GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 1044

Short Title:  Private Personnel Services Fees.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senator Dalton.

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Referred to:  Commerce.

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April 21, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ALLOW PRIVATE PERSONNEL SERVICES TO CHARGE APPLICANTS A REGISTRATION FEE AND TO REQUIRE THAT SUCH SERVICES POST A SECURITY BOND COVERING THE REFUND OF REGISTRATION FEES WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 95-47.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 95-47.1.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	" Accept employment. – To accept an employer's offer of employment or to begin work for an employer.
(2)	" Applicant. – Except where it refers to an applicant for a private personnel services license, the term means any person who uses or attempts to use the services of a private personnel service in seeking employment.
(3)	 " Commissioner. – The North Carolina Commissioner of Labor or any person designated by the Commissioner as the representative of the Commissioner.
(4)	 " Complaint. – A communication to the Commissioner or department alleging facts that could support issuance of a warning or citation under G.S. 95-47.9.
(5)	 " Contract. – Any agreement between a private personnel service and an applicant obligating the applicant to pay a fee or any agreement subsequent to a contract reducing the obligations of the private personnel service to the applicant under the contract.
(6)	 " Employee. – A person performing work or services of any kind or character for compensation.
(7)	 " Employer. – A person employing or seeking to employ a person for compensation, or any representative or employee of such employer.
(8)	 " Employment. – Any service or engagement rendered or undertaken for wages, salary, commission, or other form of compensation.
(9)	 "Fee. – Anything of value, including money or other valuable consideration or services or the promise of any of the foregoing, required or received by a private personnel service, in payment for any of its services, or act rendered or to be rendered by any private personnel service.
(10)	 " Interview. – A meeting between an employer and an applicant to discuss potential employment.
(11)	 " Job order. – An oral or written communication from an employer authorizing a private personnel service to refer applicants for a position the employer has available.
(12)	 " Licensee. – Any person licensed by the Commissioner to operate a private personnel service.
(13)	 " Manager. – The person who is responsible for the operation of an office of a private personnel service.
(14)	 " Owner. – The sole proprietor of a private personnel service operated as a sole proprietorship; any partner in a partnership that owns or operates a private personnel service; any stockholder with a financial interest greater than 10 percent (10%) in a corporation that owns or operates a private personnel service.
(15)	 " Person. – Any individual, association, partnership or corporation.
(16)	 " Private personnel service. – Any business operated in the State of North Carolina by any person for profit which secures employment or by any form of advertising holds itself out to applicants as able to secure employment or to provide information or service of any kind purporting to promote, lead to or result in employment for the applicant with any employer other than itself, where any applicant may become liable for the payment of a fee to the private personnel service, either directly or indirectly. 'Private personnel service' does not include:
a.	Any educational, religious, charitable, fraternal or benevolent organization which charges no fee for services rendered in securing employment or providing information about employment.
b.	Any employment service operated by the State of North Carolina, the Government of the United States, or any city, county, or town, or any agency thereof.
c.	Any temporary help service that at no time advertises or represents that its employee may, with the approval of the temporary help service, be employed by one of its client companies on a permanent basis and which does not act as a private personnel service or an employer fee paid personnel service.
d.	Any newspaper of general circulation or other business engaged primarily in communicating information other than information about specific positions of employment and that does not purport to adapt the information provided to the needs or desires of an individual subscriber.
e.	Employment offices that charge no fee to the applicant other than union dues or to the employer and which are used solely for the hiring of employees under a valid union contract by the employer subscribing to this contract.
f.	Any employer fee paid personnel consulting service or temporary help service that offers temporary to permanent placement when the service operates on a one hundred percent (100%) employer fee paid service basis, requires no applicant placement contract, and has no recourse against an applicant for a fee under any circumstances.
(17)	 " Refer. – To submit applicants' resumes to an employer, arrange interviews between an applicant and an employer, or to provide an employer with the name of an applicant.
(18)	Registration fee. – The fee paid by an applicant to a licensee for information or services that might lead to or result in employment for the applicant. The term 'registration fee' does not include charges for employment placement services."
Section 2.  G.S. 95-47.2(j) reads as rewritten:
"(j)	Each licensee shall, before the license is issued or renewed and before any registration fees are accepted, deposit with the department a bond payable to the State of North Carolina and executed by a surety company duly authorized to transact business in the State of North Carolina in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or an amount sufficient to refund all unearned registration fees, whichever is greater, and upon condition that the private personnel service will pay to applicants all refunds due under this Article and regulations adopted hereunder if the private personnel service fails to render services covered by the registration fee or terminates its business."
Section 3.  G.S. 95-47.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 95-47.6.  Prohibited acts.
A private personnel service shall not engage in any of the following activities or conduct:
(1)	Induce or attempt to induce any employee placed by that private personnel service to terminate his employment in order to obtain other employment through the private personnel service; or procure or attempt to procure the discharge of any person from his employment.
(2)	Publish or cause to be published any false or fraudulent information, representation, promise, notice or advertisement.
(3)	Advertise in newspapers or otherwise, unless the advertising contains the name of the private personnel service and the word 'personnel service'.
(4)	Direct an applicant to visit or call upon an employer for the purpose of obtaining employment without having first obtained a job order or authorization from the employer for the interview. A private personnel service may attempt to sell the services of an applicant to an employer from whom no job order has been received and may charge a fee if the efforts result in the applicant's being employed.
(5)	Send or cause to be sent any person to any employer where the private personnel service knows that the prospective employment is or would be in violation of State or federal laws governing minimum wages or child labor, or has been notified that a labor dispute is in progress, without notifying the applicant of that fact, or knowingly arrange an interview for an employment or occupation prohibited by law.
(6)	Send or cause to be sent any person to any place which the private personnel service knows is maintained for immoral or illicit purposes.
(7)	Divide or share, either directly or indirectly, the fees collected by the private personnel service, with contractors, subcontractors, employers or their agents, foremen or anyone in their employ, or if the contractors, subcontractors or employers be a corporation, any of the officers, directors or employees of the corporation to whom applicants for employment are sent.
(8)	Make, cause to be made, or use any name, sign or advertising device bearing a name which is similar to or may reasonably be confused with the name of a federal, State, city, county or other governmental unit or agency.
(9)	Knowingly make any false or misleading promise or representation or give any false or misleading information to any applicant or employer in regard to any employment, work or position, its nature, location, duration, compensation or the circumstances surrounding any employment, work or position including the availability thereof.
(10)	Accept a registration fee from an applicant, unless the private personnel service has on deposit with the Commissioner a security bond that is sufficient to cover the refund of any unearned registration fees.
(11)	Impose or attempt to collect any fee from any applicant unless that applicant accepts employment with an employer to which the applicant was directly or indirectly introduced by the private personnel service.
(12)	A fee may be charged for resume writing provided the private personnel service does not require the applicant to become obligated for any other services."
Section 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.