PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES. In a preceding section of this report were presented data relating to the number of complaints received by the Bureau against persons for violating the provisions of the employment agency act. This section of the report is devoted to showing the number and kinds of agencies licensed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the fees charged by the agencies, the regulations of the Labor Commissioner pertaining to the private employment agencies, and the opinions of the Attorney General on matters pertaining to the interpretation of the employment agency act. Number and Kind of Employment Agencies. Table 35 shows the number of employment agencies licensed by the Bureau each year since 1910. It will be seen that with the exception of the years 1911, 1915, 1916, 1917, and 1919, each year showed an increase over the preceding year. The falling off in the number of employment agencies licensed by the Bureau during the fiscal years 1915, 1916, 1917 is undoubtedly due to the establishment of the free employment offices. In 1925 the number of employment agencies increased by 20, and in 1926, the number increased by 11. Tables 36 and 37 show the kinds of agencies licensed by the Bureau. It will be observed that the largest number of agencies are "general, that is, agencies which furnished jobs to skilled and unskilled workers in various industries. The "commercial" agencies furnish jobs to men and women in office or professional work. The kinds of jobs furnished by the other agencies can readily be told by the names of these agencies, with the exception of the oriental agencies, which furnish largely, hotel and domestic jobs. Fees Charged by Private Employment Agencies. In Table 38 are shown the fees charged by commercial employment agencies. In this table data were tabulated for 44 commercial agencies whose contracts were verified as to the percentages of fees charged. It will be noticed that about half of the agencies charge fees ranging from 25 to 50 per cent of the first month's salaries. These fees are charged for positions lasting ninety days or more. For jobs lasting less than ninety days, commercial employment agencies generally charge ten per cent of the amount earned. Under our private employment agency act the employment agent may charge whatever fee is agreed upon between the agent and the applicant for employment. The law provides, however, that each agency must post a maximum schedule of fees, which the agency may not exceed, without having it first certified by the Labor Commissioner. The average fees charged by commercial and other employment agencies, for which data were tabulated in this report, are shown in Tables 39 to 51, inclusive. In these tables the average fees shown are for both temporary and permanent jobs. It is important to bear this fact in mind when studying the figures presented in Tables 39 to 51. TABLE 35-Number of Licenses Issued by the Bureau to Private Employment Agencies Each Year from 1910 to 1926. TABLE 36-Number of Employment Agencies Licensed by the Bureau from April 1, 1924, to March 31, 1925. TABLE 37-Number of Employment Agencies Licensed by the Bureau from April 1, 1925, to March 31, 1926. TABLE 38-Percentages of First Month's Salaries Charged by Commercial Agencies for "Permanent" Positions in the Year 1925-1926. Percentages of first month's salaries charged for "permanent" positions Not less than 10 per cent nor more than 10 per cent.. Rules and Regulations Governing Private Employment Agencies. By virtue of the authority vested in him by Section 19 of the Act Regulating Private Employment Agencies and for the purpose of facilitating and making certain, uniform and effective the enforcement of the provisions of this act, the Commissioner of Labor promulgated the following rules and regulations to govern all licensed employment agencies of California : 1. All provisions in employment agency contracts and receipts which provide for payment by applicants for employment of any fees for positions which are not on the books of the agency as bona fide orders on the date the applicant is sent out to the position, must be eliminated. a. Under this ruling a contract can not provide that if a temporary position develops into a permanent one, either immediately or at some future time, the applicant agrees to pay the full permanent fee, after deducting therefrom the amount paid on a temporary basis. other words, a position is either a temporary or permanent one and can not be both. A permanent position under the law is one lasting beyond ninety days. In b. Under this ruling a contract can not provide that if the applicant secures a position of another nature at a higher rate of pay he must pay an additional fee. 2. All provisions in employment agency contracts and receipts which provide that the applicant waives in advance his right to claim exemption from execution or attachment in case suit is brought to collect the employment agency fee, must be eliminated. If contracts and receipt forms are already printed the elimination may be made by crossing out the offending provisions but when new contracts or receipt forms are printed these provisions must be left out. (General Circular of January 13, 1925.) 3. Every applicant who is sent out for employment from whom a fee is to be received must be immediately given a uniform receipt in the form and containing the particulars required by section 11 of the Employment Agency Act. 4. Where contracts are used in addition to the uniform receipt, they must contain a cross-reference to the uniform receipt to the following effect: "This contract is subject to the terms of a uniform receipt to be issued later, to be numbered --- " and when the uniform receipt is issued, its number must be inserted in the space required. 