New York Laws
Article 7 - Private Investigators, Bail Enforcement Agents and Watch, Guard and Patrol Agencies
84 - Unlawful Acts.

§ 84. Unlawful acts. 1. It is unlawful for the holder of a license,
issued under this article, or for any employee of such licensee,
knowingly to commit any of the following acts within or without the
state of New York: to incite, encourage, or aid in the incitement or
encouragement of any person or persons who have become a party to any
strike, to do unlawful acts against the person or property of any one,
or to incite, stir up, create or aid in the inciting of discontent or
dissatisfaction among the employees of any person, firm, limited
liability company or corporation with the intention of having them
strike; to interfere or prevent lawful and peaceful picketing during
strikes; to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the
exercise of their right to form, join or assist any labor organization
of their own choosing; to interfere or hinder the lawful or peaceful
collective bargaining between employees and employers; to pay, offer, or
give any money, gratuity, favor, consideration, or other thing of value,
directly or indirectly, to any person for any verbal or written report
of the lawful activities of employees in the exercise of their right of
self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations and to
bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing; to
advertise for, recruit, furnish or replace or offer to furnish or
replace for hire or reward, within or without the state of New York, any
help or labor, skilled or unskilled, or to furnish or offer to furnish
armed guards, other than armed guards theretofore regularly employed for
the protection of payrolls, property or premises, for service upon
property which is being operated in anticipation of or during the course
or existence of a strike, or furnish armed guards upon the highways, for
persons involved in labor disputes or to furnish or offer to furnish to
employers or their agents, any arms, munitions, tear gas implements, or
any other weapons; or to send letters or literature to employers
offering to eliminate labor unions or distribute or circulate any list
of members of a labor organization, or to advise any person of the
membership of an individual in a labor organization for the express
purpose of preventing those so listed or named from obtaining or
retaining employment. The violation of any of the provisions of this
section shall constitute a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine
of not less than five hundred dollars, or one year's imprisonment or
both. It is unlawful for the holder of a license to collect or offer or
attempt to collect or directly or indirectly engage in the business of
collecting of debts or claims of any kind, excepting that the taking
possession, on behalf of a secured party having the right to do so under
section 9--609 of the uniform commercial code, of property in the
possession of a debtor who has defaulted in the performance of a
security agreement secured by such property, shall not be considered a
violation of this section and excepting further that the secretary of
state may grant exemption from this prohibition in the collection of
debts to licensees who are principally engaged in the business of credit
investigation and credit reporting. It is unlawful for the holder of a
license to furnish or perform any services described in subdivisions one
and two of section seventy-one of this article on a contingent or
percentage basis or to make or enter into any agreement for furnishing
services of any kind or character, by the terms or conditions of which
agreement the compensation to be paid for such services to the holder of
a license is partially or wholly contingent or based upon a percentage
of the amount of money or property recovered or dependent in any way
upon the result achieved. It shall be unlawful for a holder of a license
to use, display, cause to be printed or distributed, cards,
letter-heads, circulars, brochures or any other advertising material or
advertisement in which any name or indicia of the license status of the

licensee is set forth in any manner other than the name under which the
licensee is duly licensed. It is unlawful for a licensed private
investigator or bail enforcement agent to own, have or possess or in any
manner to wear, exhibit or display, a shield or badge of any material,
kind, nature or description, in the performance of any of the activities
as private investigator or bail enforcement agent, as distinguished from
watch, guard or patrol agency, under this article. It is unlawful for a
licensed private investigator or bail enforcement agent to issue to any
person employed by such licensee, a badge or shield of any material,
kind, nature or description, and it is unlawful for any person employed
by such licensee to possess, carry or display a badge or shield of any
description provided that any licensed private investigator or bail
enforcement agent who also engages in the business of watch, guard or
patrol agency may possess, use or display or issue to employees in the
conduct of such business, a rectangular metal or woven insignia to be
worn on the outer clothing and approved by the department of state,
which insignia shall not be larger than three inches high or four inches
wide with an inscription thereon containing the word "watchman",
"guard", "patrol" or "special service" and the name of the licensee. It
shall be unlawful for any licensee to publish or cause to be published
any advertisement, letter-head, circular, statement or phrase of any
sort which suggests that the licensee is an official police or
investigative agency or any other agency instrumentality of the state of
New York or any of its political subdivisions. It shall be unlawful for
any licensee to make any statement which would reasonably cause another
person to believe that the licensee is a police officer or official
investigator of the state of New York or any of its political
subdivisions. It shall be unlawful for a licensee to offer, by radio,
television, newspaper advertisement or any other means of communication,
to perform services at any location which is merely the location of a
telephone answer service unless full disclosure of that fact is made in
the advertisement.

2. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of subdivision one of
this section, a private investigator may contract with a local social
services district to furnish or perform services for the location of
absent parents and fathers of children born out of wedlock on a
contingent basis.