The entertainment industry is defined in state regulations as "any organization, or individual, using the services of any minor in: motion pictures of any type (film, videotape, etc.), using any format (theatrical, film, commercial documentary, television program, etc.), by any medium (theater, television, videocassette, etc.); photography; recording; modeling; theatrical productions; publicity; rodeos; circuses; musical performances; and any other performances where minors perform to entertain the public." [8 CCR 11751]
Minors aged 15 days to 18 years employed in the entertainment industry (as defined above) must have a permit to work and employers must have a permit to employ issued by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE, also referred to as the Labor Commissioner). [LC 1308.5; 8 CCR 11751(b), 11752, 11753, 11754] These permits are also required for minors making phonographic recordings or who are employed as advertising or photographic models. [LC 1308.5(a)(6) and (7)] Permits are required even when the entertainment is noncommercial in nature, CLC 1308.5(a)(5)
Permits will not be issued if the environment is improper for the minor, the employment conditions are detrimental to the minor's health, or if the minor's education is hampered. [LC 1308.6] The Labor Commissioner may require school officials to investigate these employment conditions. (LC 1308.6]
DLSE issues two types of work permits, individual permits and blanket permits. Individual permits are issued for six months to the minor specifically named in the application and must be renewed in the same manner and under the same conditions as the original permit. [8 CCR 11753(b) Although school officials may not issue work permits for employment in the entertainment industry, written verification from the minor's school district demonstrating a satisfactory academic and attendance record must accompany the application for an individual permit. The Division may also require a physical examination to ensure that the minor is physically able to perform the duties required. [8 CCR 11753]
Blanket permits are issued for groups of minors hired for special events or particular productions lasting a limited time. [8 CCR 11754] Employers obtain these permits after demonstrating proof of workers' compensation coverage and that a parent or guardian will accompany each group of 20 minors or fraction thereof [8 CCR 11754] The Division requires that school verification and parental consent forms for each minor accompany the application. Minors are not individually named on the permit, but a list of minors' names submitted by the employer is attached. Appropriate numbers of studio teachers must be supplied. [8 CCR 11754] Special arrangements must be made for groups of 100 minors or more, [8 CCR 11754] These permits expire at the end of the special event for which they are issued.
Employers in the entertainment industry must possess a Permit to Employ issued by the Division when employing minors under either an individual or blanket permit. [8 CCR 11751(b)] Application forms for these permits may be obtained from any office of the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. Employers must demonstrate proof of workers' compensation coverage. The permit is issued for an indefinite period, but Division policy requires that any interruption of workers' compensation requires a new application. Permits to employ may be denied, revoked, or suspended for any violation of law or regulation or any discrimination against a studio teacher for performing duties authorized and required by law and regulation for the protection of their minor charges. [8 CCR 11758, 11758.1]
Exception: Minors of any age nay appear in the following venues without permits [LC 1310]:
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In any church, public or religious school, or community entertainment |
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In any school entertainment or in any entertainment for charity or for children, for which no admission fee is charged; |
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In any radio or television broadcasting exhibition, where the minor receives no compensation directly or indirectly therefor, and where the engagement of the minor is limited to a single appearance lasting not more than one hour, and where no admission fee is charged for the radio broadcasting or television exhibition; |
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At any one event during a calendar year, occurring on a day on which school attendance is not required or on the day preceding such a day, lasting four hours or less, where a parent or guardian of the minor is present, for which the minor does not directly or indirectly receive any compensation. |
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High school graduates also do not require permits. [8 CCR 11750] |
Minors in the entertainment industry may not work more eight hours in a day [LC 1308.7, 1392] or more than 48 hours in a week. [LC 1308.7] They may only work between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10p.m. (to 12:30a.m. on days preceding a nonschoolday). [LC 1308.7] "Schoolday" means any day that a minor is required to attend school for 240 minutes or more. [LC 1308.7] Exception: Upon the Labor Commissioner's approval following a written request {submitted 48 hours in advance), a minor aged eight to 18 may continue his or her part past 10 p.m. up to 12 midnight preceding a schoolday in a "presentation, play, or drama" which begins before 10p.m. [LC 1308+5(a)(4)] This exception may never be construed to allow the minor to be at the place of employment more than the maximum number of hours permitted in law or regulation. In addition, state regulation establishes minimum workhour standards for individual age groups as described below.
