Hollywood COVID-19 protocols agreement extended to Sept 30 Los Angeles Times

As circumstances continue to change, be sure to keep an eye on this page for any updates. As the entertainment industry continues to work through a global pandemic, learning to conduct business with safety and health as top priorities is more sensitive and critical than ever before. To help filmmakers and other industry professionals navigate the process with as much confidence, ease, and efficiency as possible, Wrapbook put together a COVID-19 Filmmaking Resource Center, including a comprehensive guide free for the taking. The Agreement’s mandates originally went into effect back on September 21, 2020. Since their debut, the Agreement’s health and safety protocols have been widely regarded as effective in mitigating the on-set risk of cast and crew exposure to COVID-19.

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.

• Hollywood’s unions and producers extended their Return-to-Work agreement through September 30, 2022 amidst surging COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles.
• 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.
• 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.
• Notably, the updated COVID-19 Safety Agreement gives employers the right to adopt more stringent masking requirements on a production-by-production basis.

However, those who do not schedule or receive their first shot will be ineligible for work until they are fully vaccinated. The industry’s return-to-work agreement — the pact between studios and unions that has kept Hollywood productions going during the COVID-19 pandemic — has been temporarily extended gateway drugs that lead to addiction as both sides continue talks over whether to adjust current health and safety protocols. On productions without a mandatory vaccination policy, the employer cannot ask prospective employees about vaccination status up front and can only ask once the job offer has been accepted by the employee .

Any time you receive a message from a Casting Director, like an availability inquiry, you should answer all questions and fill out all fields. If the production has a mandatory vaccination policy, the message from Casting Directors will say so. And if you meet the criteria and want to submit for the job, follow the instructions in the message on how to submit for the job posting.

Hollywood Extends “Return to Work” COVID-19 Protocol Agreement Through September

As of now, the compensation requirements as laid out in the agreement still stick. As a recap of the agreement, employees or anyone who is not a background actor who also travels outside of their home to take a test, will receive a stipend of $250. In areas with increasing COVID rates, testing first step recovery center requirements remain as before, though the agreement does expand the types of tests that are now allowed depending on the situation. For more on mandatory vaccinations and what constitutes a “fully vaccinated” worker, please refer to section 2b in its entirety in the latest agreement.

As of the date of this publication, Los Angeles County and most other jurisdictions remain under the stricter Part I rules.

After employment starts, Part I continues the same testing frequency under Zones A through D that were in effect under the prior RTW Agreement, regardless of vaccination status. Working conditions for motion picture workers now fall into two different sets of rules – Part I and Part II – under the newly-negotiated revisions. Part I contains more restrictive rules, while Part II contains more relaxed rules, and their applicability depends on the COVID-19 infection rate in the production’s geographic location. Last year, in September 2020, the AMPTP and the industry’s Unions issued a Return-to-Work Agreement setting forth protocols for COVID-19 safety for motion picture production.

The parties recently revised the RTW Agreement on July 19, 2021, and includes changes in four major areas. Hollywood’s major unions and studios have agreed to extend an agreement on COVID-19 protocols for productions until Sept. 30. The vaccination mandates, which allows producers to require vaccinations as a condition of employment on a production-by-production basis, have proven to be the most controversial aspect of the protocols. Earlier this month, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher expressed the opinion that it’s now safe to lift the mandates, although the board ultimately took no action.

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The agreement states that the “Producer will stagger testing of “Zone B” employees, so that one-half of the “Zone B” employees on a production are tested in one week, and the other half is tested in the following week.” The revised RTW Agreement includes additional relaxation of COVID-19 safety rules at the workplace, such as less restrictive face mask and physical distancing requirements for fully-vaccinated people in certain situations and allowing buffet-style meals for the fully vaccinated. The Agreement is set to expire on September 30, 2021, at which time the parties are expected to meet again to discuss a further extension and corresponding modifications based on the then-current pandemic climate. While the protocols have reduced outbreaks on film sets, according to data from the Motion Picture Assn., Southern California-based studios such as Warner Bros. are dealing with major outbreaks.

