Join the Crew
Get the best resources for producers delivered to your mailbox
Get the best resources for producers delivered to your mailbox
%20-%20Wrapbook%20-%20Feature%20Image.avif)
The Wrapbook Team consists of individuals who are thrilled about building modern software tools for creators. We’re a team of compassionate and curious people dedicated to solving complex problems with sophisticated solutions. You can find us across the U.S. and Canada.
At Wrapbook, we pride ourselves on providing outstanding free resources to producers and their crews, but this post is for informational purposes only as of the date above. The content on our website is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, accounting, or tax advice. You should consult with your own legal, accounting, or tax advisors to determine how this general information may apply to your specific circumstances.
Assembly Bill Number 1003 is an act to add Section 487m to the California Penal Code, the establishment of which will make intentional wage theft on the part of an employer criminally punishable past a certain threshold.
Specifically, the new law states that “the intentional theft of wages in an an amount greater than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) from any one employee, or two thousand three hundred fifty dollars ($2,350) in the aggregate from two or more employees, by an employer in any consecutive 12-month period may be punishable as grand theft.”
In the state of California, an offense categorized as grand theft may result in either misdemeanor or felony charges.
For its purposes, AB 1003 expands its definition of “employee” to include independent contractors and expands its definition of “employer” to include hiring entities of independent contractors. The bill also authorizes “wages, gratuities, or other compensation” subject to an intentional wage theft prosecution to be recoverable by the plaintiff (i.e. the employee) as restitution.
Intentional wage theft was already considered an unlawful employment activity within the previous bounds of the law. As such, new employment laws like AB 1003 should not affect the practices of producers and production entities that currently operate in good legal standing.
AB 1003 does, however, provide employees with new tools and leverage for self-defense. In the unfortunate event that a crew member would fall victim to wage theft, that crew member now has the full weight of the law on its side as well as the means to recover their stolen earnings.
Click here to read the full text of Assembly Bill 1003.
Senate Bill Number 762 adds and amends several sections in the California Civil Code and the California Code of Civil Procedure to clarify the invoicing and payment processes associated with employer-employee arbitrations. In effect, the bill creates significant consequences for employers who fail to pay arbitration fees on time.
SB 762 requires arbitration providers to provide invoices for fees and costs before an arbitration can proceed to all parties of the arbitration on the same day and by the same means with the invoiced amounts issued as due upon receipt unless explicitly stated otherwise.
SB 762 further stipulates that an employer’s failure to pay these arbitration invoices in a timely fashion may result in a number of penalties, including the loss of the right to compel arbitration, the possibility of a claim being shifted from arbitration to a relevant court, and compelled fines in the form of attorneys’ fees or other costs.
SB 762 has little impact on the day-to-day operations of a set or production company, but it may have significant consequences on the legal underpinnings of production entities and how they structure their contractual obligations.
The bill further elevates timely arbitration payments to a high priority, in the unfortunate event that a contractual dispute enters arbitration in the first place.
To alleviate pressure associated with such payments, production entities should seek advice from their legal counsel to see how arbitration agreements might be structured or restructured to address future payment timeframes now, before they become an issue later.
Click here to read the full text of Senate Bill 762.
Senate Bill Number 606 adds and amends several sections within the California Labor Code to create new divisions and criteria for violations under California Division of Occupational Safety and Health regulations.
Violations can now fall under the new classifications of “willful and egregious” and “enterprise-wide.” As the new classification titles suggest, they cover violations that are particularly negligent, destructive, or widespread. Thus, they carry significant financial consequences that are designed to mount quickly.
Perhaps more than anything, SB 606 is further encouragement for producers, production companies, and other production personnel to practice appropriate due diligence when it comes to set safety. Producers should be aware that SB 606 is explicitly designed to make intentional or flagrant safety violations highly punishable and, therefore, even more highly undesirable.
In other words, SB 606 reinforces the idea that safety should always come first.
For more information on best set safety practices, check out our guide to using AMPTP Safety Bulletins.
Click here to read the full text of Senate Bill 606.
As of January 1, 2025, California has raised its state-mandated minimum wage to $16.50 per hour for all employers. Productions should double-check their city and county labor laws with the California Labor & Workforce Development Agency to make sure all contract pay rates also meet any additional or modified local requirements.
To keep up with minimum wage requirements in any part of the U.S., check out our complete list of overtime and minimum wage laws by state.
Each year, new employment laws emerge, old employment laws are modified, and producers have to consider every single change. The new CA labor laws 2025 has to offer might seem complicated on their own, but imagine learning all new laws for California over the next decade. How can a production company realistically keep up with such a high volume of critical information?