Infants aged 15 days to 6 months may be at the place of employment for one period of two consecutive hours, which must occur between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., or between 2:30p.m. and 4:30p.m. [3 CCR 11764] Their actual work activity may not exceed 20 minutes. [8 CCR 11760] They may not be exposed to light exceeding 100 foot candles for more than 30 seconds at a time. A studio teacher and a nurse must be present for each three or fewer infants aged 15 days to six weeks, A studio teacher and a nurse must be present for each 10 or fewer infants aged six weeks to six months. [3 CCR 11755.2, 11760] A parent or guardian must always be present. [8 CCR 11757]
Minors aged six months to two years may be at the place of employment for up to four hours, and may engage in work activity for up to two hours. The remaining time must be reserved for the minor's rest and recreation. [8 CCR 11760]
Minors aged two years to six years may be at the place of employment for up to six hours, and may engage in work activity for up to three hours. The remaining time must be reserved for the minor's rest and recreation. [8 CCR 11760]
Minors aged six years to nine years when school is in session may be at the place of employment for up to eight hours, the sum of four hours work activity, three hours of schooling, and one hour of rest and recreation. When school is not in session, these minors may have a maximum workday of seven hours, the sum of six hours work activity and one hour of rest and recreation. [8 CCR 11760]
Minors aged nine years to 16 years when school is in session may be at the place of employment for up to nine hours, the sum of five hours work, three hours schooling, and one hour of rest and recreation, When school is not in session, minors may have a maximum workday of eight hours, the sum of seven hours work activity and one hour of rest and recreation. [8 CCR 11760]
All minors aged six months to 16 years must be provided with one studio teacher for each group of 10 or fewer minors when school is in session, and for each group of 20 or fewer minors on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or during school vacations, [8 CCR 1 E755.1] In addition to the studio teacher, a parent or guardian must always be present. [8 CCR 11757] Exception: Minors under 16 do not require the presence of a studio teacher for up to one hour for wardrobe, make-up, hairdressing, promotional publicity, personal appearances, or audio recording if these activities are not on the set, if school is not in session, and if the parent or guardian is present. [8 CCR 11762]
Minors aged 16 years to 18 years when school is in session may be at the place of employment for up to 10 hours, the sum of six hours work, three hours schooling, and one hour of rest and recreation. When school is not in session, minors may have a maximum workday of eight hours, the sum of seven hours work activity and one hour of rest and recreation, [8 CCR 11760]* Studio teachers need only be present for the minors' schooling, if schooling is still required. [8 CCR 11760] A parent or guardian need not be present.
The time minors may be permitted at the place of employment may be extended by no more than one-half hour for a duty-free meal period. [8 CCR 11761] Minors must be tutored between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. No exceptions, [EC 48224]
Travel time between the studio. and a location counts as work time, Up to 45 minutes travel from on-location, overnight lodging to a worksite is not work time. Travel between school and studio is not work time. [8 CCR 11759]
All time spent in make-up or hairdressing in the minor's home, with the assistance of studio personnel, is considered work time. No make-up person or hairdresser may work on minors in the minor's home before 8:30 a.m., Twelve hours must elapse between the time the minor is dismissed on one day and the time make-up or hairdressing begins on the following day. [8 CCR 11763]
Twelve hours must elapse between the minors time of dismissal and call time on the following day. If the minor's regular school starts less than 12 hours after his or her dismissal time, the minor must be schooled the following day at the employer's place of business. [8 CCR 11760(i)]
Minors who attend regular school may not work in the entertainment industry for the same number of hours as minors tutored by studio teachers. Minors tutored by studio teachers need only be instructed for three hours a day [EC 43224; 8 CCR 11760] while minors in regular school are generally required to attend school for a much longer time. Clearly, minors who attend regular school cannot assume the same workhour burden as tutored minors. Consequently, the Division adopted an enforcement policy for minors who attend regular school. This policy establishes the length of the workday for minors who attend regular school by subtracting six hours from the maximum number of hours that tutored minors are permitted on set when school is in session. For example, tutored minors nine to 16 years of age are permitted to be on set for up to nine hours, therefore minors who attended regular school on a workday would be permitted to be on set for up to three hours, Such workdays for minors attending regular school do not require a one-hour rest and recreation period, but they may be extended one-half hour by a meal period. Finally, the Division's policy always assumes that the minor who attends regular school always attends for at least six hours, Thus, in an effort to safeguard the minor's educational interests, an artificially shortened regular schoolday is never allowed to result in an employer benefit of extended work hours.
