(a) The service fee charged for helping to secure permanent employment shall not exceed the following schedule: Fifteen percent (15%) of the first full month's gross compensation if the position pays Seventy-nine Dollars and ninety-nine cents ($79.99) or less; twenty percent (20%) of the first full month's gross compensation if the position pays Eighty Dollars ($80.00) through One Hundred Nineteen Dollars and ninety-nine cents ($119.99); thirty percent (30%) of the first full month's gross compensation if the position pays One Hundred Twenty Dollars ($120.00) through One Hundred Forty-nine Dollars and ninety-nine cents ($149.99); forty percent (40%) of the first full month's gross compensation if the position pays One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) through Two Hundred Seventy-four Dollars and ninety-nine cents ($274.99); forty-five percent (45%) of the first full month's gross compensation if the position pays Two Hundred Seventy-five Dollars ($275.00) through Four Hundred Ninety-nine Dollars and ninety-nine cents ($499.99). For procuring employment paying gross compensation of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or more per month, the fee shall be determined by written agreement between all parties concerned. The fee schedule shall be posted in a conspicuous place in each employment agency office.

(b) In no event shall the fee for temporary employment exceed that for permanent placement. Any period of employment terminating at any time within sixty (60) days from the date of employment shall constitute temporary employment and a fee of not more than twenty percent (20%) of the amount earned shall be charged. All employment exceeding sixty (60) days' duration shall be considered a permanent placement. No licensed employment agency shall collect a fee before an applicant has obtained employment. No fee shall be charged for registering with an employment agency or for instituting a search or investigation, or for other employment-related aids. Where the remuneration is in the form of a straight commission, the first three (3) months' gross earnings shall be divided by three to establish an average monthly compensation against which to compute the fee. No finance company or other purchaser of employment contracts shall be considered a holder in due course of such paper until after the temporary employment period shall have run and permanent employment shall have been established, and in no event shall the applicant for employment be liable for any charge to a finance company in addition to the legal placement fee as hereinabove set forth.

(c) This section shall not apply to an employment agency acting as a search consultant that is retained and compensated solely by the employer on a retainer or consulting basis.

Added by Laws 1967, c. 384, § 3, emerg. eff. May 23, 1967. Amended by Laws 1977, c. 11, § 1; Laws 1982, c. 313, § 1, operative Oct. 1, 1982; Laws 2017, c. 51, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2017.