Derek Hay

LOS ANGELES - California Labor Commissioner Patricia Salazar issued today a 50-page decision on the complaint brought fourth by five former LA Direct models against agency owner Derek Hay.

The commissioner's decision found against LA Direct on seven of ten complaints.

Originally, the petitioning performers went by "Jane Does 1-5," but a stipulation - an agreement between both parties' attorneys - before the first hearing allowed for their stage names to be revealed.

The "Jane Does" are Charlotte Cross (JD1), Sofi Ryan (JD2), Andi Rye (JD3), Hadley Viscara (JD4) and Shay Evans (JD5).

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LOS ANGELES - LA Direct agent Derek Hay filed an appeal with the Los Angeles County Superior Court last month requesting a "Trial De Novo" concerning the issues brought by five of his former models, initially identified only as "Jane Doe Nos. 1-5," before the Labor Commission in 2018 and which resulted in a June 10 decision by a Commissioner largely against Hay.

Hay also announced through the appeals document, filed on June 18, that he will post an "undertaking" (appeals bond) for twice the amount of the nearly $25,000 sum awarded by the Labor Commissioner to the models collectively, which will stay the enforcement of the award during the appeal/Trial De Novo process.

According to Hay's attorney, the Trial De Novo has been granted and is been assigned to a Los Angeles judge.

The Trial De Novo is a common appeals strategy in civil and small claim cases when one of the parties can continue fighting a case after a ruling against them. The Trial De Novo request asks to set aside the decisions from a lower court - or in this case the quasi-trial proceedings of the Labor Commission - and re-try ("de novo" means "anew" in Latin) the case.

According to the rules of the Trial De Novo, the on-record transcript of testimonies and cross-examination from the original trial - or Labor Commission proceedings - can be entered into the record of the new trial.

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Help 5 Jane Does pay legal fees against Derek Hay

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A judge at the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) of the Department of Industrial Relations issued a decision in the long-standing licensing case concerning LA Direct Models, renewing the license, but also placing it under a four-month suspension.

Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Eric Sawyer ordered the renewal of LA Direct's California license, which had been challenged by the Labor Commission in 2018 after allegations against the agency and owner Derek Hay in a separate labor board dispute with former clients, the so-called "Jane Does" case.

Since that challenge, LA Direct had been operating in California with periodically renewed "temporary licenses."

However, concurrent with the renewal, Judge Sawyer also decided that LA Direct's licence "shall be immediately suspended for four months."

Hay was also ordered to review his business practices based on testimony provided during the license hearings, with Sawyer specifying the agent "shall be prohibited from referring clients to businesses engaged in escorting; having clients sign contracts, fee schedules, or similar documents, that have not been approved by the Labor Commissioner; charging clients kill fees or cancellation fees unless and until such fees are contained in a contract approved by the Labor Commissioner; collecting rent or other debts owed to Derek Hay or any other individual; and sending clients to assignments which respondent or its staff know or reasonably should know are hazardous to clients' health, safety, or welfare."

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