Film Accounting Glossary
Wage and hour compliance
What is wage and hour compliance?
Also called wage and hour, or labor law compliance.
Wage and hour compliance is meeting the legal requirements on minimum wage, overtime, meal and rest breaks, and pay timing in every jurisdiction where a production employs people, independently of what any union agreement or deal memo says.
State rules frequently exceed federal ones, particularly in California, and a flat deal that produces a sub-minimum effective hourly rate is a liability regardless of consent. Claims arrive after wrap, when the production entity is hardest to defend.
Example
A $850 flat day that runs 16 hours is an effective $53 an hour. In a jurisdiction requiring daily overtime, that is a violation regardless of what the crew member signed, and the claim arrives after wrap when the entity is hardest to defend.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Applies in every jurisdiction where the show employs people, independently of any union agreement or deal memo. State rules frequently exceed federal ones.
Common mistake
Relying on the crew member's agreement as a defense. Wage and hour law sets a floor that consent cannot waive, and claims arrive after wrap.
Related questions
- Does a union agreement satisfy wage and hour law?
- Not automatically. Statutory minimums on wage, overtime, breaks, and pay timing apply independently, and state rules frequently exceed federal ones.
- When do wage and hour claims usually surface?
- After wrap, when the production entity is winding down and the records that would answer the claim are hardest to assemble.