Writers Guild Announces Second Reality TV Wage Case Lawsuit on Behalf of Writers, Producers, and Editors
Suit Filed Against Fox Broadcasting and Reality TV Producer Demonstrates Widespread Nature of Overtime Violations and Major Potential Liability for Networks
Plaintiffs worked for: Trading Spouses; Joe Millionaire; The Next Joe Millionaire; My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé; Renovate My Family; Seriously, Dude, I'm Gay; and Married by America
LOS ANGELES -- The Writers Guild of America, west announced today that ten reality-TV writers and editors, with the assistance of the WGAw, have filed a class-action lawsuit charging Fox Broadcasting Company and Rocket Science Laboratories with violations of California's labor laws governing payment of overtime, wages, and meal periods. The suit was filed Tuesday, August 23, 2005, in the Superior Court of Los Angeles.
"It's time for Fox and the other major broadcasting companies to step out in the light of day and end these injustices," said WGAw president Daniel Petrie Jr. "In this case, Fox was in direct creative control of these series and used Rocket Science Laboratories, Inc. as a vehicle for the systemic violations of wage and hour law. It is clear that the networks have a legal responsibility for the violations of their producers. They also have an obligation to disclose the potential financial liabilities to their stockholders.
"We've heard stories of people breaking down from the strain," said Petrie, "of men and women working from nine in the morning until after midnight with no meal breaks, of location shoots
where eight people were required to work in hot trailers meant for four. When asked if he had
any time off, one plaintiff responded: ‘I forget how the day off was supposed to work.'"
"These men and women deserve the basic protections of fair labor standards. Today we are calling on Fox and Rocket Science to give these storytellers the respect they are due."
Employees of Rocket Science were instructed to falsify time records and were paid the same weekly rate regardless of the hours worked — the longer they worked, the lower the hourly rate.
The Labor Code provides that any work in excess of eight hours in one workday and any work in excess of 40 hours in any one workweek and the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be compensated at the rate of no less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for any employee and double-time for work in excess of 12 hours in one day.
The Labor Code also requires employers to provide employees with a meal period of at least 30 minutes for each work period of more than five hours and two meal periods, of each of at least 30 minutes, for each work period of more than ten hours. Employers are prohibited from requiring employees to work through any meal or rest period.
The lawsuit alleges:
Plaintiffs were required to falsify their time cards, either by simply signing blank time cards or by entering pre-determined start and end times for each day of the week. In fact, plaintiffs worked far in excess of 40 hours per week during virtually every week of their employment, but they never received any premium overtime pay. Defendants attempted to conceal this unlawful practice by reflecting fictitious overtime hours on plaintiffs' pay stubs.
The plaintiffs include: Story Editors, Story Assistants, Story Producers, Field Producers, Format Producers, and Editors.
The guild announced its organizing campaign on June 20, 2005. Nearly 1000 writers, producers, and editors in reality TV have signed authorization cards to be represented by the WGAw. The authorization cards cover over 70 production companies that produce reality programming.
On July 7, 2005, the first class-action suit was filed on behalf of twelve writers and producers employed on programs produced by four production companies (Next Entertainment, Telepictures Productions, AND Syndicated Productions, Inc, and Dawn Syndicated Productions) and four networks (American Broadcasting Company, CBS Broadcasting, WB Broadcasting Network, and Turner Broadcasting System).
Attached are copies plaintiffs' pay stubs that show the same pay rate regardless of how many hours were worked.
Rocket Science Lawsuit (570kb .pdf)
Paystubs (693kb .pdf)
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