Amended  IN  Senate  August 11, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  June 30, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  May 02, 2022
Amended  IN  Senate  June 21, 2021

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 437

Introduced by Assembly Member Kalra

February 04, 2021

An act to add Section 2855.1 to the Labor Code, relating to employment.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 437, as amended, Kalra. Employee obligations: exclusivity requirements: actors.
Existing law imposes obligations on a contract for personal services. Specifically, existing law, except as specified, prohibits enforcement of a personal service contract beyond 7 years from the commencement of service under the contract and imposes additional requirements on an employee who is a party to a contract to render personal services in the production of specified phonorecords.
This bill, except under prescribed circumstances, would prohibit a contract for the personal or professional services of an employee working as an actor, as specified, from prohibiting an the employee from working for multiple employers.
This bill would provide that it applies to such an employment contract amended or entered into on or after January 1, 2023. The bill, except as specified, would provide that it voids any provision in a contract amended or entered into on or after January 1, 2023, that would deprive an employee of its the bill’s protections.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 2855.1 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

2855.1.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a contract for the personal or professional services of an employee as an actor in connection with the production of motion pictures and other audiovisual entertainment, a scripted episodic series, regardless of medium, excluding commercial advertising, shall not prohibit the employee from working for multiple employers unless the employer can show that the other employment would pose a direct scheduling conflict or the employer can show that it would materially interfere with the employer’s business. The contract may do the following:
(1) Require the employee to disclose to the existing employer any additional employment, provided the existing employer shall not take any adverse action against the employee based solely on the employee having taken additional employment.
(2) Require that the employee refrain from any additional employment during any of the following:
(A) Thirty days before principal photography begins.
(B) During principal photography.
(C) Thirty days after all aspects of principal photography are complete.
(3) Include protections for trade secrets and confidential business information. Nothing in this section shall supersede any rights the employer may have under any other section with respect thereto.
(b) This section shall apply to a contract for the personal or professional services of an employee as an actor amended or entered into on or after January 1, 2023.
(c) (1) Any provision in an employment contract amended or entered into on or after January 1, 2023, that would deprive an employee of the protections of this section shall be void.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), parties to a valid collective bargaining agreement may agree to exceptions or alterations to the obligations of this section if the exception or alteration is consistent with the collective bargaining agreement and is agreed upon on or after the effective date of this section. any other provision of this section, an employment contract that is subject to a valid collective bargaining agreement may include exceptions or alterations to the obligations of this section, if both of the following apply:
(A) The collective bargaining agreement becomes effective on or after January 1, 2023.
(B) The exceptions or alterations to the obligations of this section are consistent with that collective bargaining agreement.
(d) For purposes of this section, “principal photography” means the period of time when the motion picture scripted episodic series is being shot and does not include preproduction and postproduction timeframes.