Article 19B. Domestic Workers and Household Employees

Section 690. Application.

The provisions of this article shall apply to all employment agencies, under the authority of this chapter and as defined in section one hundred seventy-one of the general business law, which arrange employment for domestic or household employees.

Section 691. Statement of employee rights and employer obligations under state and federal law.

1. Every licensed employment agency under the jurisdiction of the commissioner and engaged in the job placement of domestic workers or household employees shall provide to each applicant for employment as a domestic worker or household employee and his or her prospective employer, before job placement is arranged, a written statement indicating the rights of such worker and employee and the obligations of his or her employer under state and federal law. In the event any such licensed employment agency maintains a website, the text of such written statement shall also be provided on the agency's website. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations detailing what information should be included in such written statement. Such rules and regulations shall require that such statement of rights and obligations embody provisions of state and federal laws that pertain to domestic workers or household employees, both in their capacity as workers and employees in New York state and the United States and in their capacity specifically as domestic workers or household employees in New York state and the United States. Such statement of rights and obligations shall include, but not be limited to, a general description of employee rights and employer obligations pursuant to laws regarding minimum wage, overtime and hours of work, record keeping, social security payments, unemployment insurance coverage, disability insurance coverage and workers' compensation. Every licensed employment agency under the jurisdiction of the commissioner and to which this article applies shall certify that the written statement required by this subdivision conforms to rules and regulations promulgated by the department and shall file a copy of such written statement with the department.

2. Every employment agency engaged in the job placement of domestic workers or household employees shall keep on file in its principal place of business for a period of three years a statement, signed by the employer of a domestic worker or household employee whom the employment agency has placed with such employer, indicating that the employer has read and understands the statement of rights and obligations he or she received pursuant to subdivision one of this section.

Section 692. Statement of job conditions; records.

1. Every licensed employment agency under the jurisdiction of the commissioner and engaged in the job placement of domestic workers or household employees shall provide to each applicant for employment as a domestic worker or household employee a written statement, in a form approved by the commissioner, of the job conditions of each potential employment position to which the agency recommends that the applicant apply. Each such statement shall fully and accurately describe the nature and terms of employment, including the name and address of the person to whom the applicant is to apply for such employment, the name and address of the person authorizing the hiring for such position, wages, hours of work, the kind of services to be performed and agency fee.

Section 693. Enforcement.

The commissioner, or his or her duly authorized agent or inspector, is authorized pursuant to section one hundred eighty-nine of the general business law to implement and carry out the requirements of this article.

Section 694. Violations.

Any person who violates, and the officers of a corporation and stockholders holding ten percent or more of the stock of a corporation which is not publicly traded who knowingly permit the corporation to violate, subdivisions one and two of sections six hundred ninety-one and six hundred ninety-two of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be subject to a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, by any court of competent jurisdiction. Criminal proceedings based upon violation of such sections may be instituted by the commissioner and/or any persons aggrieved by such violations.