BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1393
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Sandre Swanson, Chair
AB 1393 (Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet
Media Committee) - As Amended: April 7, 2011
SUBJECT : Employment: on location filming permits.
SUMMARY : Provides that any entity that issues permits for
on-location motion picture, television, or commercial production
may inform the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and the
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), whether children
will be employed at a particular production location.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a local agency or public entity that issues a
permit for on-location motion picture, television, or
commercial production may inform the DIR and the DLSE, upon
request, whether a child or children will be employed at a
particular production location.
2)Prohibits DIR and DLSE from using the information provided for
any purpose other than enforcing specified labor laws relating
to the employment of minors and from further releasing the
information provided.
3)Specifies that nothing in this section is intended to create a
duty upon a local agency or public entity that issues a permit
for on-location motion picture, television, or commercial
production permits to seek, obtain, or maintain information
regarding whether a child or children will be employed at a
particular production location.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW :
1)Regulates the employment of minors in the United States under
the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) but the FLSA
provides an exception for "any child employed as an actor or
performer in motion pictures or theatrical productions, or in
radio or television productions." (29, U.S.C. Section 212, et
seq).
EXISTING STATE LAW :
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1)Requires the written consent of the Labor Commissioner (LC)
for the employment of a minor in the entertainment industry,
as specified. (Labor Code section 1308.5)
2)Requires an entertainment work permit to be obtained from the
LC for a minor in order for them to be employed in the
entertainment industry.
3)States that all minors less than 18 years of age, with limited
exceptions, employed in the state of California must have a
permit to work and their employers must have a permit to
employ minors, as specified.
4)Provides that employers must keep on file all Permits to
Employ and Work. Records must be open at all times for
inspection by school authorities and officers of the DLSE.
(Labor Code Section 1299; Education Code Sections 49161,
49164, and 49181).
5)Provides that failure to produce Permits to Work or to Employ
is prima facie evidence of the illegal employment of minors,
and subjects the employer to a fine. (Labor Code Sections
1288 and 1304; Education Code Section 49181).
6)States that employers of minors must keep records for three
years showing the names, ages (dates of birth), and addresses
of all minors employed as well as time and payroll records
required by the applicable Industrial Welfare Commission
Order. Additionally, employers must furnish this information
when requested. (Labor Code Sections 1174 and 1175).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author statement, the LC is charged
with the task of ensuring workplace safety - including
enforcement of the child labor laws designed to protect children
in the entertainment fields. However, due to the transient
nature of film production, those charged with protecting our
working children often have no idea where they are working.
This presents an obvious problem.
Additionally, the author adds that filming outside of a
certified soundstage or studio backlot requires a permit from
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the city, county and/or other local jurisdiction. While Los
Angeles has the vast majority of film location shooting, issuing
some 43,646 permits in 2010, dozens of other local entities are
also issuing permits across the state. In addition to local
permit authorities, the California Film Commission also issues
permits for filming on state property. Last year, the total
number of permits issued for filming on state property was over
1,500.
Finally, the author states this bill is aimed at solving the
problem of the LC not knowing where children are working, by
simply allowing any entity which issues location permits for
filming, to disclose whether minors will be working on the
location; information which is available through the existing
requirement that employers must have a permit to employ minors
and to make this information available to the LC, with proper
privacy safeguards.
PRIOR AND RELATED LEGISLATION :
AB 2032 (Davis) of 2009, which was vetoed by the Governor, would
have levied a fee to fund the administration of permits for
minors in the entertainment industry, as well as to fund
enforcement of working conditions for minors in the industry.
AB 402 (Davis) of 2009 would have required a $50 fee be
submitted at the time when a minor applies for an Entertainment
Work Permit (EWP) and directed the LC to collect and deposit the
money into a special fund for the administration and enforcement
of EWPs for minors, as provided. AB 402 was vetoed by the
Governor.
SB 210 (Burton) Chapter 667, Statutes of 2004, added the
requirement that the LC's written consent for performances of a
minor under Labor Code Section 1308.5 be limited to ten days,
unless a Coogan Trust Account has been established.
SB 1162 (Burton) Chapter 940, Statutes of 1999, overhauled the
Coogan Act. Applicable to both court-approved and
non-court-approved minors' contracts for creative or artistic
employment, SB 1162 requires 15% of a minor's earnings to be set
aside and deposited into a "Coogan Trust Account", invested in
low-risk financial vehicles, and blocked from use until the
minor is emancipated or reaches age 18. To enforce the
set-aside, SB 1162 imposes a duty on the employer to make the
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deposit directly into the minor's Coogan Trust Account, which a
parent or guardian is required to open at an insured financial
institution and to invest in a manner consistent with that of a
trustee. Annual accounting is required, and court supervision
of trust accounts for minors with court-approved contracts
continues until the minor turns 18.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Lorie Erickson / L. & E. / (916)
319-2091