For almost a century, New York's modeling industry ran on a legal loophole. Model management companies called themselves managers rather than employment agencies, which kept them outside the state's licensing laws and left models, many of them teenagers, many of them working in a second language, with almost no statutory protection. The Fashion Workers Act closed that loophole. Governor Hochul signed it on December 21, 2024, and it took full effect on June 19, 2025, adding a new Article 36 to the state Labor Law. If you are a designer who books models in New York, directly or through an agency, this law is now part of your production checklist.

What the law does

The Act regulates model management companies for the first time. Any person or business that manages models, procures modeling work for a fee, or provides vocational guidance to models in New York now owes the models it represents a fiduciary duty: good faith, honesty, and loyalty to the model's interests in every negotiation, contract, and payment. That is a real legal standard, not a slogan, and it changes the default posture of an industry that has historically treated models as inventory.

The concrete rules follow from that duty. Commissions are capped at 20 percent. Models must receive a deal memo stating the total compensation for a job before the work starts, and they must have the chance to agree to it. Representation agreements cannot run longer than three years and cannot renew automatically without the model's approval. Signing fees and deposits are banned. Any power of attorney must be optional, terminable at any time, and it can never cover the model's digital replica. According to the Department of Labor's guidance, payment must reach the model within the term stated in the deal memo, and the statute sets a 45-day outer limit after the job is completed.

Since December 21, 2025, model management companies doing business in New York must also register with the state Department of Labor. Registration costs $500 for companies with five or fewer New York employees and $700 for larger ones, which must also post a $50,000 surety bond. Registrations last two years, and the state publishes a public registry of registered companies. Before you book through an agency, you can now check whether it is registered. You should.

The AI provision every designer should read twice

The Act is the first US law to require explicit consent before a model's digital replica is created or used. A digital replica here means a computer-generated or AI-enhanced representation of the model. Consent must be clear, written, and separate from the representation agreement, and it must spell out the scope, purpose, rate of pay, and duration of the use. A blanket "we can use your image" clause does not cut it, and any pre-existing power of attorney that purported to cover digital replicas became void as of June 19, 2025.

This lands directly on designers, because the obligation is not limited to agencies. The DOL's guidance is blunt: if you photographed a model for one campaign and now want to run those images through AI manipulation for a new campaign, you need new written approval, even though you already have the photos. If AI touches your lookbook, your e-commerce imagery, or your fit visualization pipeline, your model releases need an AI clause now. New York has also layered a second rule on top: since June 9, 2026, ads that use wholly AI-generated "synthetic performers" require a conspicuous disclosure. I break that companion law down in New York's Synthetic Performer Law, and California's parallel digital replica rules in California's AI Laws for Fashion.

What clients owe, and what it costs to get it wrong

The Act reaches "clients," meaning the brands, designers, retailers, and ad agencies that hire models through management companies. Clients must pay at least a 50 percent premium over the contracted hourly rate for work beyond eight hours in a 24-hour period, respect the digital replica consent rules, and meet basic workplace obligations, including anti-harassment policies and letting a model bring a representative to set. If a model files a complaint with the Department of Labor, you have 20 days to respond. Silence can be treated as an admission.

Enforcement has teeth, though modest ones. The DOL can assess civil penalties of $3,000 for a first violation and $5,000 for each subsequent one. Models can sue management companies directly for actual damages, attorney's fees, and liquidated damages of up to 100 percent, or up to 300 percent for willful violations. The Attorney General can act on its own against repeat offenders. Honest caveat: one year in, enforcement is still young, and I have not seen a published body of penalty decisions yet. The private right of action and the registry are doing most of the work so far.

What to do about it

If you book models in New York, do four things this season. Check the registry before you contract with any agency. Add an AI and digital replica clause to every model release, specifying scope, purpose, pay, and duration. Budget for the overtime premium on long shoot days. And keep your deal memos and consents in one place, because this is a documentation statute at heart, and the party with the paper trail wins. I track this law and its siblings state by state in the tracker, and the tools page has templates to start from.

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This article is editorial analysis, not legal advice. For questions about your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney.