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EP’s payroll tax experts share best practices to identify and resolve payroll tax errors for a smooth year… Productions in the U.S. and Canada that operate under Part I rules in a geographic location that subsequently meets the de-escalating criteria may elect to utilize the Part II rules, or continue using the Part I rules. However, a geographic location that starts under the Part II rules but subsequently meets the escalation criteria must begin following the Part I rules. Conversely, if the infection rate metrics in a geographic area of the production are lower than the two escalation triggers mentioned above, then the production can utilize the de-escalation rules in Part II. However, the agreement has built in triggers to reinstate stricter requirements when hospitalizations from COVID-19 increase in metropolitan areas.
Sign up for the Wrapbook monthly newsletter where we share industry news along with must-know guides for producers. The extension to the COVID-19 Safety Agreement slightly amends testing protocols for productions under select conditions. Your guide to the latest news in production incentives and film programs to come from the 2022 legislative… Alberta and Manitoba offer film and TV productions competitive tax incentive programs and versatile… Explore the generous industry incentives, talent, and infrastructure available to productions filming in…
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County ended its rule requiring masking on public transportation and in areas like train stations and airports. However, the arrival of fall could change conditions, health officials have warned. Negotiations over the latest version of the agreement began 9 things you think are environmentally friendly several weeks ago between unions and the negotiating entity for studios and streamers, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. As production continues to boom, new tax credits and other programs welcome industry to new locations…
Once hired, employees can be asked to disclose their vaccination status, and those that refuse to disclose are treated as unvaccinated. Productions electing a mandatory vaccination policy for Zone A may ask prospective employees whether they are fully vaccinated or have a disability or religious exception preventing vaccination. For those that answer in the affirmative, the offer of employment can be conditioned on the prospective employee providing proof to the production. Productions are responsible for collecting and verifying the proof, and for engaging in interactive dialogue with prospective employees seeking such an exception, to determine if reasonable accommodation is possible. Prior to working on set, an employee must be tested using a lab-based PCR test conducted within 48 hours prior to the start of employment. Only if it is not viable to obtain results before start day, shall a rapid or antigen test be allowed.
Though N95 and surgical masks are already staples in film, TV, and commercial production thanks to the prevalence of COVID-19 Safety Compliance Officers, this modification codifies best practices for masking on set. The COVID-19 Safety Agreement redefines its threshold criteria as fourteen or more new weekly COVID hospital admissions per 100,000 population over a seven-day interval in a production’s metropolitan area or county. This number has been raised from the previous ten or more new weekly COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population. The Return to Work Agreement has been extended on no less than four prior occasions since its initial implementation. Select policies within the Agreement have also been updated to better reflect the still evolving realities of film production during the global pandemic. When the agreement was last renegotiated in July, unions and the studios only made two small changes to measures covering transportation and meals when COVID levels are high.
Extension of the COVID-19 Safety Agreement (Most Recent)
Local 600 Business Reps and staff are here to assist you and answer questions you might have about applying for Unemployment Insurance in your state. In terms of negotiation for the IATSE Los Angeles Basic Agreement, producers and the IA agreed to hold off until August 17th, when they’ll resume their discussions. The employee is experiencing symptoms related to a COVID-19 vaccine that prevent the employee from being able to work. The employee must provide care for a child or senior, whose childcare or senior care provider ceases operations due to COVID-19. The Producer has requested that the employee isolate or self-quarantine because another person with whom he or she has been in close contact has tested positive for COVID-19 or exhibited symptoms of COVID-19.
While it has only been in effect since April 2021, prior to this modification, this agreement existed in a different form since last year. Offering paid sick leave to cast and crew has allowed many workers to keep their jobs regardless of the impact the pandemic has had on their lives. Other stipulations of the agreement have helped improve safety standards on set. These updates from the original agreement range from reduced outdoor mask wearing for fully vaccinated persons, to reduced testing in areas that have low COVID rates, to updated meal protocols, to even an option for mandatory vaccinations on some productions. The updated COVID-19 Safety Agreement affords all employees six additional days of temporary COVID-19 paid sick leave.
Western New York draws top filmmakers with expanded tax incentives, new soundstages, and architectural… Antigen tests are now allowed under both Parts I and II for pre-employment testing under certain circumstances, which may provide additional monetary savings for Producers. There are 10 or more new positive cases per 100,000 people based on a seven-day average for seven consecutive days starting from the first day Rt reached 1.1.
Zone A consists of all performers and background actors on set, as well as any other employees present in the same workspace with them while they are not wearing PPE. Notification of election to implement a mandatory vaccination policy must be provided to the applicable union prior to implementation. Only FDA authorized vaccines are acceptable (Pfizer, Moderna, alcoholic pancreatitis and Johnson & Johnson). You can view the CDC website to determine if you are eligible for the booster. While safety is a primary concern for everyone involved, many production companies are likely relieved at the latest compromise that will reduce restrictions for fully vaccinated workers, as well as reduce testing in areas with low COVID rates.
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Effective May 1, 2021, all employees shall have a total of ten days of temporary COVID-19 paid sick leave available per Producer, which may be used through December 10, 2021, and which may cover one or more Eligible COVID-19 Events. Fully vaccinated and non-vaccinated Zone A employees working fewer than five days per week do not need to be tested more than once within 72 hours before each day of employment. One test per week can be a lab-based PCR test, and those results must be turned in within 48 hours. If producers do implement mandatory vaccinations, they must give Zone A workers enough time to get vaccinated.