5. All uniform receipts must be printed and numbered consecutively in printing, in original and in duplicate, the original to be given to the applicant and the duplicate to be kept at the agency. 6. All supplemental receipts for fees paid must be on either a uniform receipt blank containing the information required by Section 11 or on a supplemental receipt blank which refers to the original uniform receipt by number and is itself numbered consecutively in printing, in original and in duplicate, the original being given to the applicant paying the fee and the duplicate kept at the agency. 7. A sample copy of all contract and receipt forms used must be sent in to the San Francisco office of the Bureau for approval, if they have not already been sent in in connection with an application for license for the current year commencing April 1, 1926. 8. Every agency shall keep a registry of employers as provided by section 9 of the act which shall contain the information asked for in the approved form: namely, the order number; date of receipt of order; manner of its transmission; name and address of the person giving the order; name and address of the employer; the address where the applicant is to report for position; the kind of help wanted, the length of employment; rate of wages; hours of labor; whether or not board and lodging are furnished; the cost of transportation and by whom paid or advanced; and a general statement as to sanitary conditions and compliance with labor laws. Such employers' register may be kept either in book form, card form or loose leaf ledger form. 9. In no case shall a registration fee be charged as this is in violation of section 12 of the act. Any deposit put up at a time when the agency does not have on its books a bona fide position to which the applicant paying the fee may immediately be sent is considered a registration fee within this ruling, which is based on an opinion from the Attorney General of California, dated April 6, 1926. In all cases where a fee is paid it must be applied to a particular position and a uniform receipt covering the position in question must be given the applicant in all cases where a fee is charged. 10. No agency shall be conducted in connection with premises where rooms are used for living purposes or where boarders or lodgers are kept. (General Circular of May 6, 1926.) Rules and Regulations Governing Theatrical Agencies. On June 26, 1926, the following regulations were promulgated by the Labor Commissioner to govern contracts between theatrical employment agencies and applicants for employment at these agencies. These regulations were promulgated after a public hearing was held in our Los Angeles office on June 16, 1926: 1. Each contract shall provide that in so far as engagements in the State of California are concerned, a special provision in the contract, or a special contract, shall be made providing that all engagements to be filled within the State of California shall conform to the requirements of the Employment Agency Act of the State of California. 2. That such contracts shall provide sufficient information and full routing directions to be given to the artists, or performers, before any work is performed by them within the State of California. 3. That where the contract is made out of the State of California, it shall provide the number of bookings and the amounts to be earned within a certain period; and that the booker will be responsible for any lapses to the extent that the artists must be enabled to earn a specified sum within a specified period, and that the routing must end at the place of beginning. 4. Provision shall be made in the contracts for the transportation from and to the place of contract; also, that in case of termination of the contract for cause, suitable provision be made for the expense and transportation of the artist to the place where the contract was made. 5. The contract shall contain a special provision so as to call attention of the artist to the Child Labor Law of the State of California, which provides that a permit must be issued by proper authorities before a minor under eighteen years of age can perform, and that in issuing the permit, the authorities may exercise their own discretion. 6. The provisions in the contract providing for excuse from payment of compensation for service in cases beyond the control of the booking agency shall be eliminated in so far as the performances provided for are within the State of California. Digest of the Opinions of the Attorney General on the Private Employment Agency Act of California. The opinions of the Attorney General relating to the Private Employment Agency Act are briefly summarized in the following paragraphs. These opinions were secured by the Bureau to make the administration and enforcement of the law more effective. 1. Surety bonds furnished by employment agents may be cancelled with consent of Labor Commissioner. Question: May a surety company withdraw from a bond filed by a licensee under the Employment Agency Act? Opinion: The bond filed under the provisions of this act runs during the term of the license. It is a contract on the part of the surety company to pay damages arising from the misconduct of the licensee, as specified in section 7 of this act. As such contract it may be cancelled upon the consent of all the parties interested therein, so that when your department has accepted a new bond on behalf of the licensee there can be no objection to the cancellation of the old bond and the release of the surety found thereon from liability arising from any acts committed after such release. (Rendered April 20, 1916.) 2. Employment agencies charging fees to employers only do not require license from Labor Commissioner. Question: If the employer, not the applicant for employment, pays the fee to the employment agency, does that agency require a license from the Labor Commissioner? |