11-11-227. Fee restrictions and requirements.

11-11-227. Fee restrictions and requirements. (a) When employment lasts less than ninety (90) calendar days, regardless of the reason, no employment agency may charge an employee a fee of more than one-ninetieth (1/90th) of the permanent placement fee for each calendar day of the employment. Under no circumstances shall the fee exceed twenty percent (20%) of an employee's actual gross earnings if employment lasts less than thirty (30) days or forty percent (40%) of an employee's actual gross earnings if employment lasts more than thirty (30) days but less than ninety (90) days. (b)(1) When a promissory note is used by the agency, it shall be clearly identified as such and shall not be executed until the placement is made. (2) The defense of no or insufficient consideration shall be good as against a holder of any such employment agency fee note. (c)(1) When a dispute concerning a fee exists, the Division of Labor may conduct an investigation to determine all of the facts concerning the dispute. Thereafter, the Director of the Division of Labor shall issue a decision and order resolving the dispute. (2) Any person aggrieved by this decision and order may obtain review of this decision and order pursuant to § 11-11-222. (d)(1) Any schedule of fees to be charged by an employment agency for its services shall be furnished to all applicants upon making application with the agency. (2)(A) The forms, fee schedules, and contracts utilized by an employment agency shall contain no ambiguous, false, or misleading information. (B) No contract or fee schedule shall contain smaller than eight-point type. (e)(1) All fee schedules used in the business of an employment agency must be furnished to job applicants and fee-paying employers and shall state in dollars and cents the amount of any fee charged by the agency for its services. (2) Percentages shall not be used by agencies in schedules of fees to be charged for their services, except when the annual salary for a job is twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) or more. (f) It shall be unlawful for any employment agency to impose, enforce, collect, or receive a fee for performance of any service for a job applicant, or for a prospective employer, unless the agency makes every reasonable effort to disclose the exact dollar amount of the fee to the applicant or prospective employer prior to commencement of employment of an applicant by an employer. (g) Nothing in this section or this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit an employment agency from contracting with an employer on a fee-paid basis to pay the fee for the placement services for an employee without an actual job placement or to prohibit an agency from charging a fee to an employer for a retained services contract to search for applicants for an employer without an actual job placement.