A Common Way Background Talent Could Be Owed Unpaid Wages
Background actors provide a critical role on set, they help bring film and television scenes to life. Far too often, workers in these positions are not paid the full wages they are owed under California law; they could be entitled to 30x the amount they were paid.
Overtime Pay & Waiting Time Penalty
Background actors often engage in work for a flat amount per day, regardless of the hours they actually worked. For example, a production company may agree to pay a background actor for a day-long shoot at a flat rate of $500 per day. This may benefit the background actor if the shoot is only a few hours long, since he or she is still guaranteed a payment of $500. However, more often than not, production companies know that the shoot will take over 8 hours to complete and attempt to use the wage agreement to avoid paying overtime. This is illegal under California law.
Under California law (Labor Code Section 515(d)), any agreement with a nonexempt employee that pays the employee for a guaranteed salary for both regular time and overtime hours is illegal.
Example: Overtime Wage Calculation – 1 Day Shoot, $500 Flat Rate
A background actor enters into an agreement to do a one-day shoot for a $500 flat rate and the entire shoot takes 10 hours. They are entitled to more than $500 due to the extra 2 hours of overtime:
California law considers a “daily wage” to be for 8 hours only, even if an agreement states otherwise.
In this example the Regular Rate of Pay would be $500/8 hours = $62.50/hour
So, the Overtime Pay (Regular Rate of Pay x 1.5) would be $93.75/hour
The total Overtime Pay for 2 hours = $187.50
The background actor’s Total Daily Wage Owed = $687.50
Overtime Wage Calculation + Waiting Time Penalty
California Law supports the full and prompt payment of wages. Per Labor Code 203, workers could be entitled to “waiting time penalties” when an employer fails to pay “any wages” due at the conclusion of the employment relationship - including overtime wages.
Waiting Time Penalty = Total Daily Wage x Number of Days Employee Was Not Paid (Max 30 days)
For our example, the background actor could be owed up to $20,625 ($687.50 x 30 days)