However, say a crew member was just tested the day before for a separate shoot, as a producer, you are not required to test them again since it’s been within the 48 hour timeframe. Producers now have the option of making Zone A into a mandatory vaccination area, meaning COVID-19 vaccination can national cancer institute be required by the Producer. Producers will grant a reasonable accommodation for people who have a medical disability or sincerely held religious belief that prevents vaccination. They were extended again onNovember 11, 2021, on January 24, 2022, and again on February 16,April 29andMay 6.
“b. There shall be no accrual period. Temporary COVID-19 paid sick leave shall be immediately available to employees upon commencing work. In April 2021, the AMPTP sat down to extend and modify their Return to Work agreement as it related to temporary COVID-19 paid sick leave, extending it to December 2021. As of now, the latest decision made in late July 2021 to modify the entire RTW agreement until further notice has no bearing on the modifications for temporary paid sick leave.
- Your guide to the latest news in production incentives and film programs to come from the 2022 legislative…
- This amendment effectively refills the potential COVID-19 sick days for all cast and crew, but with a smaller amount that reflects the shorter term of the current extension.
- A Producer that intends to implement such a policy must notify the applicable Unions/Guilds as soon as practicable prior to implementation…”
The recommendations set forth in the White Paper were developed by the Task Force at the request of and in collaboration with the various unions of the motion picture and television industry and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Used for all unions to pay a stipend to EE’s who attend Covid-19 health and safety protocol training outside of his or her employment. Regardless, all employees must wear masks, or at the very least, must be able to physically distance. The updates in the latest agreement relax mask requirements for fully vaccinated workers – they no longer have to wear masks outdoors.
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As a reminder, Zone B employees are those working on a “hot set,” but aren’t working with an actor while said actor isn’t wearing PPE. His work has been commissioned by a diverse range of clients- from Havas Worldwide to Wisecrack, inc.- and has been screened around the world. Through a background that blends project development with physical production across multiple formats, Loring has developed a uniquely eclectic skillset as a visual storyteller.
Contract Services’ COVID-19 Prevention Training is now available for industry-wide use. Up to 1 hour of training is not owed to EE’s who have already been paid for receiving a Covid test outside of the home. To view all the weekly video updates from National President John Lindley and National Executive Director Rebecca Rhine, please head over to the Local 600 Vimeo page.
This amendment effectively refills the potential COVID-19 sick days for all cast and crew, but with a smaller amount that reflects the shorter term of the current extension. Besides reduced testing frequency in Part II, employers may also gain some monetary savings in that antigen tests and expanded pool testing are allowed in some situations under both Parts I and II. Consistent with the original RTW Agreement, testing performed on a day on which the individual is not working is subject to a $250 payment ($100 for background actors), subject to exceptions for certain job classifications. But in the revised RTW Agreement, if the person tests negative and then does not report for their scheduled workday, the Producer is not required to pay that union person for the testing payment.
Hollywood’s Covid Protocols To Remain In Place As Negotiations Continue
The employee needs to care for a child, parent or spouse who is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID19 or has been advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine related to COVID-19. This, of course, doesn’t just have an effect on the logistics of the shoot or even the production’s schedule, but often, it greatly impacts the crew. When crew members have to travel near and far to get tested when they’re not working, it may cause some crew members to reconsider their jobs. For instance, if a crew member has to take two subways just to get tested, maybe they’ll start reconsidering certain jobs. The DGA discussed their hopes to further relax many of the protocols from the original agreement, unfortunately with the possibility of a new variant and growing infection rates, this is the safest compromise to reduce on set transmission.
The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances. The current extension to the COVID-19 Safety Agreement loosens masking requirements as such that they’re not required in most settings, with the specific exception of shuttle vans. Note that this is only the case under the Agreement’s most flexible protocols. If an uptick in cases triggers the Agreement’s strict protocols, masking requirements will revert to their more rigid state. With each extension of the Agreement, the negotiating parties have revisited its stipulations with the changing state of the entertainment industry and the most updated CDC guidelines in mind.
It’s the industry’s COVID-19 safety measures for working on sets, negotiated by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the industry’s Unions. Antigen tests are notably cheaper and faster than PCR tests, thus their use potentially grants productions increased flexibility under applicable circumstances. For reference, a previous update to the COVID-19 Return to Work Agreement expanded the number and variety of acceptable antigen tests permitted for use in such situations that the Agreement authorizes the use of antigen tests over their PCR counterparts. Provided that the threshold has not been breached, productions may implement the more flexible COVID-19 protocols described in the Agreement. In the event of a surge, productions must revert to the Agreement’s most stringent guidelines. Productions refer to data available from COVID Act Now to monitor case rates within the United States.
This most recent extension comes with a handful of small but notable changes that just might affect your next production. When reached before the extension, legal sources said their producer and director clients still plan on instructing productions to comply with protocols outlined in the current agreement regardless of whether they are loosened. It’s the best of times and the worst of times for employment in the entertainment/streaming industry. Used to pay a stipend to SAG background actors who must leave their homes to have a Covid test administered on a day where no work is done for the Producer and are ultimately NOT employed to work on the project. Used to pay a stipend to SAG background actors who must leave their homes to have a Covid test administered on a day where no work is done for the Producer and are ultimately employed to work on the project. To be used when an employee has been engaged to work and is required to isolate or self-quarantine on days 1-5 of the work week at the request of the Producer and is not otherwise working that day.
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