Government Contact Information
Where Complaints are Filed
AZ | CA | IL | MD | NJ | NC | NY | PA | TX | VA | WV
Arizona
Industrial Commission, Labor Division
For Wage Claims & Child Labor Problems
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Director: Orlando Macias
Telephone: (602) 542-4515
Fax: (602) 542-8097
"The Department investigates complaints against unlicensed businesses allegedly charging fees to individuals."
http://www.ica.state.az.us/FAQs/labor/private_employment_agencies.html#
Private Employment Agency
Complaint Form
California
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE)
455 Golden Gate Avenue, 9th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 703-4810
The DLSE is the government agency responsible for granting and revoking talent agency licenses. It also has original jurisdiction to deal with complaints against talent agencies (licensed or not), e.g., modeling agencies which charge fees for classes or photography.
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlse.html
District offices
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DistrictOffices.htm
DLSE Complaint Form
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/dlsepetition.pdf
Talent agency license database
The Legal Office is open Mon, Wed, Fri.
415-703-4810
Miles Locker is the main state attorney who makes administrative rulings in disputes between models and agents. He can be contacted to discuss complicated issues before proceedings.
Sample earlier cases:
http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/DLSE-TACs.htm
Los Angeles
Los Angeles City Attorney's Office
Mark Lambert, Deputy City Attorney
800 City Hall East
200 North Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 978-8070
https://www.lacityattorney.org/consumers
Mark Lambert has a lot of experience investigating and prosecuting modeling scams and talent scams in LA, at least since the late 1990s, but he also had a case in 2004. (See City Attorney, Screen Actors Guild Warn Actors of SAG Membership Scams and Los Angeles Man Convicted in SAG Voucher Scam Ordered to Pay ....) His other earlier cases included Flashcast Kids, Malibu Talent, and Christopher Valentino. He has spoken for the city and been quoted in news reports about scams (see Backstage.com).
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office Consumer Protection
Consumer Protection Division
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
201 N. Figueroa Street
Suite 1600
Los Angeles, CA. 90012
Phone: (213) 580-3273
lada@co.la.ca.us
http://da.co.la.ca.us/cpd/
Marin County District Attorney's Office
http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/DA/main/index.cfm
"The Consumer Protection Unit is responsible for handling a broad spectrum of consumer protection activities. Its focus is to protect honest citizens from fraudulent or dishonest business practices."
http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/da/main/dist/ConsumerMain.cfm
Office of the District Attorney
Consumer Protection
3501 Civic Center Dr.
Hall of Justice, Room 130
San Rafael, Ca. 94903
Marin County Of, District Attorney, Investigators
(415) 499-6450
Illinois
Illinois Department of Labor
Fair Labor Standards Division/Private Employment Agency Section
160 N. LaSalle
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 793-2810
Janice Brewer, Licensing Staff
Illinois Dept of Labor
(312) 793-2810
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's Office
Office of Attorney General
Consumer Protection Bureau
500 South Second Street
Springfield, IL 62706
"If you’ve been victimized by fraud, deception, or unfair methods of competition, the Consumer Protection Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s office may be able to help. Although our attorneys cannot represent an individual in a lawsuit, our limited mediation program can assist in resolving disputes or complaints filed by individual consumers."
Maryland
Division of Labor and Industry
1100 N. Eutaw St. - Room 606
Baltimore, MD 21201
TEL: (410) 767-2228
FAX: (410) 767-2220
http://www.dllr.state.md.us/labor/empa.html
New Jersey
Regulated Business Section
New Jersey Dept of Consumer Affairs
973-504-6370
The RBS regulates modeling agencies. If you call their office they can tell you if a modeling agency has a license, how many complaints it has received, and whether these were resolved.
Consumer Complaint Form
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/ocp/ocpform.htm
See also http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/home.htm
New York
New York City Department of Consumer Affairs
42 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dca/consumers/file-complaint.page
"The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) enforces the City Consumer Protection Law, Licensing Laws, and the New York State Weights and Measures Law, among other laws that safeguard consumers and punish fraudulent businesses."
. . . if you find a business violating City consumer protection laws, including license requirements…
File a complaint with DCA! You can…
- Complete the On-Line DCA Complaint Form, or
"When filling out the complaint form, include any documentation requested on the form, and fax (212-487-4282) or mail all materials to:
NYC Department of Consumer Affairs
Complaints
42 Broadway, 8th floor
New York NY 10004.
Once all materials have been sent, a DCA mediator will contact you.
North Carolina
Harriet Worley
Assistant Attorney General
N.C. Department of Justice
Post Office Box 629
Raleigh, NC 27602
(919) 716-6000
Harriet Worley did the case against Face National Models and Talent, a photo mill scam. She used to work for the FTC. You can also contact Patricia Jones, a Consumer Protection Specialist at the North Carolina Department of Justice.
Pennsylvania
Department of Labor and Industry
Problems With Private Employment Agencies
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Call Linda: (717) 787-4134
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=552102&mode=2
Linda asks for documents regarding your complaint and will put her investigators to work.
Texas
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation
P.O. Box 12157
Austin , Texas 78711
(512) 463-7364
Email contact info:
http://www.license.state.tx.us/talent/talent.htm
How do I file a complaint against a licensee?
The TDLR accepts complaints against licensed and unlicensed agencies operating in Texas. They review complaints and assign them to an investigator. Prosecutors, after they find violations, get to work. Typically the TDLR imposes fines and gets restitution.
Virginia
Attorney General's Office
Consumer Assistance
http://www.oag.state.va.us/CONSUMER/index.html
Consumer Fraud
http://www.vaag.com/CONSUMER/CONSUMER_FRAUD/index.html
"As consumer counsel, the Attorney General has authority to enforce our state and some federal consumer protection laws. Where the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe there is a pattern or practice of deception, or other wrongdoing, in violation of any of those laws, the Attorney General may bring an enforcement action to stop the illegal conduct and may seek refunds for affected consumers."
If you would like to file a complaint or determine if any complaints have been filed against a particular company, you may:
- call OCA toll-free in Virginia at 1-800-552-9963 (786-2042 locally in the Richmond area).
- write to Office of Consumer Affairs, 1100 Bank Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219.
Official
Consumer Complaint Form (OCA-1) (88KB)
West Virginia
Attorney General's Office
Consumer Protection Division
". . . enforcing the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act."
http://www.wvs.state.wv.us/wvag/consumer/
How To File a Consumer Complaint