One solution? Let tax and payroll professionals handle your filings, so you can focus on the work you actually like to do.
Wrapbook is the next standard for production finance and accounting teams. Backed by payroll experts and driven by next-gen technology, our platform empowers confident and collaborative decision-making to keep you ahead of the curve in an evolving entertainment industry. It’s a force multiplier that can help you and your team achieve success faster under new California employment laws in 2025 and beyond.
Check out our demo to learn more about how Wrapbook can provide clarity and confidence for your next shoot.
The above list covers new California employment laws in 2025 and describes how they might affect upcoming productions. However, if you have concerns about managing your next production in accordance with new employment laws in California or any other state, the best course of action is to seek direct advice from a qualified legal representative.
Want to know more about old or new employment laws in filmmaking? Check out our posts on child actor laws or how the latest Teamsters contract might affect you. You can also download our free payroll compliance checklist to help you handle the basics.
As our calendar apps tick into 2025, a host of new employment laws are going into effect throughout California, and many of them will inevitably impact the film industry in minor or major ways.
In this post, we’ll break down some of the new CA labor laws in 2025. We’ll review the new laws for California most relevant to professional filmmaking and provide insight on how they might affect producers, their crews, and the productions that bring them together.
This post is no substitute for the legal consultation of a licensed lawyer. Instead, it’s designed as a basic guide to help you spot red flags and troubleshoot your production operations in compliance with new California employment laws in 2025.
Let’s dig in.
First up on our list of new CA labor laws 2025 is Senate Bill 988. SB 988 increases protections for independent contractors by placing minimum contract requirements for freelance work. Under the new law, contracts between a freelance worker and a hiring party must be in writing and include at least the following information:
Among other minor provisions, the law also includes language that protects freelance workers against underpayment for contracted work, prohibits expansion of work beyond a contract’s limits, and provides the right to legal recourse in civil court if the law is violated.
SB 988 comes hot on the heels of other new employment laws in recent years intended to protect workers against exploitation under the “independent contractor” classification. While SB 988 is less likely to impact the production industry at a level similar to Assembly Bill 5, it does further incentivize accurate worker classifications and legally compliant processing.
In essence, the contract requirements and civil penalties of SB 988 increase the difficulty and risk of exploiting a crew member by classifying them as an independent contractor. SB 988 sets a clear standard by which the misconduct of relationships with freelance workers can be measured as well as consequences for any violations of that standard.
Click here to read the full text of Senate Bill 988.
On the road to new possibilities, emerging film technology often challenges traditional limitations. Machine learning has propelled many advancements in VFX, some of which are now raising questions regarding identity and autonomy. It is now possible to digitally recreate the faces and facial expressions of actors and other performers with increasing accuracy. This is even true for performers who are now deceased, as demonstrated by films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Alien: Romulus.
A pair of new CA labor laws in 2025 provide boundaries for the creation and commercial use of these digital replicas.
Assembly Bill 2602 seeks to protect performers against having their likeness or voice replicated without their consent. As of January 1, 2025, contract provisions that allow for digital replicas of a performer will be considered unenforceable if they meet all of the following conditions:
Assembly 1836 expands established law to also provide limited protections for deceased performers. With certain exceptions, AB 1836 prohibits the use of digital replicas for deceased performers without first obtaining the consent of the performer’s estate. Violating parties will be liable for an amount equal to the greater of $10,000 or the actual damages suffered by the person who controls the rights.
Neither AB 2602 nor AB 1836 are likely to impact the day-to-day business of an average shoot. However, the new employment laws establish important regulations that may indirectly impact both pre-production and post-production processes.
The primary considerations are legal consent and proper contract management. Usage of digital replicas must now be carefully planned, communicated, and agreed upon by all parties involved. While regulations will likely evolve further as such tools continue to find their place in the industry, the state of California has now established a baseline of expectations and consequences for misconduct perpetrated through the technology.
Click here to read the full text of Assembly Bill 2602.
Click here to read the full text of Assembly Bill 1836.
Though not strictly new to 2025, the remainder of our employment laws are still fresh enough on the books that we think they deserve an overview as well, starting with AB 636…
Under California law, employers are required to provide each of their employees a written wage theft prevention notice at the time of their hiring. The wage theft prevention notice must outline the basic terms of the worker’s employment, including items like the rate of pay, the name of the employer, and contact information for the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier.
Assembly Bill 636 alters and updates the information requirements for wage theft prevention notices. Specifically, the bill adds the requirement that employers provide written information on “the existence of a federal or state emergency or disaster declaration applicable to the county or counties where the employee is to be employed, and that was issued within 30 days before the employee’s first day of employment, that may affect their health and safety during their employment.”
