LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles administrative judge has ordered the California Labor Commissioner to issue a provisional 90-day talent agency license to Direct Models, after the adult agency succeeded in its legal battle against the state official.
Judge Howard W. Cohen of the Office of Administrative Hearings also found that “the Commissioner’s denial without supporting evidence of a provisional license or a series of provisional licenses” until a decision on a separate case concerning the company’s regular license has been made “is and will continue to be an abuse of discretion.”
According to court documents, Direct Models was licensed as a talent agency in California from February 3, 2005 until March 30, 2021. The company received yearly renewals of its license without incident until August 21, 2018. On that date, the agency attempted to renew its license but the application was denied by the Labor Commissioner.
Instead, on October 16, 2018 the Labor Commissioner issued a 60-day temporary license. Then, on November 16, the then-Commissioner served a Statement of Issues to Direct Models to justify the refusal to issue a regular license. On July 23, 2019, the Statement of Issues was filed with the Office of Administrative Hearings.
That Statement of Issues is at the core of the separate case which is currently being litigated. From late 2018 until March 2021, while that case was proceeding, the Labor Commissioner issued renewals of Direct Models’ temporary license. Then, in April 2021, the Commissioner suddenly denied the temporary license application, prompting the legal battle that ended last Monday with the publication of the September 22 decision by Judge Cohen in favor of Direct Models.
‘Abuse of Discretion’
“The stinging 15-page decision found that the Labor Commissioner abused her discretion when the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement made the sudden move not to issue Direct Models another license effective April 1, 2021,” said an agency rep.
“In April 2021, after nearly 30 months of provisional licenses, the DLSE abruptly and capriciously reversed course,” the rep continued. “Although there were no changes in the licensing process, circumstances, or situation, and although the hearing guaranteed Direct Models was still months away, DLSE arbitrarily refused to issue another provisional license. That action constituted an improper de facto suspension of Direct Models’ Talent Agent License. It effectively terminated the agency’s license for at least six months, and denied it the right to continue conducting business as a talent agency, all without any showing or adjudication of wrongdoing or unsuitability for licensure.”
According to the Direct Models rep, “the Labor Commissioner was represented at the OAH hearing by Barton Jacka, an attorney with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, who mentioned on the record that it was he who made the decision to stop issuing licenses to Direct Models in April 2021.”
Direct Models’ attorney Richard Freeman commented, “We are extremely pleased that the erudite Administrative Law Judge recognized that the Labor Commissioner acted arbitrarily and capriciously in April 2021 when she refused to issue a continuing — the 21st — Provisional License while the administrative process that the Labor Commissioner herself had initiated was pending. We appreciate that the ALJ saw the actions of the Labor Commissioner as a clear abuse of her discretion.”
“It is indeed gratifying that the Labor Commissioner has been ordered to issue a further license to Direct Models as it combats her efforts to revoke its permanent license,” Freeman continued. “We feel this is a positive sign of the good things to come for the agency as well as anyone doing business in California.”
