Fashion Workers Act passes New York state assembly in bid to correct ‘gross power imbalance’

Dive Brief:

• The New York State Assembly passed the Fashion Workers Act, which seeks to add labor protections for models working in the fashion industry by regulating management agencies in the state, according to a news release shared with Fashion Dive.
• The bill would require agencies to ensure model castings and jobs don’t pose risk or danger to the model; allow models to file complaints with the labor commissioner; and establish a fiduciary duty to the agency to act in the best interest of the model, among other requirements, per the release.
• The Fashion Workers Act will now head to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for approval.

Dive Insight:

The bill was first introduced in 2022 by New York State Sen. Brad Holyman-Sigal, Assemblymember Karines Reyes and advocacy group Model Alliance. It passed the State Senate last month.

Under state law, modeling agencies are considered management companies, and the Model Alliance said an “incidental booking exception” in the law allows agencies to “escape licensing and regulation.” 

It further said that in many cases, management companies are granted power of attorney over models, giving them authority to accept payments on a model’s behalf as well as deduct expenses from their pay, and give third parties permission to use the model’s image. The Model Alliance said that terms such as these make models more susceptible to other forms of abuse.

“This leaves models unprotected outside the terms of their individual contracts – which tend to be exploitative and one-sided in favor of the management company – and creates a lack of transparency and accountability when it comes to basic issues like health and safety and having insight into one’s own finances,” Model Alliance said in the release.

Alyssa Sutherland, an actor and former model, said in the release that the law would “help shift the scales on the gross power imbalance that has existed between models and predatory management companies.”

Carla Varriale-Barker, shareholder of law firm Segal McCambridge, wrote in a blog post that as independent contractors, models receive few protections.

“The minimal protections that do exist lag behind those provided in other related industries, including talent agencies,” Varriale-Barker wrote. “…It’s surprising that this sort of legislative protection was not enacted before.”

In a statement on behalf of multiple boutique model managers, Dale Noelle, CEO and founder of True Model Management, said that while there are commendable aspects of the act, “it requires improvements to effectively protect models.”

“It currently lacks measures to ensure timely payments from clients, lowers some industry standards, fails to close important loopholes, misuses industry terminology and lacks clarity,” Noelle said in an email to Fashion Dive. “Worker protection laws are vital, however, passing the bill without amendments will have unintended consequences that may harm small businesses, especially those owned by women and minorities, and will hold managers accountable for factors beyond their control. We urge Governor Hochul’s support in amending A5631-E to safeguard all fashion workers and guarantee financial compensation for models.”

If passed, the law would additionally require management companies to provide models with copies of contracts and agreements, make the power of attorney option revocable at any time, and register and deposit a surety bond of $50,000 to the NYS Department of State.

It would further ban management companies from presenting power of attorney as a necessity in a contract, as well as renewing models’ contracts without informed consent and altering a model’s digital replica with AI without their written consent.

“New York has long prided itself on being the fashion capital of the United States,” Hoylman-Sigal said in the release. “When the Governor signs this bill into law, models working in our state will finally receive the labor protections that they are entitled to, making New York the fashion worker protection capital, as well.”

Sarah Ziff, executive director of the Model Alliance, said that the bill shows that models are workers and deserve the same rights as any others.

“This is a major leap forward for the fashion industry which since its inception, has been an absolute backwater for workers’ rights, camouflaged by glamor and rife with a range of abuses considered the price of admission,” Ziff said. “… It is a major victory for our workforce of overwhelmingly young women and girls.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional quotes.