§ 173. Application for license. 1. An application for such license shall be made to the commissioner of labor, except that if the employment agency is to be conducted in the city of New York the application for such license shall be made to the commissioner of consumer affairs of such city. If the employment agency is owned by an individual such application shall be made by such individual; if it is owned by a partnership such application shall be made by all partners; if it is owned by an association or society, such application shall be made by the president and treasurer thereof, by whatever title designated; if it is owned by a corporation, such application shall be made by all its officers and, if the stock of the corporation is publicly traded, by all stockholders holding ten percent or more of the stock of such corporation. A conformed or photostatic copy of the minutes showing the election of such officers shall be attached to such application.

If the applicant will conduct business under a trade name or if the applicant is a partnership, the application for a license shall be accompanied by a copy of the trade name or partnership certificate duly certified by the clerk of the county in whose office said certificate is filed. Such trade name shall not be similar or identical to that of any existing licensed agency.

2. a. Such application shall be written and in the form prescribed by the commissioner and shall state truthfully the name and address of the applicant; the name under which the employment agency is to be conducted; the street and number of the building or place where the business is to be conducted; the business or occupations engaged in by the applicant theretofore; the name and address of the individual who will be responsible for the direction and operation of the placement activities of the agency, whether such individual be the applicant or another; the length of time such individual has spent as a placement employee; a description of the duties of such individual when so engaged; the name and present address of the last employer to employ such individual as a placement employee; and such other information as may be prescribed by the commissioner. If such individual is not the applicant, the application for a license shall be accompanied by an application for an agency manager permit by the individual who will be responsible for the direction and operation of the placement activities of the agency. An application for an agency manager permit shall be on such form as prescribed by the commissioner.

b. The application for a license shall be accompanied by samples or accurate facsimiles of each and every form which the applicant for a license will require applicants for employment to execute, and such forms must be approved by the commissioner before a license may be issued. The commissioner shall approve any such forms which fairly and clearly represent contractual terms and conditions between the proposed employment agency and applicants for employment, such as are permitted by this article. The commissioner shall make all forms required pursuant to this article available to employment agencies in languages other than English, including any other language that the commissioner determines, in his or her discretion, based on the size of the New York population that speaks each language and any other factor that the commissioner deems relevant. An employment agency shall not be penalized for errors or omissions in the non-English portions of any forms provided by the commissioner.

c. If the applicant for a license intends to recruit persons who reside in a state outside this state for employment as domestic or household employees, or to recruit persons from outside the continental United States for domestic or household employment, or is to provide or arrange for lodging of applicants for employment or other persons doing business with the agency, he shall so state in the application for a license, and give the address where such lodging will be provided. Such application shall be accompanied by the statements of at least two reputable residents of the state, subscribed and affirmed by such residents as true under the penalties of perjury, except that where the agency is to be conducted in New York city, the statements shall be of at least two reputable persons who reside or do business in such city, to the effect that the applicant is a person of good moral character.