BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Date of Hearing: June 8, 2011 2011-2012 Regular
Session
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Fiscal:Yes
Urgency: No
Bill No: AB 1401
Author: Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports,
Tourism and Internet Media
Version: As Introduced March 2, 2011
SUBJECT
Employment: minors.
KEY ISSUE
Should the Legislature create an expedited permit system and
enforcement fund for Entertainment Work Permits for minors?
PURPOSE
To assist enforcement and expedite compliance with existing law
protecting minors in the entertainment industry.
ANALYSIS
Existing law requires the written consent of the Labor
Commissioner for the employment of a minor in the entertainment
industry, as specified.
Existing law requires an entertainment work permit to be
obtained from the Labor Commissioner for a minor in order for
them to be employed in the entertainment industry.
Existing law provides that once written consent is given by the
Labor Commissioner, as specified, that consent shall be void
after the expiration of ten business days from the date the
written consent was granted unless it is attached to a true and
correct copy as evidence that a "Coogan Trust Account" has been
established on behalf of the minor.
This bill would do the following:
1) Provides that prior to the employment of a minor under
the age of 16 years, as specified, the LC may issue a
temporary permit authorizing employment of the minor.
2) Declares the purposes of the temporary permit are to:
a) Enable a parent or guardian of the minor to meet the
requirement for a permit,
b) Establish a trust account for the minor, and;
c) Produce the documentation required by the LC for the
issuance of a permit.
1) Establishes the following conditions for the temporary
work permit:
a) A temporary permit shall be valid for a period not
to exceed 10 days from the date of issuance, and;
b) A temporary permit shall not be issued for the
employment of a minor if the minor's parent or guardian
has previously applied for or been issued a permit by the
LC pursuant to Labor Code Section 1308.5, or a temporary
permit pursuant to this section for employment of the
minor.
1) Requires the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
(DLSE) to prepare and make available on its Internet Web
site the application form for a temporary permit.
2) Requires an applicant for a temporary permit to submit a
completed application and application fee online to DLSE.
3) Requires, upon receipt of the completed application and
fee, the DLSE to immediately issue a temporary permit.
4) Creates the Entertainment Work Permit Fund in the State
Treasury.
Hearing Date: June 8, 2011 AB 1401
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 2
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
5) Directs the Labor Commissioner to deposit all fees for
temporary permits received into the fund.
6) Provides that the funds deposited in the Entertainment
Work Permit Fund must be available to the Labor
Commissioner, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to pay
for the costs of administration of the online temporary
minor's Entertainment Work Permit program.
7) Allows the Labor Commissioner to set forth the fee in an
amount sufficient to pay for these costs, not to exceed
$50.
COMMENTS
1. Legislative Background:
The Coogan law was passed in 1938 in response to Jackie
Coogan's plight. Even though he earned millions as a child
actor, Coogan was surprised to find out when he reached
adulthood that his entire earnings were depleted, because his
mother and stepfather spent all his money legally, as the law
of the time considered his earnings to be his parents
property. The Coogan law was enacted to preserve a portion of
a minor's earnings under an employment contract for creative
or artistic services, for the minor's use when he or she turns
18 years of age, or becomes legally emancipated.
SB 1162 (Burton), Chapter 940, Statutes of 1999, overhauled
the Coogan law. Applicable to both court-approved and non
court-approved minors' contracts for creative or artistic
employment, SB 1162 required 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 imposed a duty on the employer to make
the 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
Hearing Date: June 8, 2011 AB 1401
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 3
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
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
years of age or becomes legally emancipated.
To further strengthen enforcement of the Coogan law, the
Legislature adopted, and the Governor signed, SB 210 (Burton),
Chapter 667, Statutes of 2004, which added the requirement
that the Labor Commissioner's written consent for performances
of a minor under Labor Code Section 1308.5 be limited to 10
days, unless a Coogan Trust Account has been established, as
discussed above.
