Fashion Workers Act Clears Senate, Awaits Assembly Obstruction

New York is a hub of the global fashion industry, with the biannual New York Fashion Week generating $600 million in revenue for the state each year. About 180,000 people work in New York’s fashion industry, with a total salary of nearly $11 billion.

A bill gaining momentum in the state Legislature would regulate talent companies that hire models and give fashion workers the same labor protections as other industries.

Lawmakers want to ensure these workers have basic protections against wage theft, harassment and discrimination.

The Fashion Workers Act would regulate arts businesses and require proper notification of contract renewals and agreements. Agency commission fees would be capped at 20% of a model’s salary.

“For whatever reason, these management companies are not held to the same standards as clients or employers, so it’s really about filling that gap and making sure these people are held accountable,” Rafael Espinal said , executive director of Freelancers. Union.

The Senate passed the bill a second time, but it remains stalled in the Assembly.

Management companies can currently avoid licensing and regulations, allowing them to control recruiting talent and their pay rates.

Workers typically have exclusive multi-year contracts or work visas with these companies, which are not required to pay them in a timely manner.

If the bill becomes law, they would have to be paid no later than 45 days after completing the work.

“We’re also talking about a young and vulnerable workforce, you know, primarily young immigrant women and girls who don’t have basic rights as workers,” said Sara Ziff, executive director of Model Alliance , who has been fighting for the bill ever since. it was first proposed three years ago.

It was amended this session to protect fashion industry workers from a company using artificial intelligence (AI) to alter their appearance without their consent.

Ziff said a Taiwanese-American model she knows recently asked a company to use AI to alter her appearance to make her look like a white woman.

“So there’s a whole host of issues, but you know, what we’re asking for is very basic: to be able to look at our contracts and agreements and have insight into our own finances,” Ziff said. “It shouldn’t be controversial.”

The fashion industry is a $2.5 trillion global industry each year, generating approximately $2 billion in tax revenue for the state.