<section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-101" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="Definitions; General Provisions"> <level label="a"> <text>In this title the following words have the meanings indicated.</text> </level> <level label="b"> <text>“Client” means an individual who seeks employment through an employment agency.</text> </level> <level label="c"> <level label="1"> <text>“Employment agency” means a person who, for a fee:</text> <level label="i"> <text>obtains, offers to obtain, or attempts to obtain:</text> <level label="1"> <text>an employee for a person who seeks an employee; or</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>employment for a client;</text> </level> </level> <level label="ii"> <text>provides to a client information to enable the client to obtain employment;</text> </level> <level label="iii"> <text>obtains, offers to obtain, or attempts to obtain employment or an engagement in connection with an entertainment, exhibition, or performance, including:</text> <level label="1"> <text>a ballet;</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>a circus;</text> </level> <level label="3"> <text>a concert;</text> </level> <level label="4"> <text>the legitimate theater;</text> </level> <level label="5"> <text>modeling;</text> </level> <level label="6"> <text>a motion picture;</text> </level> <level label="7"> <text>an opera;</text> </level> <level label="8"> <text>a phonograph recording;</text> </level> <level label="9"> <text>the radio;</text> </level> <level label="10"> <text>a transcription;</text> </level> <level label="11"> <text>television;</text> </level> <level label="12"> <text>the variety field; or</text> </level> <level label="13"> <text>vaudeville; or</text> </level> </level> <level label="iv"> <level label="1"> <text>obtains, offers to obtain, or attempts to obtain an alien labor certification or immigrant visa for an individual; and</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>participates directly or indirectly in the recruitment or supply of an individual who resides outside of the continental United States for employment in the continental United States.</text> </level> </level> </level> <level label="2"> <text>“Employment agency” does not include a person who merely:</text> <level label="i"> <text>conducts a business that directly employs individuals to provide part–time or temporary services to another person;</text> </level> <level label="ii"> <text>as a lawyer, directly obtains an immigrant visa for an individual;</text> </level> <level label="iii"> <text>conducts a business that:</text> <level label="1"> <text>receives a fee that is paid wholly by an employer;</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>does not collect money from an individual seeking employment; and</text> </level> <level label="3"> <text>does not require an individual seeking employment to make a contract; or</text> </level> </level> <level label="iv"> <text>operates a nursing referral service agency that is licensed under Title 19, Subtitle 4B of the Health – General Article.</text> </level> </level> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-102" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="1" subtitle_name="Definitions; General Provisions"> <text>This title does not apply to:</text> <level label="1"> <text>a charitable, educational, fraternal, or religious organization that does not charge a fee for its services other than ordinary dues for membership;</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>a labor organization while obtaining or attempting to obtain employment for a member of the organization; or</text> </level> <level label="3"> <text>an organization of employers while obtaining or attempting to obtain help for a member of the organization.</text> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-302" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <text>An employment agency may not:</text> <level label="1"> <text>knowingly refer a client to a job if any condition of the job violates any law;</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>refer a client to an establishment where a labor dispute exists;</text> </level> <level label="3"> <text>as a condition of providing service to a client, require the client before acceptance of a job to execute:</text> <level label="i"> <text>a promissory note; or</text> </level> <level label="ii"> <text>an instrument with warrant of attorney that authorizes confession of judgment;</text> </level> </level> <level label="4"> <text>advertise a job for which there is no order by an employer on file;</text> </level> <level label="5"> <text>send a client to an employer for a job with no order on file for the job unless:</text> <level label="i"> <text>the employer previously requested regular interviews with qualified clients, the client is qualified, and the employment agency confirms the request before sending the client to the employer; or</text> </level> <level label="ii"> <text>the employment agency tells the client that the employment agency has no order for the job;</text> </level> </level> <level label="6"> <text>split a fee with an employer or representative of an employer, except that the employment agency may accept from an employer all or part of a service fee for a client if the employment agency tells the client of the payment;</text> </level> <level label="7"> <text>charge a client a registration fee or collect in advance from a client a payment for service to be performed for the client to obtain employment;</text> </level> <level label="8"> <text>publish or cause to be published any false, fraudulent, or misleading information or promise;</text> </level> <level label="9"> <text>solicit for other employment an individual who is employed by an employer with whom the employment agency placed the individual, unless the individual reactivates the application;</text> </level> <level label="10"> <text>engage in fraud or dishonest dealing; or</text> </level> <level label="11"> <text>violate this title.