Probably inspired by the dissenting judgments in a United States Supreme Court case called '' Adams v. Tanner '' , the International Labour Organization 's first ever Recommendation was targeted at fee-charging agencies . The Unemployment Recommendation , 1919 ( No. 1 ) , Art. 1 called for each member to " take measures to prohibit the establishment of employment agencies which charge fees or which carry on their business for profit . Where such agencies already exist , it is further recommended that they be permitted to operate only under government licenses , and that all practicable measures be taken to abolish such agencies as soon as possible . " The Unemployment Convention , 1919 , Art. 2 required instead the alternative of " a system of free public employment agencies under the control of a central authority . Committees , which shall include representatives of employers and workers , shall be appointed to advise on matters concerning the carrying on of these agencies . " In 1933 , the Fee-Charging Employment Agencies Convention ( No. 34 ) formally called for abolition . The exception was if the agencies were licensed and a fee scale was agreed in advance . In 1949 , a new revised Convention ( No. 96 ) was produced . That kept the same scheme but secured an ‘ opt out ’ ( Art. 2 ) for members that did not wish to sign up . Agencies were an increasingly entrenched part of the labor market . The United States did not sign up to the Conventions . The latest Convention , the Private Employment Agencies Convention , 1997 ( No. 181 ) takes a much softer stance and calls merely for regulation
Private Employment Agencies Convention , 1997
Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997
Agency worker law