Industry Action Alert - Close the Labor Law Loophole for Print
/We have a chance to close the loophole in the Labor Law for Print Productions. We are reaching out to our community to ask for your help to change this law by sending a letter of support by Tuesday, June 4th, 2019 to hello@theproducer.com by 2PM EST.
Thanks to the initiative of Prime Casting in CA, below is a great explanation of this law, its negative effects on the community, and why it’s important to act now to change it.
For years we have been hearing from producers about talent (and their attorneys) filing claims for the "waiting time penalties" which simply state that if a talent isn't paid their wages upon wrap, the producer/photographer/agency is left responsible to pay a penalty which would equal the talent total day wage per day up to 30 days of non payment from the date of wrap. This has been very costly and inconvenient for many people and companies, and has negatively impacted the print industry in California.
This, of course, is a loophole in the Labor Law for Print Productions. The productions for the Motion Picture industry are covered by an exception which allows them to pay talent at the next regular payday, and therefore be able to have time to process talent through payroll and avoid the penalties.
2019 started with many of our producer friends being sued for things that are beyond their control and ability. Prime Casting decided to look into HOW to change this loophole for the Print Industry and gain the same protections that the Motion Picture Industry receives. They reached out to our state politicians and appealed for them to review the laws as they stand. California Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg's office has been very receptive, sympathetic and helpful to the cause. They have come up with legislation that should include the print productions under the same protections that the Motion Picture industry have.
While this process took us many months we need a few minutes of your time, and NOW.
We weren't sure if the legislature would be able to do anything this year, but it turns out that they are going to be discussing this at a hearing THIS WEEK.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU....
We need to provide "Letters of Support" to show the urgent need for them to vote favorably to adding the additional exception to the Labor Code that would grant Stills Shoots the same exceptions that Motion Shoots receive.
They didn't give us much time to get these letters in so this is very time sensitive. I have attached a Sample Letter in which you'll need to add your information in the Highlighted Yellow sections and save as a PDF on your Company or Personal Letterhead and return back to us NO LATER THAN 2pm EST on Tuesday JUNE 4TH to hello@theproducer.com
Additionally, please share this information to as many other producers, photographers, lawyers, agency representatives, crew and others who are affected by this loophole and have them return the letters of support back to us that would BE AMAZING!!
All of us have been affected by this one way or another. Some of us have directly paid thousands of dollars to lawyers, and each of us has been affected by the loss of business. This has been a big problem for many many years. We finally have the opportunity to help so please do your part!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Annika at hello@theproducer.com. We are really really hoping that we can get as many letters back as possible so that the voting parties can see what an effect this has on everyone and our livelihood.
THANK YOU!!!!