......................................................... 18 %\nWhere all parties to the employment agreement understand or agree at the\ntime the employment is entered into that it shall be for a period\nshorter than one month, the gross fee shall not exceed ten per cent,\ntwelve per cent, fourteen per cent or eighteen per cent respectively of\nthe salary or wages actually paid.\n  6. Fee ceiling: For a placement in Class "A1" employment the gross fee\nshall not exceed one week's wages where all parties to the employment\nagreement understand or agree at the time the employment is entered into\nthat it shall be for a period for ten weeks or more. Where all parties\nto the employment contract agree and understand at the time the\nemployment contract is entered into that it shall be for a period\nshorter than ten weeks, the gross fee shall not exceed ten per cent of\nthe wages or salary actually received.\n  7. Fee ceiling: For a placement in Class "B" employment the gross fee\nshall not exceed, in percentage of the first full month's salary or\nwages, the following:\n  where such first full month's salary or wages is\nless than $750 .................................................... 25 %\nat least $ 750 but less than $ 950 ................................ 35 %\nat least $ 950 but less than $1150 ................................ 40 %\nat least $1150 but less than $1350 ................................ 45 %\nat least $1350 but less than $1500 ................................ 50 %\nat least $1500 but less than $1650 ................................ 55 %\nat least $1650 or more ............................................ 60 %\nProvided however, that where the placement is for employment in which\nthe applicant will be paid on a straight commission basis or on the\nbasis of a drawing account plus commissions, the gross fee shall be\nbased on percentages in the above schedule applied to an amount\nequivalent to one-twelfth of the estimated first year's earnings, as\nestimated by the employer.\n  Where all parties to the employment contract agree and understand at\nthe time the employment contract is entered into that it shall be for a\nperiod shorter than four months the gross fee shall not exceed fifty\npercent of the fee prescribed in the schedule in this subdivision or ten\npercent of the wages or salary actually received, whichever is less.\n  8. Fee ceiling: For a placement in class "C" employment the gross fee\nshall not exceed, for a single engagement, ten per cent of the\ncompensation payable to the applicant, except that for employment or\nengagements for orchestras and for employment or engagements in the\nopera and concert fields such fees shall not exceed twenty per cent of\nthe compensation.\n  9. Fee ceiling: For a placement in class "D" employment the gross fee\nshall not exceed, for a single engagement, the following:\n  (1) for private nursing duty, five per cent of the salary or wages\nreceived each week through the first ten weeks of that engagement only,\nand such fee shall be due and payable at the end of each such week;\n  (2) for any other nursing duty, the amount of the first week's salary\nor wages unless the first year's computed salary or wages to be derived\nfor at least one year's employment is twenty-five hundred dollars or\nmore, in which event the gross fee shall not exceed, in percentage of\nsuch salary or wages, the following:\n  where such first year's salary or wages is\nat least $2500 but less than $3000 ............................. 2 1/2 %\nat least $3000 but less than $3500 ............................. 3     %\nat least $3500 but less than $4000 ............................. 3 1/2 %\nat least $4000 but less than $4500 ............................. 4     %\nat least $4500 but less than $5000 ............................. 4 1/2 %\n$5000 or more .................................................. 5     %\n  10. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, no fee\nmay be charged or collected for services rendered by an employment\nagency not licensed pursuant to section one hundred seventy-two of this\narticle at the time such services were rendered. In an action to collect\na fee, the court shall void all or any part of an agreement or contract\nwith an employment agency that did not have a valid license at the time\nthe contract was entered into or services were rendered; however, such\ncontract shall not be considered void if a court finds a good faith\neffort by an employment agency to maintain its license despite clerical\nerror or delay by the department of labor or the New York city\ndepartment of consumer affairs.\n