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Last month, the California Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 671, which proposes an amendment to the state’s labor law related to ‘print shoot employees.’ Under the change, California would fix a ‘discrepancy in payment timelines’ between crew hired for short-term photo shoot work and employees working on a TV or movie production.
The bill was sponsored by California State Senator Robert Hertzberg, whose office was alerted to the payment timeline discrepancy, according to his press secretary Katie Hanzlik speaking to PDN.
The proposed amendment revolves around existing California labor law, which requires the majority of short-term workers be classified as employees and receive their full wages on the last day of the job. There’s an exception for employees working on a movie or TV production, however, who receive the wages for their work on the next regularly scheduled payday.
Under the proposal, the definition of ‘print shoot employee’ is changed from a short-term worker involved with a print shoot to a short-term worker involved with a ‘still image shoot, including film or digital photography, for use in print, digital, or Internet media.’
The proposed amendment would allow photographers, directors, and other to pay ‘print shoot employees’ their wages on that same timeline, meaning photo shoot crew members will receive their checks on the next regularly scheduled payday like everyone else.
Under the proposal, the definition of ‘print shoot employee’ is changed from a short-term worker involved with a print shoot to a short-term worker involved with a ‘still image shoot, including film or digital photography, for use in print, digital, or Internet media.’ Photo assistants, stylists, and other crew members involved in a photo shoot would be covered by the change.
Now that it has passed the California Senate, the bill will be debated by the State Assembly’s Committee on Labor and Employment on June 12. The bill may then be passed on to the Assembly for a vote, potentially being passed into law.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)