Application Procedures and Pre-requisites for Issuance of Employment Agency Licenses

(1) Application Requirements. In making the application for a License, the License Applicant must establish to the satisfaction of the Department that: (a) Persons who will conduct placement activities for the Employment Agency will have at least two years of experience as a placement employee, or have been engaged in equivalent personnel management-related activities. (b) The forms used by the Agency fairly, clearly, and fully represent the terms and conditions between the proposed Employment Agency and a Job Applicant or Worker, including the employment relationship among all parties and the contractual terms. (c) The Owner of the Employment Agency is a person of good character and responsibility. Determinations of character and responsibility will be made through affidavits supplied by the applicant pursuant to 454 CMR 24.04(1)(o), the Department's review of the applicant's CORI report in accordance with the Department's CORI policy, and sworn testimony offered by any person to the Department during the hearing referenced at 454 CMR 24.05(3). (d) The License Applicant is in compliance with state tax, unemployment insurance contributions, and workers' compensation insurance laws as determined by the applicable state agency. (2) Site Inspection Requirement. As a condition of applying for an Employment Agency License, the License Applicant shall submit to an inspection of the place(s) of business of the Employment Agency by the Department. In lieu of a physical site inspection, the Department may, at its discretion, require photographs and a written description of the Employment Agency premises. The Department may also require an inspection of Agency records at a designated location other than the premises of an Employment Agency. Said inspection(s) shall document the following: (a) Location of Interviews. In addition to meeting the criteria set forth in 454 CMR 24.05(2), the License Applicant shall also establish that the location where Job Applicant interviews are conducted is not a room used for living purposes, a room where boarders or lodgers are kept, a room where meals are served, a room where persons sleep or a room where intoxicating liquors are sold. (b) Agency Records. Employment Agency records shall be kept in an area of sufficient space to contain them, according to a filing system that permits expeditious retrieval, but limits to the extent possible unauthorized access. Records may be maintained in a home office, provided that the location of the home office is a clearly delineated space that is not in a room used for living purposes, a place where boarders or lodgers are kept, a place where meals are served, a place where persons sleep or a room where intoxicating liquors are sold. Records shall not be accessible to family members, visitors, guests, or other unauthorized persons. (c) Workplace Posters. Required workplace posters shall be made readily accessible to Job Applicants and Workers. (3) Hearing on Initial Application for Employment Agency License. Prior to issuing an Employment Agency License, the Department shall hold a hearing to determine the good character and responsibility of each new applicant. The Director, or his or her designee, may administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, and take testimony in respect to the matters contained in any application or protest and may receive evidence in the form of affidavits pertaining to such matters. (a) Notice of Hearing. At least seven days prior to the hearing date, the Department shall mail either by first class mail or by electronic means a notice of the hearing to the License Applicant. A notice of the hearing shall also be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the city or town in which the Agency will be located and posted in a conspicuous area at the main office of the Department. Notice of the hearing shall also be provided to all licensed Employment Agencies in the city or town in which the License Applicant's office is to be located. (b) Protests. Any person may file a written protest against the issuance of an Employment Agency License. Said protest shall be signed by the person filing the same, or by his or her authorized agent, and shall state the reasons why said License should not be issued. Said person may be interviewed by the Department and may be called upon to testify at a hearing. A copy of any protest and supporting documentation shall be supplied to the License applicant at least five days prior to a License hearing. (c) Appearances and Testimony. The License Applicant and the manager may be required to appear at the hearing, at the discretion of the Department, to speak to his or her qualifications. If an Applicant or manager is not able to attend a scheduled License hearing, the Department must be notified at least two business days in advance of the hearing; any request for a continuation of the date of the hearing shall be submitted by the License Applicant in writing. A determination will be made by the Department to proceed as scheduled or to postpone the hearing. (d) Investigation of Employment Agency License Applicant. 1. The License Applicant must affirm, to the satisfaction of the Department, his or her understanding of the Employment Agency Law and Regulations, M.G.L. c. 140, §§ 46A through 46R and 454 CMR 24.00, and the Temporary Workers Right to Know Law, M.G.L. c. 149, § 159C, if applicable. 2. The Department shall investigate the good character and responsibility of a License Applicant. (4) Decisions on License Applications. Each License Application shall be granted or denied by the Director within 40 days from the date on which all of the following have occurred: the complete application has been received and reviewed by the Department, the site has been inspected, the License hearing has been completed, and a License recommendation has been filed with the Director. (a) Denial of License Application and Opportunity for Adjudicatory Hearing. If the Director finds that the License Applicant does not meet the requirements for licensure or that the License Applicant has provided incomplete, unclear, or untruthful information, or the License Applicant or authorized representative failed to appear at a License hearing as required by the Department, the License Application shall be denied and a License shall not be granted. In the event of a Denial of a License Application, the License Applicant shall be afforded an administrative hearing in accordance with the Executive Office for Administration and Finance Standard Adjudicatory Rules of Practice and Procedure, 801 CMR 1.01: Formal Rules, or as otherwise agreed by the parties. (b) Issuance of License with Conditions. The Director may grant a License with conditions. Said conditions shall be clearly stated in the Director's decision. (c) Opportunity to File Written Objections. If the Director proposes to deny a License or to grant a License with conditions, a copy of the recommended decision shall be mailed to the License Applicant, and said applicant shall have 30 days from the date of the issuance of the recommended decision in which to file written objections to said decision. Following the 30 day period, the Director shall issue a final decision. (d) Failure to Uphold License Conditions. If a Licensee fails to uphold the conditions of any License, said License shall be suspended or revoked by the Director, pursuant to 454 CMR 24.18. (e) Approval of Application. Persons who submit License Applications which are approved by the Director shall be notified in writing in the form of an Employment Agency License. (5) Posting and Presentation of Employment Agency Licenses. All Licenses must be posted in a conspicuous place in each Employment Agency, and shall be made available at all times to any Job Applicant, Employee, Worker or Department representative. If interviews of applicants are conducted outside of the business office of the Agency, a true and correct copy of the License shall be presented to the Job Applicant at the interview. (6) Assignment or Transfer of Employment Agency Licenses. No Employment Agency License may be assigned or transferred without the prior written approval of the Director. Application for such approval shall be made in the same manner as an application for licensure. An unlicensed Agency may not work as an agent of a Licensed Employment Agency. A Licensed Employment Agency may not transfer the rights and privileges of licensure to an unlicensed Agency. (7) Change of Location. The location of an Employment Agency shall not be changed without the prior written consent of the Director, and such change of location shall be endorsed upon the License issued to said Agency. Licensed Employment Agencies seeking to change a location must mail their original certificate to the Department with a letter explaining the circumstances and listing the new address. Supporting documentation and or a site visit may be required by the Department.