The enforcement of this system is placed upon the studio
teachers, with whom the duty to check a child performer's
paperwork rests. A studio teacher is a certificated teacher
who holds both a valid and current California Elementary and a
California Secondary teaching credential, which is certified
by the Labor Commissioner. Studio teachers are paid by the
employer (e.g. a production company or studio).
A studio teacher, in addition to teaching, has the
responsibility for caring and attending to the health, safety,
and morals of minors under 16 years of age, and shall take
cognizance of such factors as: working conditions, physical
surroundings, signs of minor's mental and physical fatigue,
demands placed upon the minor in relation to the minor's age,
agility, strength, and stamina, and may refuse to allow
engagement of a minor on a set or a location and may remove
the minor there from, if in judgment of studio teacher,
conditions are such as to present a danger to the health,
safety, or morals of the minor.
2. Need for this bill?
AB 1401 would create a new enforcement structure in two ways:
the first by changing the way parents can receive permits for
their children, the second by creating an enforcement fund for
the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to fund
enforcement of the provisions of law that protect minors in
the entertainment industry.
Hearing Date: June 8, 2011 AB 1401
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 4
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
As was stated above, should AB 1401 become law, the Labor
Commissioner would be able to issue a temporary permit
authorizing employment of the minor, if consistent with
existing law. This permit will only be available online, and
will be subject to a fee in an amount sufficient to pay for
the costs of the temporary permit program, but not be more
than $50.
The purpose of the temporary permit is to allow the parent or
guardian of a first-time permit applicant opportunity to
establish a trust account for the minor and to produce the
education and medical documentation required by the LC for the
issuance of a minor's entertainment work permit. The
temporary permit will only be valid for 10 days from the date
of issuance.
Second, AB 1401 would create a fund for the enforcement of
existing law for minors in the entertainment industry, which,
with Legislative appropriation, would finance the issuance of
Entertainment Work Permits and the enforcement of working
conditions for minors in the entertainment industry.
2. Proponent Arguments :
The author states the following:
"Under current law, the existing permits expire in 10 days,
unless proof that a Coogan blocked trust account exists.
However, once a child begins to work, no one ever revisits the
permit to verify that a Coogan account exists. Because the
Coogan Act is written into the Family Code, the enforcers of
the Labor Commissioner's office do not follow up on this
important child labor provision."
"This bill will solve both of these issues through the
creation of a same-day online permit system for Entertainment
Work Permits for minors.
"Under this legislation parents/guardians would be able to
apply online for their child performer's first permit for a
slight fee, only once their child actually obtained
Hearing Date: June 8, 2011 AB 1401
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 5
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
employment. This would prevent the waste of time and money
that the current system encourages. The online permit would
only valid for 10 days, in order to allow the applicant time
to gather the required documentation, including establishing a
Coogan bank account. All permit renewals would be processed
through the mail only and would continue to be free."
3. Double Referral :
Should this bill pass out of this Committee, it will be
referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
4. Prior Legislation :
AB 2032 (Davis) of 2010 required applicants for an
Entertainment Work Permit for minors to pay a fee in order to
fund the administration of the Entertainment Work Permits and
the enforcement of the working conditions of minors in the
entertainment industry. It was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger.
AB 402 (Davis) of 2009 was virtually identical to AB 2032. It
was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
SB 210 (Burton), Chapter 667, Statutes of 2004, which was
discussed earlier, added the requirement that the Labor
Commissioner's written consent for performances of a minor be
limited to 10 days, unless a Coogan Trust Account has been
established.
SB 1162 (Burton), Chapter 940, Statutes of 1999, which was
discussed earlier, made significant changes to the Coogan law.
SUPPORT
Screen Actors Guild
OPPOSITION
Hearing Date: June 8, 2011 AB 1401
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 6
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations
None on file.
Hearing Date: June 8, 2011 AB 1401
Consultant: Gideon L. Baum Page 7
Senate Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations