§ 151. Employment requirements. 1. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions
of section 35.01 of the arts and cultural affairs law, a child performer
may be employed, used or exhibited in any of the exhibitions, rehearsals
or performances set forth in subdivision one of section 35.01 of the
arts and cultural affairs law if a child performer permit has been
issued in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(b) A child performer shall be required to have an employment permit.
Employment permits for child performers shall be valid for one year from
the date of issuance.

(c) An application for a child performer permit shall be made on a
form prescribed by the department and shall contain such matters as the
department may deem to be necessary, including the following:

(i) the true and stage name and the age of the child, and the name and
address of his parent or guardian;

(ii) the written consent of the parent or guardian;

(iii) the evidence provided by the child performer each semester to
the department demonstrating that such child is maintaining satisfactory
academic performance as determined by the child performer's school of
enrollment pursuant to state law.

(d) At the time a child performer applies for an employment permit,
the commissioner shall inform the child performer of the child performer
trust requirements. The commissioner shall provide a notice in bold
twelve point type to read as follows: "NEW YORK STATE LAW REQUIRES
FIFTEEN PERCENT OF A CHILD PERFORMER'S EARNINGS TO BE PLACED IN TRUST IN
ACCORDANCE WITH PART 7 OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE ESTATES, POWERS AND TRUSTS
LAW. THE CHILD PERFORMER'S PARENTS OR GUARDIAN MUST ESTABLISH THE CHILD
PERFORMER TRUST ACCOUNT TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT. THE CHILD'S
PARENTS OR GUARDIAN MUST PROVIDE THE CHILD PERFORMER'S EMPLOYER WITH THE
INFORMATION NECESSARY TO TRANSFER THESE MONIES TO THE ACCOUNT. FAILURE
TO COMPLY WITH THIS REQUIREMENT WILL PREVENT THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FROM RENEWING THE CHILD'S PERMIT TO WORK AS A CHILD PERFORMER."

(e) No permit shall allow a child to participate in an exhibition,
rehearsal or performance which is harmful to the welfare, development or
proper education of such child. A permit may be revoked by the
department for good cause.

2. Prior to employment of a child performer, every person, or agent or
officer of any entity employing a child performer shall receive a
certificate of eligibility to employ a child performer from the
department. Each application for initial registration shall be
accompanied by a fee determined by the commissioner in an amount
sufficient in the aggregate to defray the department's costs of
administering the registration program, provided, that such fee shall
not exceed three hundred fifty dollars for initial registration or two
hundred dollars for registration renewal. Companies that operate
theaters of four hundred ninety-nine seats or fewer shall pay no more
than two hundred dollars for an initial and renewal certificates. An
employers' certificate of eligibility shall be renewed every three
years.

3. Every person, or agent or officer, employing child performers,
either directly or indirectly through third persons, shall keep on file
all permits and certificates, either to work or to employ, issued under
this article or pursuant to the education law. The files shall be open
at all times to the inspection of the school attendance and probation
officers, the state board of education, and the department. No such
authority shall be denied entrance to such place of employment of child
performers. If such authority is denied entrance to such place of
employment, or if any violations of laws relating to the employment of
child performers are found to exist, such authority shall report the
violation to the department. Such report shall be made within
forty-eight hours and shall be in writing, setting forth the fact that
he or she has good cause to believe that such laws are being violated in
such place of employment and describing the nature of the violation.

4. (a) The work permit of a child performer in the entertainment
industry shall not be renewed, nor shall a subsequent work permit be
issued, unless the parent or guardian demonstrates to the department
that a child performer trust account in accordance with part seven of
article seven of the estates, powers and trusts law has been established
for the benefit of the child performer.

(b) The limitation set forth in paragraph (a) of this subdivision
shall not apply to the issuance of an employer's certificate of
eligibility or to a child performer covered by an employer's certificate
of eligibility who subsequently seeks to obtain an initial individual
permit to work.

5. Failure to produce any permit or certificate either to work or to
employ is prima facie evidence of the illegal employment of any child
performer whose permit or certificate is not produced. Proof that any
person was the manager or superintendent of any place of employment
subject to the provisions of this article at the time any child
performer is alleged to have been employed therein in violation thereof,
is prima facie evidence that the person employed or permitted the child
performer to work. The sworn statement of the commissioner, or his or
her deputy or agents, as to the age of any child performer affected by
this article is prima facie evidence of the age of such child.