County Department of Public Health, just a month after the Burbank-based studio started asking employees to come back to the office for at least three days a week. Fully vaccinated workers may still be required to periodically test depending on how many days per week they work and where they work on set – though now at a reduced frequency compared to the prior agreement. Between the AMPTP, DGA, IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, and Teamsters/Basic Crafts was signed in September 2020 and established COVID-19 safety protocols for guild productions. Masking requirements for Zone A workers remain unchanged, meaning Zone A workers will still need to follow the Producer’s requirements for masking and other safety protocols while on the production set.

The confirmed transmission rate , which is the average number of people that one person with COVID-19 is expected to infect, is 1.1 or higher for seven consecutive days. The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future. The White Paper outlines guidance regarding protective measures to be used, including regular screening, diagnostic testing, use of personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfecting work sites, and appropriate response should an employee contract COVID-19 or be exposed to it. Members seeking financial assistance may also apply for the Local 600 Hardship Fund, administered by the Entertainment Community Fund .

Mandatory pre-employment COVID-19 testing will remain for the current time, and the test result must be negative to be allowed onto the set. However, testing negative does not automatically mean that you are booked to work, and you will still need to receive formal booking details from Central Casting to be considered booked. At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above.

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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…

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.

If selected, the production will provide you instructions on how and where to supply this information to the production. In the next few months, members of the Writer’s Guild of America will vote on whether or not to authorize a work stoppage for all projects covered by their union. As a reminder for anyone that isn’t aware, the COVID-19 Safety Agreement was originally referred to as the COVID-19 Return to Work Agreement. The mandates outlined in the Agreement are the result of collaboration and negotiation by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, SAG-AFTRA, the Directors Guild of America, IATSE, Teamsters, as well as the Basic Crafts unions.

Latest decisions regarding mandatory vaccinations

Once they receive the application, the Entertainment Community Fund will reach out to you to continue the process. That agreement was updated in 2021 but was scheduled to end on September 30 i.e. yesterday. For this and more union knowledge, stay in the know by signing up for our newsletter. For more viagra and alcohol sildenafil on the exact hour amount and payment rates per each union, see section 8. A public official or healthcare provider has requested that the employee isolate or self-quarantine due to COVID-19 . A member of the employee’s household has tested positive for COVID-19 or exhibited symptoms of COVID-19.

Studio teachers and any other person who come in close contact with minors on the set will also need to be fully vaccinated, if the Producer elects to have a mandatory vaccination policy. On July 19, 2021, the AMPTP and the Unions issued revisions to the Return to Work Agreement, which sets forth rules impacting workers who work on the production sets of Producers who are signatory to the Agreement. This includes new or revised rules that impact workers in Zone A on the production set. Zone A workers include performers, Background Actors, and all other employees who are present in a workspace with a performer or Background Actor while they are not wearing personal protective equipment in front of the camera. It is because performers and Background Actors must often work without personal protective equipment that these additional safety rules are now in effect. The COVID-19 Safety Agreement is a living document designed to help the entertainment industry adapt to the evolving needs of its labor force.

Used for all unions to pay a stipend to EE’s who have a Covid test administered at their home on a day where no work is done for the Producer. Used for all unions to pay a stipend to EE’s who must leave their home to have a Covid test administered on a day where no work is done for the Producer. To be used when an EE has been engaged to work and is required to isolate or self-quarantine on days 6-7 of the work week at the request of the Producer and is not otherwise working that day. When masks are required, individuals shall wear a KN95, KF94, N95 mask, or when there is a fit issue, a well-fitting surgical mask, and such masks shall be provided by the Employer. In September 2020, the various Hollywood unions negotiated the proper conditions for production to resume safely after the pandemic shut down most production in March of that year.

Meanwhile, performers’ union SAG-AFTRA has been having its own internal debates over the agreement. The union has an outspoken faction that opposes the fact that the return-to-work agreement empowers producers to impose vaccine mandates on “Zone A” if they wish. On Sept. 10, it held a meeting for its national board to discuss vaccine requirements on certain productions.