Nothing in DLSE's policy for minors who attend regular school may be construed to allow those minors to work during regular school hours. DLSE's policy is specifically designed to dissuade any interruption of a minor's regular school attendance requirements, There is only one exception. A minor 14 years of age or older who attends regular school may work up to eight hours during regular school hours for each of two consecutive days upon the written permission of the minor's school. [8 CCR 11760(h)]
No law exempts minors employed in the entertainment industry from any of the prohibited occupations listed in Chapters 7 and 8 of this digest, except those entertainment activities cited in Labor Code § 1308.
Neither studio teachers nor the Labor Commissioner are empowered to waive - at any time or under any circumstances -- any minimum labor standard established in law or regulation. Exception: The special exemption (described on page 39) allowing minors aged 8 - 18 to work past 10 p.m. up to 12 midnight on a schoolnight
Actors of either gender are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the California Industrial Welfare Commission. [IWC Orders 11 & 12 Section 1(B)) Although actors and performers are expressly exempt from the child labor provisions of the FLSA, they are not exempt from its minimum wage and overtime requirements. [29 USC 213(c)(3); 29 CFR 570.125] Thus, minors employed in the entertainment industry in firms subject to the FLSA must be paid at least the minimum wage and overtime after 40 hours in a week despite the IWC exemption.
California employers who employ resident minors and outside of the state under contractual arrangements made in the state must comply with all California regulations, including the use of studio teachers, [8 CCR 11756]
Studio teachers tutor minors whose employment responsibilities in this special industry do not allow them to attend full-time regular school. Studio teachers are also responsible for the health, safely and morals of minors under 16 years of age while the minors are engaged or employed in the entertainment industry. The studio teacher may refuse to allow the use of a minor under 16 on a set or location and may remove the minor from the set or location if in his or her judgment conditions present a danger to the health, safety or morals of the minor, [8 CCR 11755.2] Employers risk the loss of their Permit to Employ if they disregard the judgment of the studio teacher. [8 CCR 11758.1, 11753.2] Employers may appeal a studio teacher's judgment to an Assistant Chief of the Division, [8 CCR 11755.2]
Studio teachers must have both a California Elementary and Secondary teaching credential (or the approved equivalent which certifies that they are qualified to teach grades K-12 in accordance with California standards) which are valid and current, Studio teachers must also be certified by the Labor Commissioner. [8 CCR 11.755] Certification by the Labor Commissioner follows an examination that tests the applicant's knowledge of child labor laws and regulations, Certification by the Labor Commissioner is valid for three years. Studio teachers are paid by the minor's employer; they are not state employees. [8 CCR 11755.3]
*Those familiar with the text of DLSE's entertainment regulations as they appear in Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations will notice that the description of work and recreation hours when school is not in session appears to differ with the description here and in the summary chart The description differs because the regulations arc somewhat ambiguous when discussing work and recreation time when school is not in session. Regulations are clear that when school is in session, the required rest and recreation is in addition to actual work activities. However, regulations for work hours when school is not in session, state that 16- and 17-year-olds arc allowed to work up to "8 hours,. with one hour of rest and recreation." The one hour of rest and recreation is considered (compensable) work time regardless of the minor's actual activity because minors are under the control of the employer. If the recreation time were in addition to eight hours of work activity, the workday would be nine hours long, a violation of Labor Code §§13O8.7 and 1392. Thus. In order to clarify work activity and the total length of the workday, this digest states that when school is not in session, 16 and 17-ycar-olds may perform seven hours of work activity and receive one (continuous and uninterrupted) hour of rest and recreation for a maximum workday of eight hours.