§ 181 — Contracts, statements of terms and conditions, and receipts

§ 181. Contracts, statements of terms and conditions, and receipts. It\nshall be the duty of every employment agency to give to each applicant\nfor employment:\n 1. A true copy of every contract executed between such agency and such\napplicant, which shall have printed on it or attached to it a statement\nsetting forth in a clear and concise manner the provisions of sections\none hundred eighty-five, and one hundred eighty-six of this article.\n 2. (a) For class "C" theatrical employment:\n (1) Such contract in blank shall be first approved by the commissioner\nand his or her determination shall be reviewable by certiorari. Each\ncontract shall include the gross commission or fees to be paid by the\nartist to the theatrical employment agency consistent with section one\nhundred eighty-five of this article. Each such contract shall also\ninclude the name, address, phone number and license number of the\ntheatrical employment agency in addition to the name of the artist, the\ntype of services covered by the contract, and all terms and conditions\nassociated with the payment of such commission or fees. The theatrical\nemployment agency shall keep on file a copy of each contract entered\ninto with an artist and provide a copy of each contract to the artist.\n (2) Separate from the contract, the agency shall provide to the\nartist, at the time of each audition or interview for specific\nemployment, information as to the name and address of the person to whom\nthe artist is to apply for such employment, the service to be performed,\nthe anticipated rate of compensation, where such compensation is known\nprior to the audition or interview, and any other material terms and\nconditions of such employment that are known by the agency prior to the\naudition or interview. Such information may be provided by electronic\ncommunication.\n (b) For all other employment, including class "A" and "A-1"\nemployment, each contract shall include, but not be limited to, the\nfollowing: information as to the name and address of the person to whom\nthe applicant is to apply for such employment, the name, the address,\nthe mailing address, and the telephone number of the employer; the\naddress or addresses of employment, the kind of service to be performed;\nthe anticipated rate of wages or compensation; the anticipated hours of\nwork per day and number of days to be worked per week; the agency's fee\nfor the applicant based on such anticipated wages or compensation; any\nprovision to the employee, and costs associated with that provision\nincluding housing, health insurance, healthcare, sick leave, holidays\nand retirement benefits; whether such employment is permanent or\ntemporary, the anticipated period of employment, the name and address of\nthe person authorizing the hiring of such applicant; and the cost of\ntransportation if the services are required outside of the city, town or\nvillage where such agency is located. If the job is a conditionally\nfee-paid job, the conditions under which the applicant will be required\nto pay a fee shall be clearly set forth in a separate agreement in\nten-point type signed by the job applicant.\n 3. (a) This paragraph shall apply to all classes of employment except\nfor class "C" theatrical employment. The employment agency shall provide\nto each applicant, a separate document accompanying each contract\nsummarizing the terms and conditions of the contract. This document\nshall be entitled "terms and conditions" and shall include the language\nthat the document is not a contract and that such document is not\nlegally binding. The terms and conditions shall be provided in plain and\ncommonly understood terms and language which shall aid the job applicant\nin understanding the transaction and such document shall limit the use\nof technical terms whenever possible.\n (b) The terms and conditions shall conform to any templates\nestablished by the commissioner and be made available to employment\nagencies in such manner as determined by the commissioner. In developing\nsuch templates, the commissioner shall afford the public an opportunity\nto submit comments on such templates.\n (c) The commissioner may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to\ncarry out the provisions of this section.\n (d) An employment agency shall not be penalized for errors or\nomissions in the non-English portions of any templates provided by the\ncommissioner.\n 4. A receipt for any fee, deposit, consideration, or payment which\nsuch agency receives from such applicant, which shall have printed or\nwritten on it the name of the applicant, the name and address of the\nemployment agency, the date and amount of such fee, deposit,\nconsideration or payment or portion thereof for which the receipt is\ngiven, the purpose for which it was paid, and the signature of the\nperson receiving such payment. If the applicant for employment has been\nrecruited from outside the state for domestic or household employment\nthe receipt shall have printed on it, or attached to it, a copy of\nsection one hundred eighty-four of this article. Except as provided\nbelow for class "C" theatrical employment, the receipt shall also\ninclude, immediately above the place for signature of the person\nreceiving payment, set off in a box and printed in bold capital letters,\nthe following statement: "An employment agency may not charge you, the\njob applicant, a fee before referring you to a job that you accept. If\nyou pay a fee before accepting a job or pay a fee that otherwise\nviolates the law, you may demand a refund, which shall be repaid within\nseven days". For class "C" employment such receipt shall state: "A\ntheatrical employment agency may not charge you, the artist, a fee\nbefore referring you to a job that you accept. A theatrical employment\nagency may charge you, the artist, a fee after an agency represents you\nin the negotiation or renegotiation of an original or pre-existing\nemployment contract. If you pay a fee that otherwise violates the law,\nyou may demand a refund, which shall be repaid within seven days".\n 5. The completed original or duplicate-original copy of each such\ncontract, statement of terms and conditions, receipts, and any other\ndocuments given to the applicant shall be retained by every employment\nagency for three years following the date on which the contract is\nexecuted or the payment is made, and shall be made available for\ninspection by the commissioner or his or her duly authorized agent or\ninspector, upon his or her request. Notwithstanding the other provisions\nof such contracts, the monetary consideration to be paid by the\napplicant shall not exceed the fee ceiling provided in subdivision eight\nof section one hundred eighty-five of this article.\n