Fashion Models Get Long-Sought Industry Protections

Thousands of models, content creators, stylists and others working in New York State’s fashion industry will get paid on time, copied on contracts and agreements and notified of royalties they are owed as a result of legislation signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul Saturday.

The Fashion Workers Act, sponsored by Manhattan Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Bronx Assemblywoman Karines Reyes and passed by state legislators in June, amends the state’s labor law to provide basic protections for independent fashion models and others by closing loopholes that allow management companies to sidestep accountability. The legislation requires agencies to not collect fees or deposits from models and others and to establish, based on a model’s pay, a 20-percent ceiling on commission fees. The bill provides for overtime pay, meal breaks, liability insurance and several other conditions. It also institutes a formal means of reporting violations, and safeguards against retaliation.  The bill also empowers the state’s attorney general and Department of Labor to prosecute management companies that violate its provisions.

“This landmark victory, which affords labor rights to models in New York, sends a message to workers across the $2.5 trillion fashion industry that they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect just like everyone else who works for a living,” the founder and executive director of the Model Alliance, Sara Ziff, said in a statement following the governor’s signature. Read more in The Chief-Leader.