How California Law Supports TV Production Workers’ Overtime Pay

Do you work as a production employee on a television show set where long days are the norm? If so, it’s essential to know how California laws regarding overtime pay affect your bottom line. Here’s what you need to know about minimum wages and calculating overtime — especially if you are not yet an entertainment union member. And if your employer does not pay you proper overtime, you should know how an employment attorney can help you.

Many Organizations Are Involved in TV Production

For every television series that hits the networks or streaming platforms, there is a diverse group of workers involved. Most of these organizations operate on film productions as well as on television.

Television shows divide their budgets between above-the-line and below-the-line workers from all of these groups. Above-the-line costs include the amounts paid to actors, casting, screenwriters, story developers, producers, and directors. These members of the production typically have their own unions, like SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), DGA (Directors Guild of America), and WGA (Writers Guild of America).

The below-the-line budget includes the rest of the production crew, which also includes pre-production and post-production. These positions include but are not limited to:

• Assistant directors
• Directors of photography
• Film and visual effects editors
• Production designers
• Production coordinators and assistants
• Line producers
• Location managers
• Stage managers
• Technical directors
• Sound engineers
• Lighting technicians/gaffers
• Boom and camera operators
• Grips and best boys
• Wranglers
• Stunt performers
• Property masters
• ADR (dubbing)
• Foley artists
• Set painters
• Stagehands
• Carpenters and set construction professionals
• Costume designers
• Hair stylists
• Makeup artists
• Truck drivers
• Craft service (food)

Likewise, many television production workers in the jobs listed above belong to their own unions, like the Motion Picture Editors Guild, the Teamsters, and the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) and its various locals made up of different subcategories. These unions have negotiated specific regular and overtime pay rates for production crews.

However, it’s important to note that not all television productions are union productions; some may be non-union, in which case different pay arrangements have been created. Or, crew members may work on a union set but are not yet eligible for union membership, so they also have different pay levels. This is why it’s vital to review any employment contracts before starting work on a show to understand union participation and compensation and how it affects you.

What California Law Says About Overtime Pay for Below-the-Line TV Production Crews

California law protects workers

As you probably know, television productions often go into overtime when shooting or hurrying in post-production to meet a deadline. You might have to work long hours to capture scenes while the weather is still good, or there could be complications setting up a shot before the cameras can even start rolling.

Fortunately, California law governs much of what happens on television sets, as regular and limited series are typically filmed in the Hollywood area. Furthermore, California wage law applies to California-based studio productions when they’re traveling and filming on location. Even residents of other states who work on location for Hollywood productions outside of California must be paid by California’s wage and overtime schedule.

It’s therefore essential to understand that California is quite strict about enforcing overtime pay for all employees, including those working on television productions. You must receive at least the California minimum for overtime pay if you are not paid more per a union agreement.

It is considered wage theft for employers not to pay workers their rightfully earned pay. And it is now a criminal offense and grand theft for employers to intentionally withhold more than $950 in earnings from any one employee or $2,350 total from two or more employees during a 12-month period.

Also, California Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) dictates that you be paid as a W2 employee, not an independent contractor. Otherwise, your employer could be in violation of employee misclassification laws.

California overtime pay

So, practically speaking, what does all this mean for workers? First of all, your overtime pay is a reflection of your straight pay — your regular hourly wage. If you work for a studio based in Los Angeles, that’s at least $16.78 per hour, which is the minimum wage.

Be aware that some places in California, like the city and county of Los Angeles, have minimum wage rates that are higher than the state minimum of $15.50, which will increase to $16 per hour on January 1, 2024. Some of these locales will be raising their minimum wage at the start of 2024 and/or during the next year. So, if you work for an employer (studio or production company — whoever signs your contract and paycheck) headquartered in one of these places, you must be paid the higher rate.

Your California overtime pay is 1.5 times your straight pay for:

• More than 8 hours in a workday
• The first 12 hours on a 6th day of work
• The first 8 hours on a 7th day of work

Your employer is required to pay 2 times your straight pay for:

• Any hours worked over 12 in a workday
• Any hours over 8 on a 7th day of work

Calculating pay per call

What if you don’t know your hourly rate or straight pay? In many crew professions, you might get a call for something like “500/10.” This means you are guaranteed $500 for working 10 hours: eight hours of straight time and two of overtime. That’s going to come out to roughly $50 per hour, which is much more than the minimum wage — no worries as long as you stay close to 10-ish hours.

But what if you get a call for something that pays much less, say 160/10? You’re going to be skirting minimum wage issues there and need to check that you’re getting paid adequately. Here’s how you do the math:

1. Turn the overtime into straight time by multiplying the 2 extra hours by 1.5. This gives you 3 straight time hours.
2. Add the 3 extra hours to your 8 hours. This totals 11 hours for the day.
3. Divide your guaranteed pay of $160 by 11. You get $14.55 as your hourly rate with rounding.

First of all, that’s below the California minimum wage, so the employer is going to have to raise your total call pay until you hit at least the minimum. Once that’s done, you can calculate your overtime requirements from that. 

If, for example, you get the employer to raise your pay to $180 for the call, your straight time is now $16.36 per hour. For a 10-hour call, you should be paid $130.88 for the first eight hours and $49.08 for the two hours of overtime. That’s a total of $179.96 for the entire call. Since you were guaranteed $180, everything is good.

However, you can’t put in more than a 10-hour day without needing to be paid more for overtime. If the shoot goes long, your employer will need to cover the additional time at 1.5 times $16.36 per hour. That contingency needs to be in your contract.

But wait…there’s more!

Remember above where we talked about how filming hours can get crazy sometimes due to certain circumstances? You may be owed other overtime pay based on these circumstances:

• Meal penalties for when the director deems you can’t stop shooting when you would normally take a meal = 1 hour of straight time for each meal missed by non-union crew, even if it’s 30 minutes, or different rates determined by unions like IATSE for other employees (changes annually)
• Forced calls when you have to return to the set sooner than expected during a break, such as when rain is predicted later and you’ve only been off for a few hours = California overtime as listed above for non-union employees or usually continuous 1st and 2nd shift pay or golden hours pay (aka Jeffords Rules) for IATSE and Teamsters members, as well as many other unions (consult your union rep)

If you are a union member, you get the overtime pay determined by your representation for these scenarios. If you are not a union member, you must be paid at least the California overtime minimum.

Not Receiving Proper Overtime Pay? An Employment Attorney Can Help

If you believe you have been shorted on overtime pay or have similar concerns about a production you’re working on, it may be time to enlist the help of an employment lawyer. You may feel especially overwhelmed if you don’t have a union to protect you yet. At Employee Law Group, we assist with:

• Reviewing employment contracts to ensure your rights are protected
• Helping workers determine if they have a legal case against an employer
• Assisting with paperwork when filing a complaint with the state of California
• Advising workers about how to document overtime violations and wage theft
• Representing production workers in court, should a lawsuit be necessary

Working on a television series is hard work, and you deserve to be paid everything you are owed for your efforts. To discuss the possibility of wage theft or withholding of overtime pay by a California employer, you can schedule an initial meeting with Employee Law Group at no cost to you. Call us at 310-407-7358 to set up an appointment, or get in touch online to let us know how we can help.