</text> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-303" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <text>Each employment agency shall keep a detailed record of:</text> <level label="1"> <text>each job order from an employer; and</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>each referral that the employment agency makes on a job order.</text> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-304" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <level label="a"> <text>Each employment agency shall keep a file of all job advertisements that identifies each advertisement by:</text> <level label="1"> <text>its date; and</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>the publication where the advertisement appears.</text> </level> </level> <level label="b"> <text>Each employment agency:</text> <level label="1"> <text>shall indicate on each advertisement and on all other promotional material the name of the employment agency; and</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>except in an advertisement that appears in a classified employment agency column of a newspaper, shall use the word “agency” in each advertisement.</text> </level> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-305" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <level label="a"> <text>Each employment agency shall indicate, on each form that the employment agency uses, that it is an employment agency.</text> </level> <level label="b"> <text>In a contract between an employment agency and a client, the term “acceptance of position by applicant” means:</text> <level label="1"> <text>commencement of work by a client; or</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>an agreement between a client and employer for the client to begin work on a fixed date at an agreed remuneration.</text> </level> </level> <level label="c"> <text>In each contract between an employment agency and a client, the employment agency shall state the fee that the employment agency charges the client for placement by the employment agency.</text> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-306" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <level label="a"> <text>If, within 90 days after a client starts a job, the client is discharged through no fault of the client or leaves the job voluntarily with just cause, an employment agency may charge the client a temporary placement fee of up to the lesser of:</text> <level label="1"> <text>20% of the total compensation the client received; or</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>75% of the permanent placement fee for the same job.</text> </level> </level> <level label="b"> <text>If, within 90 days after a client starts a job, the client is discharged for cause or leaves the job voluntarily without just cause, an employment agency may charge the client a temporary placement fee of up to 75% of the permanent placement fee.</text> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-307" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <text>If, for a pay period, the pay of an employee placed by an employment agency is not more than the minimum wage under § 3-413 of the Labor and Employment Article, the employment agency may not collect or attempt to collect more than 20% of its placement fee from the employee’s pay for the pay period.</text> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-308" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <text>Within 24 hours after a client demands reimbursement for ordinary and necessary travel expenses incurred as a result of a referral, an employment agency shall reimburse the client if the client did not obtain employment and:</text> <level label="1"> <text>the employment agency sent the client to an employer for a job for which the employment agency had no order and failed to tell the client that there was no order;</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>the client was qualified and the employment agency sent the client to an employer that previously asked for regular interviews with qualified clients, but the employment agency failed to confirm the order with the employer; or</text> </level> <level label="3"> <text>the client was unqualified and the employment agency sent the client to an employer that previously asked for regular interviews with qualified clients.</text> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-309" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="3" subtitle_name="Employment Agencies"> <level label="a"> <text>When an employment agency and a client execute a contract or other document, the employment agency shall give the client a copy of the document.</text> </level> <level label="b"> <text>For each fee that an employment agency receives from a client, the employment agency shall give the client a receipt that states:</text> <level label="1"> <text>the name of the client;</text> </level> <level label="2"> <text>the date of payment;</text> </level> <level label="3"> <text>the amount of the fee paid; and</text> </level> <level label="4"> <text>the balance of the fee due.</text> </level> </level> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-401" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="4" subtitle_name="Penalties"> <text>A person who violates this title is guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction, is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or both.</text> </section> <section article="gbr" article_name="Business Regulation" number="9-501" title_number="9" title_name="Employment Agencies" subtitle_number="5" subtitle_name="Short Title"> <text>This title is the Maryland Employment Agency Act.</text> </section>