CHAPTER 3. Employment Counseling Services [1812.510. - 1812.513.]

Cal. Civil Code - CIV 3.

in effect

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1812.510. Section 1812.510.

(a) Every employment counseling service subject to this title shall maintain a bond issued by a surety company admitted to do business in this state. The principal sum of the bond shall be ten thousand dollars ($10,000). A copy of the bond shall be filed with the Secretary of State. (b) The bond required by this section shall be in favor of, and payable to, the people of the State of California, and shall be conditioned that the person obtaining the bond will comply with this title and will pay all sums due any individual or group of individuals when the person or his or her representative, agent, or employee has received those sums. The bond shall be for the benefit of any person or persons damaged by any violation of this title or by fraud, dishonesty, misstatement, misrepresentation, deceit, unlawful acts or omissions, or failure to provide the services of the employment counseling service in performance of the contract with the customer by the employment counseling service or its agents, representatives, or employees while acting within the scope of their employment. (c) (1) No employment counseling service shall conduct any business without having a current surety bond in the amount prescribed by this title and filing a copy of the bond with the Secretary of State. (2) Thirty days prior to the cancellation or termination of any surety bond required by this section, the surety shall send a written notice of that cancellation or termination to both the employment counseling service and the Secretary of State, identifying the bond and the date of cancellation or termination. (3) If any employment counseling service fails to obtain a new bond and file a copy of that bond with the Secretary of State by the effective date of the cancellation or termination of the former bond, the employment counseling service shall cease to conduct any business unless and until a new surety bond is obtained and a copy of that bond is filed with the Secretary of State. (d) When a deposit has been made in lieu of the bond pursuant to Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the person asserting a claim against the deposit shall, in lieu of Section 996.430 of the Code of Civil Procedure, establish the claim by furnishing evidence to the Secretary of State of a money judgment entered by a court together with evidence that the claimant is a person described in subdivision (b). (e) When a person has established the claim with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State shall immediately review and approve the claim and enter the date of approval on the claim. The claim shall be designated an “approved claim.” (f) When the first claim against a particular deposit has been approved, it shall not be paid until the expiration of a period of 240 days after the date of its approval by the Secretary of State. Subsequent claims that are approved by the Secretary of State within the same 240-day period shall similarly not be paid until the expiration of the 240-day period. Upon the expiration of the 240-day period, the Secretary of State shall pay all approved claims from that 240-day period in full unless the deposit is insufficient, in which case each approved claim shall be paid a pro rata share of the deposit. (g) When the Secretary of State approves the first claim against a particular deposit account after the expiration of the 240-day period, the date of approval of that claim shall begin a new 240-day period to which subdivision (f) shall apply with respect to the amount remaining in the deposit account. (h) After a deposit account is exhausted, no further claims shall be paid by the Secretary of State. Claimants who have had their claims paid in full or in part pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g) shall not be required to return funds received from the deposit for the benefit of other claimants. (i) When a deposit has been made in lieu of a bond, the amount of the deposit shall not be subject to attachment, garnishment, or execution with respect to an action or judgment against the employment counseling service, other than as to an amount as no longer needed or required for the purpose of this title that would otherwise be returned to the employment counseling service by the Secretary of State. (j) The Secretary of State shall retain a cash deposit for two years from the date the Secretary of State receives written notification from the assignor of the deposit that the assignor has ceased to engage in the business of a counseling service or has filed a bond pursuant to subdivision (a), provided that there are no outstanding claims against the deposit. Written notification to the Secretary of State shall include all of the following: (1) name, address, and telephone number of the assignor; (2) name, address, and telephone number of the bank at which the deposit is located; (3) account number of the deposit; and (4) a statement whether the assignor is ceasing to engage in the business of a counseling service or has filed a bond with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall forward an acknowledgment of receipt of the written notice to the assignor at the address indicated in the notice, specifying the date of receipt of the written notice and anticipated date of release of the deposit, provided there are no outstanding claims against the deposit account. (k) A judge of a superior court may order the return of the deposit prior to the expiration of two years upon evidence satisfactory to the judge that there are no outstanding claims against the deposit or order the Secretary of State to retain the deposit for a sufficient period beyond the two years pursuant to subdivision (j) to resolve outstanding claims against the deposit account. ( l ) The Secretary of State shall charge a filing fee not to exceed the cost of filing the bond or the deposit filed in lieu of a bond pursuant to Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure. (m) The Secretary of State shall enforce the provisions of this chapter that govern the filing and maintenance of bonds and deposits in lieu of bonds.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1812.511. Section 1812.511.

