Bit Parts

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a federal district court's dismissal of a challenge by personal managers to the licensing requirements of the California Talent Agencies Act, Calif. Labor §1700 et seq. National Conference of Personal Managers Inc. (NCOPM) v. Brown, 15-56388. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California had ruled that the phrase “procur[ing] employment” in §1700.44, for when a state license is needed when getting work for talent, wasn't unconstitutionally vague. The Ninth Circuit noted the California Court of Appeal found in Wachs v. Curry, 13 Cal. App. 4th 616 (1993) that “the term 'procure' is used with respect to employment in several other California statutes and is not 'so lacking in objective content as to render the [Talent Agencies] Act facially unconstitutional' or unconstitutional as-applied here.” The Ninth Circuit also affirmed dismissal of the NCOPM's claim under the U.S. Constitution's commerce clause by not allowing for out-of-state licenses. On this, the appeals court explained that TAA §1700.19(b) “merely provides than an actual license must contain an address of the location in which the licensee is authorized to conduct business as a talent agency — the law does not preclude out-of-state parties from becoming licensed talent agencies.”