ABSTRACT
During the early stages of the development of private employment agencies in the United States, few attempts were made by either municipal or state governments to directly control their activities. 1 However, as the abuses became more widespread and visible 2 state and local governments began to respond to the mounting pressure of various social and political groups that were concerned with the plight of the workingman at the hands of private employment agents. Increasingly, the state legislatures, cognizant of the social problems arising from the exploitation of job-seekers by profitseeking private employment agents, began to enact a wide array of ordinances and regulations aimed at bringing the employment agency industry under the supervision and control of the government.