(a) Every contract for employment counseling services shall be in writing. An original and one copy of the contract shall be given to the customer at the time the customer signs the contract and before the employment counseling service accepts any fee or deposit or the customer becomes obligated to pay any such fee or deposit. The contract shall contain all of the following: (1) The name, address, and telephone number of the employment counseling service. (2) The name and address of the person signing the contract and the person to whom the employment counseling services are to be provided. (3) A description of the services to be provided; a statement when those services are to be provided; the duration of the contract; and refund provisions as appropriate, to be applicable if the described services are not provided according to the contract. (4) The amount of the fee to be charged to or collected from the person receiving the services or any other person, and the date or dates when that fee is required to be paid. (5) The following statement, in type no smaller than 10-point boldfaced type: “No verbal or written promise or guarantee of any job or employment is made or implied under the terms of this contract.” (6) The following statement, in immediate proximity to the space reserved for the customer’s signature, in type no smaller than 10-point boldfaced type: YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL /enter date of transaction/ “You may cancel this contract for employment counseling services, without any penalty or obligation, if notice of cancellation is given, in writing, within three business days from the above date “To cancel this contract, just mail or deliver a signed and dated copy of the following cancellation notice or any other written notice of cancellation, or send a telegram containing a notice of cancellation, to (name of employment counseling service) at (address of its place of business), NOT LATER THAN MIDNIGHT OF /date/.” CANCELLATION NOTICE I hereby cancel this contract. Dated: Customer’s Signature” Until the employment counseling service has complied with this section the customer may cancel the employment counseling services contract. (b) All contracts shall be dated and shall be made and numbered consecutively in triplicate, the original and each copy to be signed by the customer and the person acting for the employment counseling service. The original and one copy shall be given to the customer and the other copy shall be kept on file at the employment counseling service. (c) The full agreement between the parties shall be contained in a single document containing those elements set forth in this section.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1812.512. Section 1812.512.

(a) (1) An employment counseling service shall provide a copy of its fee schedule and payment terms to any customer from whom a fee or deposit is to be received, prior to the customer being interviewed by a counselor, agent, or employee. (2) In the schedule, the maximum fee shall be fixed and shall include the charges of every kind rendered by the employment counseling service in each case or transaction on behalf of the prospective employee. Changes in the fee schedule may be made, but no change shall become effective until posted for not less than seven days in a conspicuous place in the employment counseling service. (3) A copy of the schedule in effect shall be kept posted in the employment counseling service in a conspicuous place, and the posted schedule and the changes therein shall be in lettering or printing of not less than standard pica capitals. The date of the taking effect of the schedule and of each change therein shall appear on the posted copies. (4) A copy of all fee schedules, and of all changes therein, shall be kept on file at the employment counseling service, retrospectively for a period of one year. (b) No fee charged or collected shall be in excess of the fee as scheduled. (c) No employment counseling service shall accept, directly or indirectly, a registration fee of any kind. (d) No employment counseling service may take from a customer a confession of judgment, a promissory note or notes, or an assignment of wages to cover its fees.

Cal. Civil Code - CIV § 1812.513. Section 1812.513.

(a) No employment counseling service shall make or cause to be made any false, misleading, or deceptive advertisements or representations concerning the services that the employment counseling service will provide to customers. (b) (1) No employment counseling service shall publish or cause to be published any false, fraudulent, or misleading information, representation, notice, or advertisements. (2) All advertisements of an employment counseling service shall contain the correct name of the employment counseling service and one of the following: (A) The street address of the employment counseling service’s place of business. (B) The correct telephone number of the employment counseling service at its place of business. (c) No employment counseling service shall give any false information or make any false promises or representations concerning engagement or employment to any customer, or make any verbal or written promise or guarantee of any job or employment. (d) An employment counseling service shall maintain a record of all advertisements for the service, correlated to show the date and the publication in which the advertisement appeared, retrospectively, for a period of one year. (e) No employment counseling service shall, by its choice of name or by advertisement or representation, represent itself to be an employment agency or to perform the job placement services of an employment agency.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026