One year ago today, New York signed the Fashion Workers Act into law, legislating access to workplace protection for models, and enforcing tighter regulation policies for the management companies that represent them. Now, the one-year grace period for the act’s mandatory registration requirements has ended, meaning agencies must be registered as model management companies or groups with the New York Department of Labor (NYDL) to better enable models to discern legitimate representation.
Since the Fashion Workers Act took effect, at the time of publishing, 67 companies have registered as model management companies or groups, including DNA Models and Elite Model Agency. As of Thursday, companies including IMG Models and Wilhelmina had not yet registered, but both confirmed they were in the process of doing so in the days ahead of the end of week deadline.
Registration helps to protect models by providing clarity about which management companies are legitimate. “In light of this global reckoning with the history of systemic abuse in the industry, and more coming to light about teenage girls who were trafficked under the guise of modeling work, I’ve been banging the drum for a really long time,” says Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of industry non-profit Model Alliance. “It’s better late than never.”
In addition to registering as a model management company or group, under the Fashion Workers Act, agencies must provide financial transparency; advance delivery of contracts; compliance with legal requirements for employment involving nudity or explicit material; a 20% commission cap; itemized expense and deduction disclosures with prior written approval; a three-year maximum contract term; a ban on upfront fees; and renewal every two years (no fewer than 90 days before expiration).
The registry is an important tool for models seeking to distinguish legitimate businesses from scams, Ziff says, while cautioning that an agency being listed doesn’t automatically mean that it’s complying with all of the Fashion Workers Act’s requirements. But if a company isn’t registered, that should be a red flag for any model looking for representation, she flags.
Modeling agencies that fail to comply will face monetary penalties. The state labor commissioner can impose fines of up to $3,000 for an initial violation, and up to $5,000 for subsequent violations. The act also allows models to file a complaint with the NYDL within six years of the alleged conduct, while prohibiting retaliation. “If a model management company is found to have violated the act, it will be liable to the model for actual damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and liquidated damages — unless the model management company had a good faith basis to believe they were in compliance,” says Jeffrey Weston, partner at ArentFox Schiff.
Clients for whom the model is working are also responsible for certain duties under the act. These include: overtime pay, meal breaks, liability insurance, written anti-harassment policies, and allowing a model to bring a representative to set. These are the duties that brands are responsible for.
