2023 New York Laws › GBS - General Business › Article 7 - Private Investigators, Bail Enforcement Agents and Watch, Guard and Patrol Agencies › 84 - Unlawful Acts.

§  84.  Unlawful acts.  1. It is unlawful for the holder of a license,
  issued under this  article,  or  for  any  employee  of  such  licensee,
  knowingly  to  commit  any  of  the following acts within or without the
  state of New York: to incite, encourage, or aid  in  the  incitement  or
  encouragement  of  any  person or persons who have become a party to any
  strike, to do unlawful acts against the person or property of  any  one,
  or  to  incite,  stir up, create or aid in the inciting of discontent or
  dissatisfaction  among  the  employees  of  any  person,  firm,  limited
  liability  company  or  corporation  with  the  intention of having them
  strike; to interfere or prevent lawful  and  peaceful  picketing  during
  strikes;  to  interfere  with,  restrain,  or  coerce  employees  in the
  exercise of their right to form, join or assist any  labor  organization
  of  their  own  choosing;  to interfere or hinder the lawful or peaceful
  collective bargaining between employees and employers; to pay, offer, or
  give any money, gratuity, favor, consideration, or other thing of value,
  directly or indirectly, to any person for any verbal or  written  report
  of  the lawful activities of employees in the exercise of their right of
  self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations  and  to
  bargain  collectively  through representatives of their own choosing; to
  advertise for, recruit, furnish  or  replace  or  offer  to  furnish  or
  replace for hire or reward, within or without the state of New York, any
  help  or  labor, skilled or unskilled, or to furnish or offer to furnish
  armed guards, other than armed guards theretofore regularly employed for
  the protection of payrolls,  property  or  premises,  for  service  upon
  property which is being operated in anticipation of or during the course
  or existence of a strike, or furnish armed guards upon the highways, for
  persons  involved in labor disputes or to furnish or offer to furnish to
  employers or their agents, any arms, munitions, tear gas implements,  or
  any  other  weapons;  or  to  send  letters  or  literature to employers
  offering to eliminate labor unions or distribute or circulate  any  list
  of  members  of  a  labor  organization,  or to advise any person of the
  membership of an individual in a  labor  organization  for  the  express
  purpose  of  preventing  those  so  listed  or  named  from obtaining or
  retaining employment. The violation of any of  the  provisions  of  this
  section shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine
  of  not  less  than  five hundred dollars, or one year's imprisonment or
  both. It is unlawful for the holder of a license to collect or offer  or
  attempt  to  collect or directly or indirectly engage in the business of
  collecting of debts or claims of any kind,  excepting  that  the  taking
  possession, on behalf of a secured party having the right to do so under
  section  9--609  of  the  uniform  commercial  code,  of property in the
  possession of a debtor  who  has  defaulted  in  the  performance  of  a
  security  agreement  secured by such property, shall not be considered a
  violation of this section and excepting further that  the  secretary  of
  state  may  grant  exemption  from this prohibition in the collection of
  debts to licensees who are principally engaged in the business of credit
  investigation and credit reporting. It is unlawful for the holder  of  a
  license to furnish or perform any services described in subdivisions one
  and  two  of  section  seventy-one  of  this  article on a contingent or
  percentage basis or to make or enter into any agreement  for  furnishing
  services  of  any kind or character, by the terms or conditions of which
  agreement the compensation to be paid for such services to the holder of
  a license is partially or wholly contingent or based upon  a  percentage
  of  the  amount  of  money or property recovered or dependent in any way
  upon the result achieved. It shall be unlawful for a holder of a license
  to  use,  display,  cause  to  be   printed   or   distributed,   cards,
  letter-heads,  circulars, brochures or any other advertising material or
  advertisement in which any name or indicia of the license status of  the

  licensee  is set forth in any manner other than the name under which the
  licensee is duly  licensed.  It  is  unlawful  for  a  licensed  private
  investigator or bail enforcement agent to own, have or possess or in any
  manner  to  wear, exhibit or display, a shield or badge of any material,
  kind, nature or description, in the performance of any of the activities
  as private investigator or bail enforcement agent, as distinguished from
  watch, guard or patrol agency, under this article. It is unlawful for  a
  licensed  private investigator or bail enforcement agent to issue to any
  person employed by such licensee, a badge or  shield  of  any  material,
  kind,  nature or description, and it is unlawful for any person employed
  by such licensee to possess, carry or display a badge or shield  of  any
  description  provided  that  any  licensed  private investigator or bail
  enforcement agent who also engages in the business of  watch,  guard  or
  patrol  agency  may possess, use or display or issue to employees in the
  conduct of such business, a rectangular metal or woven  insignia  to  be
  worn  on  the  outer  clothing  and approved by the department of state,
  which insignia shall not be larger than three inches high or four inches
  wide  with  an  inscription  thereon  containing  the  word  "watchman",
  "guard",  "patrol" or "special service" and the name of the licensee. It
  shall be unlawful for any licensee to publish or cause to  be  published
  any  advertisement,  letter-head,  circular,  statement or phrase of any
  sort  which  suggests  that  the  licensee  is  an  official  police  or
  investigative agency or any other agency instrumentality of the state of
  New  York or any of its political subdivisions. It shall be unlawful for
  any licensee to make any statement which would reasonably cause  another
  person  to  believe  that  the  licensee is a police officer or official
  investigator  of  the  state  of  New  York  or  any  of  its  political
  subdivisions.  It  shall  be unlawful for a licensee to offer, by radio,
  television, newspaper advertisement or any other means of communication,
  to perform services at any location which is merely the  location  of  a
  telephone  answer service unless full disclosure of that fact is made in
  the advertisement.
2. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of  subdivision  one  of
  this  section,  a  private investigator may contract with a local social
  services district to furnish or perform services  for  the  location  of
  absent  parents  and  fathers  of  children  born  out  of  wedlock on a
  contingent basis.