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Which NYC model is it?

DCWP says an agency located in NYC generally needs an Employment Agency licence for fee-based job assistance, including helping employers find employees. Its stated criteria exclude an actual staffing employer that contracts out its own employees and issues them W-2s. That exception is not a status ruling under every law.

The stated search/employer-paid branch covers only commercial, clerical, executive, administrative and professional applicants, with no applicant fee of any kind. It still carries the applicable Employer Fee Paid Agency provisions. It is not a blanket exception for every job class, healthcare staffing or an office outside NYC.

A licensable agency needs commercial space: not a residential building, or the commercial portion of a mixed building. The complete application checklist also governs the applicable bond, contracts, management information and fingerprint process.

Sources: New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection: Who must have a license; staffing/employer-fee-paid distinctions; premises and application evidence

Supplying employees adds obligations before client cash arrives

In a fictional warehouse-supply example, wages are paid weekly while the customer pays later after accepting the invoice. The operator must fund that interval, including the effects of disputed hours, replacement staff and concentrated customer exposure. This is not the same cash pattern as employer-paid permanent placement.

OSHA’s host/staffing guidance covers workers supplied to a host and paid by the agency, whether or not temporary. Safety responsibilities are fact-dependent: the agency must inquire into host conditions and verify the host’s role. A contract assigning safety to the customer does not perform that work.

Establish the actual tasks, hazards, equipment, site-specific instruction, supervisor and incident route before dispatch, alongside general preparation and the applicable standards or State Plan.

Sources: Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Employer responsibilities; joint responsibility; duties to inquire and verify

Scope

  • NYC licensing and the stated federal safety relationship only. Other wage, tax, immigration, professional-staffing, discrimination, insurance and data regimes are separate; no actual classification or financial result is established.

Next step

Choose the actual placement or employed-workforce model before quoting fees, renting the office or committing to payroll.

Sources & review notes

The source records distinguish access dates from substantive review dates. Updating an explanation does not itself recheck the law.

Employment Agency License Application Checklist

New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

Passage, dates and research notes

official-guidance · Who must have a license; staffing/employer-fee-paid distinctions; premises and application evidence

you do not need a license, but you must comply with all sections of the New York State Employment Agency Law relating to Employer Fee Paid Agencies

Accessed: 2026-11-13T00:27:18.627665+00:00 · Meaning reviewed: 2026-11-13T00:40:14.408038+00:00 · Next review target: 2026-12-13

Read full substantive page and all licensing requirements. Staffing exception requires real employer status and W-2 employees; executive/employer-paid exception limited to listed classes and no applicant fee. No determination for an agency outside NYC, healthcare-specific staffing or other jurisdictions.

Protecting Temporary Workers

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Passage, dates and research notes

official-guidance · Employer responsibilities; joint responsibility; duties to inquire and verify

The staffing agency has the duty to inquire and verify that the host has fulfilled its responsibilities for a safe workplace.

Accessed: 2026-11-13T00:27:19.204072+00:00 · Meaning reviewed: 2026-11-13T00:40:14.408038+00:00 · Next review target: 2026-12-13

Read full substantive temporary-worker guidance. OSHA safety responsibility is fact-dependent; contractual allocation is recommended guidance, not an escape from statutory duties. Do not generalize the OSHA discussion into joint-employer status under all other laws.

Detailed rule records (2)
Distinguish NYC employment placement from actual staffing Depends on the facts

Classify placement, employer-paid search or staffing against DCWP’s actual licence criteria. Apply for a licence when required; the listed employer-paid exception does not remove applicable Employment Agency Law duties.

When to check: Before offering or commencing the covered activity. Source review: 2026-11-13T00:40:14.408038+00:00.

Employment Agency License Application Checklist
Allocate and verify supplied-worker safety duties Depends on the facts

Identify and fulfil the staffing and host employers’ fact-dependent OSHA responsibilities; inquire into host conditions and verify safety protections. Written allocation does not remove legal responsibility.

When to check: Before offering or commencing the covered activity. Source review: 2026-11-13T00:40:14.408038+00:00.

Protecting Temporary Workers
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