A couple of intrepid extras may be changing the way things are done in this town. While these actors certainly never expected to get rich off extra work, it just didn't seem right that certain extra-casting companies seemed to be paying non-union background talent less than the state-mandated minimum wage. It didn't sound legal, either. When this occurred to background actors David Heim and Arlie Sego, they decided to do something about it.
Last week, the team's lawyers, Maxwell M. Blecher and Donald R. Pepperman, filed what could become a class-action lawsuit against Central Casting, the largest provider of non-union extras for television and film productions. The lawsuit claims that Central Casting, its parent company Entertainment Partners Group, and subsidiaries are violating the California Labor Code by failing to pay minimum wage.
Central Casting, which acts as the extras' employer, routinely takes a 5 percent commission from the extras' pay as either a "voluntary deduction" or a "processing fee." The suit says that this deduction frequently reduces their hourly pay to less than $5.75.
In a recent interview with Back Stage West, Heim explained that he had read about this questionable practice in "Extra" Work for Brain Surgeons, published by Hollywood OS, and got to thinking.
"I go to cattle calls where you have hundreds of extras," said Heim, a semi-retired man who has been doing extra work for about a year and half. "I see old people, dragging their garment bags. They're getting minimum wage, and some of them really need the money to put food on the table, because they're living on Social Security. I started thinking how crummy it is to take money from minimum wage earners and put them below minimum wage. I put all this together and decided, well, if nothing's being done about it, I'm going to do something.
"What I'm after is refunds to everybody, penalties, interest," continued Heim. "I think what they've been doing is wrong." If the case is given class-action status, Central Casting could indeed be required to reimburse thousands of actors for the illegal deductions.
The suit also claims that, in addition to the 5 percent deduction from wages, the agency has been taking a 5 percent deduction from extras' payments for "bumps"—instances in which a production pays them additional money for use of the extra's own props, costumes, etc.
"The labor code is very specific on what you can deduct from the salary for," explained attorney Blecher. "It's limited to taxes and other things that are permitted by state and federal law—FICA, Social Security, and those kinds of things—but we don't believe these deductions are authorized."
Typically producers pay extras casting companies a percentage of the entire gross of what the background players make. But, in the case of non-union performers, it seems that Central Casting was not only taking a percentage from producers but also taking a percentage out of the non-union players' paychecks. This allowed them to offer lower rates to producers without losing income.
Seeking a response from Central Casting to the allegations of the lawsuit, BSW contacted San Pedro-based attorney Joseph Scudiero, who, according to Blecher, has been the only lawyer to communicate with him on behalf of Central Casting with regard to the case. When asked for comment, Scudiero said, "I'm not in a position even to respond. I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't seen whatever this is." When asked further questions, he hung up. Representatives at Central Casting did not return phone calls by deadline.
While it will undoubtedly be months before this case is resolved, the actions of Heim and Sego have already made a significant impact. As of Jan. 1, Central Casting reportedly stopped this practice, and other companies who had been doing the same (but have not been sued) reportedly have followed suit. Now, in order to make up for the lost income, said one source, Central Casting will soon be upping its rates to production.
"These guys should really be applauded for taking a stand and realizing that they're probably going to be blackballed from Central," said Carla Lewis, of Hollywood OS, about Heim and Sego. "Both of them are really taking a risk, and the whole background community—if Central is found guilty—will benefit."
Asked if he was worried about losing work because of the case, Heim replied, "I knew that I was putting my personal so-called career on the line. I love doing this work, so right now, I'm just waiting for that axe to fall." Evidently, it hasn't fallen yet. Heim spoke to BSW from the set of Spin City, on a background job he had gotten from, yes, Central Casting.