Senate Bill No. 417

(By Senator Schoonover)

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[Introduced February 17, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections five, seven, ten, eleven, twelve and fourteen, article two, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to private employment agencies; and transfer of regulatory jurisdiction to tax commissioner exclusively.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five, seven, ten, eleven, twelve and fourteen, article two, chapter twenty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES.
§21-2-5. Rules and regulations prescribed by commissioner of the department of tax and revenue.

The commissioner of labor tax commissioner shall prescribe such rules and regulations as may be necessary for the supervision of employment agents.
§21-2-7. License required; displaying license; annual tax.

No employment agent shall may engage in the business for profit or receive any fee, charge commission or other compensation, directly or indirectly, for services as employment agent, without first having obtained a license therefor from the state tax commissioner. Such license shall not be issued until the commissioner of labor shall have approved in writing the application therefor, and, when issued, such This license shall constitute constitutes a license from the state to operate as an employment agent for compensation and shall is not be transferable. Such license shall at all times be kept posted in a conspicuous place at the employment agent's place of business. of such employment agent. Every employment agent shall pay the annual license tax provided for in article twelve, chapter eleven of this code.
§21-2-10. Revocation of license.

The state tax commissioner may revoke any license issued under the provisions of this article, with or without hearing, and may order such license to be returned for cancellation, if the employment agent has violated any of the provisions of this article or the rules and regulations issued thereunder, or if any cause appears for which a license might have been refused. , or if the commissioner of labor shall, in writing, report to the tax commissioner any such violation or cause.
§21-2-11. Records to be kept; reports to tax commissioner.

A record of all persons directed to employment shall be kept by every employment agent; such records shall set forth the name, age, nationality and material state of each applicant, and also the name of the employer, kind of work and pay. A copy of this record for each month shall be sent to the commissioner of labor tax commissioner on or before the tenth day of the month immediately succeeding the month covered by such record. Every employment agent shall file with the commissioner of labor tax commissioner a copy of the schedule of all fees and such other notices or information as the commissioner may require and in such form and manner as he or she may prescribe.
§21-2-12. Tax commissioner may enter offices and examine records.

For the purpose of enforcing this article and the rules and regulations issued thereunder, the commissioner of labor tax commissioner, or his or her duly authorized agent, may at any time enter any employment office, or place of business of an employment agent or any premises occupied as an employment office, and may inspect the registers, cards or other records of such employment agent.
§21-2-14. Offenses; penalties; jurisdiction.

Any employment agent, as defined in this article, carrying on the business of an employment agency, without first fully complying with the provisions thereof, shall be deemed is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars for each offense, or the person, or any member of a firm, or the officer or agent of any corporation, so acting as employment agent may be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court; and any such employment agent violating any other provision of this article or any rule or regulation prescribed by the commissioner of labor tax commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this article, shall be is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than two hundred dollars, or the person or any member of a firm or the officer or agent of any corporation so violating, may be imprisoned for not more than thirty days, or both fined and imprisoned. A justice of the peace magistrate shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court and other courts having criminal jurisdiction for the trial of offenses under this article.





NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend those sections of the employment agencies act necessary to transfer all aspects of licensure and regulation of private employment agencies to the state tax commissioner, who currently possesses the licensure authority, but shares rule-making, approval and inspection authority with the commissioner of labor.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.