The Act’s roots extend back to 1913, when the California Legislature passed the Private Employment Agencies Law for “employment agents.” 7 The “exploitation of artists by representatives has remained the Act’s central concern through subsequent incarnations to the present day.” 8 5 However, the Act has been construed to prohibit any unlicensed person – typically a manager – from doing anything that a talent agent does. The Act was arguably designed to require anyone who wanted to open a talent agency, or at least engage in the profession of a talent agent, to obtain a license from the State of California. The Talent Agencies Act (the “TAA,” or the “Act”), California Labor Code Section 1700, et seq., 2 is a licensing scheme that was originally enacted to regulate and license talent agents (originally referred to as talent managers), 3 and to protect entertainers from unscrupulous, unlicensed individuals. In fact, although traditionally used against managers, the Act has now been construed so broadly as to allow the Labor Commissioner, an unelected individual, to regulate licensed attorneys from all over the United States.įollowing is a brief history of the Act, including the steps that the Act has taken to get to this very disturbing point. However, the Act, as interpreted by the Labor Commissioner and the courts, has become much broader than simply a licensing statute, and has deprived honest entertainment professionals of millions of dollars. The Talent Agencies Act (“TAA” or the “Act”) was enacted in California ostensibly to regulate talent agencies in the state, and to ensure that individuals and companies that were functioning as talent agencies were properly licensed by the state’s Labor Commissioner.
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