The degree to which AB 636 affects film production varies from shoot to shoot. On a basic level, producers should update their standard wage theft prevention notice in accordance with the new template published by the California Labor Commissioner. If you use a payroll company like Wrapbook, they’ll usually update their standard startwork as part of their role as an employer-of-record.
However, for productions that will shoot in a recent disaster area, there may be additional complications. If you believe your project may qualify, you should seek the advice of your legal counsel as early on in pre-production as possible. They may recommend additional changes to your wage prevention notices, crew deal memos, or other documentation.
Click here to read the full text of Assembly Bill 636.
As of July 1, 2024, Senate Bill Number 553 requires employers to establish a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan. SB 553 creates several new requirements for employers, including but not limited to:
SB 553 essentially expands the basic concept of injury and illness prevention programs to now include incidents of violence. It establishes a procedural baseline for an adequate corporate response to incidents in which personal injury might occur.
SB 553 will require production companies to add a compliant workplace violence prevention plan to their organizational documents. For the most part, individual productions and crew members should see little change in their day-to-day work. However, in the event of a violent incident on set, they will likely face new reporting requirements under the new prevention plan.
Click here to read the full text of Senate Bill 553.
Assembly Bill 594 authorizes a public prosecutor to file an action, either civil or criminal, for a violation of certain Labor Code provisions or to enforce those provisions independently. This is a significant expansion of the public prosecutors’ ability to expediently handle Labor Code violations in a court of law.
Additionally, AB 594 includes several smaller, related provisions. For example, the bill requires that any money successfully recovered by a public prosecutor be first applied to payments due to workers affected by the initial Code violation.
Public prosecutors are limited to taking action against violations occurring within their geographic jurisdiction. The bill also, technically, has an expiration date. The authorizations of AB 594 are set to expire on January 1, 2029.
For producers and production companies that maintain compliance, Assembly Bill 594 will have almost no immediate impact. However, the bill does further increase a producer or production company’s exposure to legal consequences in the event of a Labor Code violation.
Of particular note is the increased risk of prosecution due to the willful misclassification of employees. If a production company intentionally misclassifies an employee as a contractor, AB 594 both makes it easier for a public prosecutor to take action against the company and for the misclassified worker to acquire financial restitution.
In other words, AB 594 is just another reason to correctly classify your crew members.
Click here to read the full text of AB 594.
Senate Bill Number 331 amends Section 1001 of California’s Code of Civil Procedure and Section 12964.5 of the state’s Government Code to further prohibit employers from requiring employees to sign non-disclosure agreements or other documents that would prevent the employee from disclosing factual information about unlawful acts in the workplace.
In other words, SB 331 prohibits employers from using NDAs or other similar agreements to prevent employees from reporting information about unlawful activity at work. Such unlawful activity might include (but is not limited to) sexual harassment, discrimination, or retaliation against an employee for reporting such activity. By increasing employees’ abilities to report unlawful activity in general, SB 331 should make it easier to enforce old and new employment laws alike.
SB 331 requires that producers and production companies make a slight alteration to their current NDA policy. If your current NDA template restricts signees from disclosing information, you must amend its language to specifically state that the document does not- in any way- prevent signees from disclosing information about activity that they have reason to believe is unlawful.
With that small change, your NDA should be good to go. However, as with all new employment laws, it’s a best practice to always consult a lawyer on matters of compliance.
Critically, the restrictions set by SB 331 only go into effect for agreements that were entered on or after January 1, 2022. Previous agreements should require no reevaluation, provided that the documents followed all legal stipulations required at the time of signing.
Click here to read the full text of Senate Bill 331.
Senate Bill Number 657 is an act to add Section 1207 to the state Labor Code. Section 1207 specifies that, in any situation within which an employer is legally obligated to physically post or display information at a workplace, the employer may also choose to distribute that information to their employees via email.
Notably, however, information distribution via email does not negate or otherwise eliminate the employer’s obligation to physically display that same information.
SB 657 does not fundamentally change a producer, production company, or production facility’s obligation to physically display mandatory workplace postings. However, the bill does create an opportunity through which a production may notify employees of their state-directed workers’ rights in a clear, verifiable manner.
In essence, SB 657 enables employers to create a digital paper trail that proves that employees have been adequately notified of their workers’ rights.
This is a minor but potentially useful protection for producers in the event of a lawsuit. It’s also a boon to employees who may not otherwise be aware of their own legal privileges. While physical postings are still required, the information contained within those postings may now also be added to a standard digital startwork packet along with any other mandatory startwork materials.
