N.Y. General Business Law § 84: Unlawful acts

§ 84. Unlawful acts. 1. It is unlawful for the holder of a license,

issued under this article, or for any employee of such licensee,

knowingly to commit any of the following acts within or without the

state of New York: to incite, encourage, or aid in the incitement or

encouragement of any person or persons who have become a party to any

strike, to do unlawful acts against the person or property of any one,

or to incite, stir up, create or aid in the inciting of discontent or

dissatisfaction among the employees of any person, firm, limited

liability company or corporation with the intention of having them

strike; to interfere or prevent lawful and peaceful picketing during

strikes; to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the

exercise of their right to form, join or assist any labor organization

of their own choosing; to interfere or hinder the lawful or peaceful

collective bargaining between employees and employers; to pay, offer, or

give any money, gratuity, favor, consideration, or other thing of value,

directly or indirectly, to any person for any verbal or written report

of the lawful activities of employees in the exercise of their right of

self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations and to

bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; to

advertise for, recruit, furnish or replace or offer to furnish or

replace for hire or reward, within or without the state of New York, any

help or labor, skilled or unskilled, or to furnish or offer to furnish

armed guards, other than armed guards theretofore regularly employed for

the protection of payrolls, property or premises, for service upon

property which is being operated in anticipation of or during the course

or existence of a strike, or furnish armed guards upon the highways, for

persons involved in labor disputes or to furnish or offer to furnish to

employers or their agents, any arms, munitions, tear gas implements, or

any other weapons; or to send letters or literature to employers

offering to eliminate labor unions or distribute or circulate any list

of members of a labor organization, or to advise any person of the

membership of an individual in a labor organization for the express

purpose of preventing those so listed or named from obtaining or

retaining employment. The violation of any of the provisions of this

section shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine

of not less than five hundred dollars, or one year's imprisonment or

both. It is unlawful for the holder of a license to collect or offer or

attempt to collect or directly or indirectly engage in the business of

collecting of debts or claims of any kind, excepting that the taking

possession, on behalf of a secured party having the right to do so under

section 9--609 of the uniform commercial code, of property in the

possession of a debtor who has defaulted in the performance of a

security agreement secured by such property, shall not be considered a

violation of this section and excepting further that the secretary of

state may grant exemption from this prohibition in the collection of

debts to licensees who are principally engaged in the business of credit

investigation and credit reporting. It is unlawful for the holder of a

license to furnish or perform any services described in subdivisions one

and two of section seventy-one of this article on a contingent or

percentage basis or to make or enter into any agreement for furnishing

services of any kind or character, by the terms or conditions of which

agreement the compensation to be paid for such services to the holder of

a license is partially or wholly contingent or based upon a percentage

of the amount of money or property recovered or dependent in any way

upon the result achieved. It shall be unlawful for a holder of a license

to use, display, cause to be printed or distributed, cards,

letter-heads, circulars, brochures or any other advertising material or

advertisement in which any name or indicia of the license status of the

licensee is set forth in any manner other than the name under which the

licensee is duly licensed. It is unlawful for a licensed private

investigator or bail enforcement agent to own, have or possess or in any

manner to wear, exhibit or display, a shield or badge of any material,

kind, nature or description, in the performance of any of the activities

as private investigator or bail enforcement agent, as distinguished from

watch, guard or patrol agency, under this article. It is unlawful for a

licensed private investigator or bail enforcement agent to issue to any

person employed by such licensee, a badge or shield of any material,

kind, nature or description, and it is unlawful for any person employed

by such licensee to possess, carry or display a badge or shield of any

description provided that any licensed private investigator or bail

enforcement agent who also engages in the business of watch, guard or

patrol agency may possess, use or display or issue to employees in the

conduct of such business, a rectangular metal or woven insignia to be

worn on the outer clothing and approved by the department of state,

which insignia shall not be larger than three inches high or four inches

wide with an inscription thereon containing the word "watchman",

"guard", "patrol" or "special service" and the name of the licensee. It

shall be unlawful for any licensee to publish or cause to be published

any advertisement, letter-head, circular, statement or phrase of any

sort which suggests that the licensee is an official police or

investigative agency or any other agency instrumentality of the state of

New York or any of its political subdivisions. It shall be unlawful for

any licensee to make any statement which would reasonably cause another

person to believe that the licensee is a police officer or official

investigator of the state of New York or any of its political

subdivisions. It shall be unlawful for a licensee to offer, by radio,

television, newspaper advertisement or any other means of communication,

to perform services at any location which is merely the location of a

telephone answer service unless full disclosure of that fact is made in

the advertisement.

2. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of subdivision one of

this section, a private investigator may contract with a local social

services district to furnish or perform services for the location of

absent parents and fathers of children born out of wedlock on a

contingent basis.