ABOUT APCNY
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The Association of Personnel Consultants of New York State (APCNY) is a professional trade organization serving a membership comprised of permanent placement services, executive recruiters, temporary staffing services and affiliate members representing businesses that provide goods and services to our industry.
APCNY (originally named The Association of Personnel Agencies of New York State-APANY) was founded cerca 1962 as the result of a merger between two smaller trade organizations–The Commercial Placement Council (CPC) and the Association of Professional Office Personnel Agencies (APOPA). APCNY was originally created to serve as a unified voice of the private employment agency industry to combat oppressive State and Federal legislation that affected employment agency owners and their businesses.
From its original roots, APCNY grew into a formidable organization with hundreds of members and several chapters throughout New York State. Although its primary emphasis is to monitor adverse legislation, the Association also has two other key functions–to aggressively promote professional ethics throughout the Industry and to provide its membership with comprehensive, industry-related training.
In the early years of this industry it was standard practice for employment agencies to charge fees to applicants for assisting them in finding a job. All placement firms were required to be licensed and regulated by New York State in order to operate. In the early 1970’s, changes began to take place as more and more agencies started charging a fee to their client companies instead of their applicants. With the advent of this billing shift, agencies were now conducting a business-to-business service.
In response to many industry members voicing concern as to why the state had the right to regulate the amount billed to client companies in placement transactions, APCNY sponsored a bill in 1975 to New York State legislature that, when passed, allowed employment agencies the right to contract. With this victory, employment agency operators were no longer required to bill clients at the state-regulated fee schedule. They now had the right to bill a client at what ever the market would bear. This victory paved the way for eventual complete delicensing and deregulation which, after extensive lobbying and legislative positioning, took place fourteen years later in 1989.
Although the private employment industry has often been a target of critical attack by the media seeking sensational discrimination-related headlines, APCNY, from its infancy, has been a champion for equality and nondiscrimination in employment. With the original passage of The Civil Rights Act in 1964 and its subsequent amendments, APCNY has aggressively promoted nondiscriminatory practices among its members and the industry at large.
Selected headlines from feature articles appearing over the years in VOICE, the Association’s award-winning newsletter, are testaments of commitment to this effort. “APCNY Undertakes Extensive Industry-Wide Program To End Discrimination in Job Orders” (February 1968): “APCNY Petitions Supreme Court To End Sex Segregated Advertising.” (October 1972) are just two of the many headlines on this topic. In addition, countless forums, workshops and professional training seminars led by government officials and industry leaders have been hosted over the years by the Association to eradicate discrimination in the workplace.
In an effort to eliminate disputes between member employment services and companies hiring from them, APCNY established a unique arbitration service in 1975, which has successfully arbitrated numerous cases to the satisfaction of all parties concerned. Through this cost-free forum, participants have been able to present their case and receive quick, impartial judgment without incurring the expense and time of going through the conventional New York or local system.
Throughout its history, APCNY has introduced, or sponsored various bills in the New York State Legislature designed to reduce excessive legislation or provide protection to our industry. Headlines from VOICE bear this out- “Both APCNY Bills Pass” (May 1972), referring to a Modernization Bill, introduced to revamp the General Business Laws which governed our industry, and an Advisory Council Bill, which would create a council of industry and government leaders to advise the State Industrial Commissioner and the Department of Consumer Affairs Commissioner on matters pertaining to the employment agency industry.
Perhaps one of APCNY’s most significant contributions was the publication of an important legal text: “Employment Agency Law; A Guide for Personnel Professionals.” Written by A. Bernard Frechtman, Esq., former General Council to the Association, this book, which clearly defines the laws, rights and obligations governing the private personnel placement practice, serves as a valuable reference source for human resource specialists, corporate personnel and personnel consultants.
In 1976, APCNY complied its first Directory of Personnel Consultants By Specialization.
Produced bi-annually thereafter and now in its 10th edition, the directory is a highly useful tool for the job seeker, personnel director and recruiter to quickly identify areas of specialization of member firms.
Over the last decade, major changes have taken place in corporate America that have greatly affected the private permanent placement industry. Massive downsizing, mergers and acquisitions have seen many corporate staffs converted from permanent to temporary employees. As a result, numerous traditional permanent placement firms have added temporary staffing, outsourcing, employee leasing, and outplacement services in an effort to become a comprehensive, full-service staffing operation. APCNY had been very instrumental in leading the way for these changes.
Looking to the future, APCNY has entered the computer age with a web site on the Internet. As worldwide communications are accessed through computers, we can foresee that the placement industry is on the edge of yet another renaissance. APCNY, of course, will be leading the way into the future.
APCNY continues to promote professionalism and ethics, and is striving to make your recruiting responsibilities more effective, less costly and more productive. We are dedicated to training members to provide higher quality and more comprehensive and efficient services to the employment effort.
APCNY
156 Tysen Street
Staten Island, New York 10301
Phone: (718) 727-9800 Fax: (718) 720-3140
E-Mail: [email protected]