THEATRICAL TEAMSTERS LOCAL 817

RETURN TO WORK FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Under what category or union is the COVID Compliance Officer (CCO), Health &Safety Supervisor (HSS),  Health & Safety Manager (HSM), etc. covered?
Under the agreed upon National Return to Work Agreement, no union has jurisdiction of purely COVID-related positions. Hybrid positions, a mix of COVID duties and duties of the category in which you are engaged, are certainly covered employment. If you are approached to perform a COVID-only job, you must be clear in asking if you will be compensated according to your category and the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). If you are not to receive the prescribed benefit contributions, it is recommend against taking the position.

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Is the $250 stipend for the pre-work test day only for the DGA?
No, it includes all Teamsters, IATSE, DGA, and actors. Background actors get $100.

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Is the cap on COVID paid sick leave $750.00 per day? What day does this rate take effect?
COVID related sick pay is at the minimum call or if you’re a weekly on-call employee (which those engaged on the weekly flat are), it’s one-fifth of the weekly rate (capped at $750 per day).

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What are the Comprehensive, Mandatory Testing Regimens

• Every member of the cast and crew will be tested before their first day of work to ensure they are not actively infected with the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

• Cast and crew members in the production environment will subsequently undergo a regular testing protocol during the course of their work on the production.

• Lab-based PCR tests, the gold standards of COVID-19 testing accuracy, or rapid PCR tests used in conjunction with lab-based PCR tests, will be allowed. Antigen and antibody tests are not acceptable.

• Compensation for Time Spent Screening:
  An employee who travels outside his/her home to undergo a test on a day in which the employee does not work for Producer shall receive a stipend (no fringe) of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
   

What is the Testing Frequency & The Zone System?

• In order to ensure the different sections of the production environment are tightly controlled, the agreement requires the implementation of a specialized “Zone” system laying out barriers within which those on set can flow based on proximity to cast, level of testing, PPE and the extent to which physical distancing can be observed in the performance of their work.

• Given that performers are uniquely vulnerable because they are not able to utilize PPE and physical distancing when cameras are rolling, the agreement requires more frequent testing — of at least three times a week — for performers as well as those with whom they come into close contact, referred to as “Zone A.”

• All other individuals in the production environment will utilize physical distancing and PPE at all times. Those who work on set, but not when performers are present without PPE (“Zone B”), must be tested at a minimum of once a week.

• Workers in production areas other than the set, such as the production office (“Zone C”), must be tested at a minimum of once every two weeks.

• Remote workers associated with the production, but not working in the production environment (“Zone D”), will be tested prior to their first day of employment.

• Dedicated COVID-19 Safety Monitoring & Enforcement

• Each production will have a designated COVID-19 compliance supervisor responsible for safety compliance and enforcement, who will be accessible to cast and crew at all times during working hours. To ensure that safety protocols are being followed, the compliance supervisor or a member of their COVID-19 compliance team with training and authority will be physically present on the production from crew call to wrap. The production may hire additional people to work under the compliance supervisor to assist in carrying out the safety duties.
   

What is the Quarantine Pay & Sick Pay?

Sick Leave

• All employees will receive 10-days of COVID-19 paid sick leave, per producer. The leave can be used for any of the eligible COVID-19 events (e.g. testing positive, exhibiting symptoms, isolation or self-quarantines, or when a member of their household tests positive for COVID-19).

• Employees who go on COVID-19 sick leave will be reinstated once they have been cleared to return to work, so long as their position continues to exist.

Quarantine Pay

• With certain limited exceptions, employees who are required to quarantine or isolate at the request of an employer, or as required by local law, will receive quarantine pay.