The New York Fashion Workers Act, set to take effect on June 19, 2025, introduces significant changes to the fashion industry, particularly for Model Management Companies (MMCs) and their clients. This legislation aims to enhance protections for models and ensure greater transparency and fairness in their working conditions.
Miguel Lopez, a shareholder at Littler Mendelson and an expert in employment law, shared his insights on the Act with Thomson Reuters’ Checkpoint Payroll Update a couple of weeks before the start of New York Fashion Week 2025 on February 13. Lopez, who advises clients on managing contingent workforce and independent contractor arrangements, among other topics, emphasized the importance of early preparation for compliance.
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Key requirements for MMCs |
MMCs must also revise their agreements with models |
Protecting models’ rights |
Responsibilities and liabilities for clients |
Legal implications |
Preparing for compliance |
Key requirements for MMCs
Under the new Act, MMCs must register with the New York Department of Labor. This registration is mandatory unless the company qualifies for a limited exemption by meeting equivalent regulatory standards in another state and not maintaining offices or soliciting clients in New York.
“But it is not clear whether any other state has equivalent regulatory standards today,” Lopez said. “There are a few states that regulate talent agencies generally, such as California, Florida, and Texas,” he noted.
MMCs must also revise their agreements with models
“For example, the agreements cannot be for terms of greater than three years, cannot impose commission fees greater than 20% of a model’s compensation, and must specify up-front all the items it intends to deduct from a model’s compensation,” Lopez stated.
Additionally, MMCs must provide models with a copy of the client agreement at least 24 hours before a modeling engagement and disclose any financial relationships with the client.
The Act mandates that MMCs safeguard the health and safety of models, though the specifics of this requirement are not clearly defined. Potential measures could include requiring clients to certify that all personnel on set have undergone appropriate training.
“Over time we may see the industry adopt practices that have been gaining traction for years, such as retaining movement coordinators on the set of productions,” Lopez said.
Protecting models’ rights
The Act enhances models’ rights in several areas, including contract terms, wage protections, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Models must be paid overtime for engagements exceeding eight hours in a 24-hour period. The Act also grants models control over the use of AI to replicate their likeness, though how this will be enforced remains to be seen.
“Once a model’s likeness is published by the client that engaged their services, it could be used by third parties unknown to the MMCs or client,” Lopez reasoned.
Responsibilities and liabilities for clients
Clients, such as retailers, designers, and photographers, have specific responsibilities under the Act. They must ensure models are compensated at overtime rates for extended work hours and safeguard their health and safety. Clients must also obtain written consent from models for the creation and use of digital replicas.
Legal implications
The Act introduces a private right of action against MMCs, allowing models to sue for violations. Clients are excluded from this provision, in addition to the Act’s discussion of administrative enforcement actions.
“Interestingly, an earlier version of the Act proposed in the prior legislative session created a private right of action against both MMCs and clients, so this seems to be an intentional change,” Lopez said. “Still, MMCs and clients should be mindful that joint employment theories might apply in a given case, depending on the facts at play,” he cautioned.
Preparing for compliance
With the Act’s implementation date approaching, Lopez stressed that MMCs and their clients should begin preparing now. “The required changes will be a heavy lift,” he admitted.
MMCs need to revise their agreements, policies, and handbooks in coordination with HR, payroll, finance, and client relations teams. Clients should be aware of their duties under the Act and ensure their agreements with MMCs are compliant.
“MMCs should revise their template agreements, policies, and handbooks, and they should do so in coordination with their various functions – HR, payroll, finance, the client relations teams – because these are operational changes, not just changes on paper,” Lopez advised. He added that they should inform their models of the changes in advance to prevent confusion and implementation issues.
Clients of MMCs should be aware of both their own duties and the additional responsibilities the Act imposes on MMCs. “For example, they should be cognizant of the Act’s requirement that their agreements with MMCs for modeling services will be disclosed to the relevant models, as well any other financial relationship the client may have with the MMC,” Lopez said.