Bill 191 2007

An Act to amend the Employment Standards Act, 2000 with respect to child actors

Note: This Act amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000.  For the legislative history of the Act, see Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History on www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

   1.  Section 3 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000 is amended by adding the following subsection:

Same

   (1.1)  Part XX.1 of this Act applies as described in subsection 83.2 (1).

   2.  The Act is amended by adding the following Part:

PART XX.1
minors under AGE 15 in entertainment industry

Definitions

   83.1  In this Part,

"child actor" means a minor less than 15 years of age who works in the entertainment industry as an actor, including as an extra; ("enfant acteur")

"entertainment industry" means the industry of producing visual or audio-visual recorded entertainment that is intended to be replayed in cinemas, on the Internet, on the radio, as part of a television broadcast, or on a VCR or DVD player or a similar device, and includes the industry of producing commercials; ("industrie du spectacle")

"recording device" means any device that records sound or images; ("appareil d'enregistrement")

"school day" has the same meaning as in the Education Act; ("jour de classe")

"school year" has the same meaning as in the Education Act. ("année scolaire")

Application

   83.2  (1)  This Part is restricted in its application to child actors, regardless of whether or not they are employees, and to persons who employ them or otherwise contract for their services.

Exemptions

   (2)  Sections 17 to 19, subsections 22 (2) to (9) and section 22.1 do not apply to anyone in respect of whom this Part applies.

Work week

   83.3  No person shall require or permit a child actor to work more than,

  (a)  five days in a week; or

  (b)  if the Director approves in writing, six days in a week.

Hours of work

   83.4  (1)  No person shall require or permit a child actor to work more than,

  (a)  8 hours in a day, if the child actor is less than 12 years of age; or

  (b)  10 hours in a day, if the child actor is at least 12 years of age but less than 15 years of age, unless the Director gives prior written approval.

When work may start

   (2)  No person shall require or permit a child actor to report for work earlier than 5 a.m. on any day unless the Director gives prior written approval.

When work may end

   (3)  No person shall require or permit a child actor to have a shift that ends later than the following times unless the Director gives prior written approval:

    1.  During the school year,

            i.  10 p.m. if the next day is a school day, and

           ii.  12:30 a.m. if the next day is not a school day.

    2.  At any other time, 2 a.m.

Time before recording device and breaks

   83.5  A person who employs or otherwise contracts for the services of a child actor shall ensure that the child actor,

  (a)  is not before a recording device for longer than the amount of time specified in Column 2 of the Table to this section opposite his or her age in Column 1 before receiving a break under clause (b); and

  (b)  receives a break, between times spent before a recording device, that is no less than the amount of time specified in Column 3 of the Table to this section opposite his or her age in Column 1.

 

Table/TABLEAU
Item/Point	Column/Colonne 1	Column/Colonne 2	Column/Colonne 3
	Age/Âge	Time before recording device/Temps passé devant un appareil d'enregistrement	Breaks/Pauses
1.	less than 3 years of age/moins de 3 ans	15 consecutive minutes/15 minutes consécutives	20 consecutive minutes/20 minutes consécutives
2.	at least 3 years of age but less than 6 years of age/au moins 3 ans, mais moins de 6 ans	30 consecutive minutes/30 minutes consécutives	15 consecutive minutes/15 minutes consécutives
3.	at least 6 years of age but less than 12 years of age/au moins 6 ans, mais moins de 12 ans	45 consecutive minutes/45 minutes consécutives	10 consecutive minutes/10 minutes consécutives
4.	at least 12 years of age but less than 15 years of age/au moins 12 ans, mais moins de 15 ans	60 consecutive minutes/60 minutes consécutives	10 consecutive minutes/10 minutes consécutives

Hours free from work

   83.6  (1)  A person who employs or otherwise contracts for the services of a child actor shall either,

  (a)  give him or her a period of at least 48 consecutive hours free from the performance of work in every work week; or

  (b)  pay him or her 1 1/2 times the regular wage for time worked during the 48-hour period that he or she would otherwise be entitled to have free from work.

Same

   (2)  A person who employs or otherwise contracts for the services of a child actor shall give him or her a period of at least 12 consecutive hours free from the performance of work,

  (a)  between shifts; and

  (b)  before he or she is scheduled to attend school.

No split shifts and maximum limit on breaks

   83.7  A person who employs or otherwise contracts for the services of a child actor,

  (a)  shall not require or allow him or her to work a split shift; and

  (b)  shall ensure that his or her eating periods are not longer than one hour each.

Chaperones

   83.8  (1)  A person who employs or otherwise contracts for the services of a child actor shall ensure that he or she has a chaperone described in subsection (2) at his or her location of work.

Who may be chaperone

   (2)  The following persons may be chaperones:

    1.  The child actor's parent or guardian, if the parent or guardian has reached 18 years of age and is not working on the same production or project in respect of which the child actor is working, except as an extra or in a prescribed position.

    2.  A person who,

            i.  has reached 18 years of age,

           ii.  is designated chaperone by the child actor's parent or guardian,

          iii.  does not employ or otherwise contract for the services of the child actor,

          iv.  is not the child actor's tutor, and

           v.  is not an employee of a person described in subparagraph iii or iv.

Restrictions

   (3)  A person who employs or otherwise contracts for the services of a child actor shall ensure that his or her chaperone is not, at the same time, chaperone for more than,

  (a)  two other persons if,

           (i)  the chaperone is the child actor's parent or guardian and is working as an extra or in a prescribed position on the same production or project in respect of which the child actor is working, and

          (ii)  the child actor is at least 12 years of age but less than 15 years of age; or

  (b)  the number of other persons specified in Column 2 opposite the child actor's age in Column 1 in the Table to this section, in any other case.

Table/tableau
Item/Point	Column/Colonne 1	Column/Colonne 2
	Age/Âge	Number of other persons/Nombre d'autres personnes
1.	less than 6 years of age/moins de 6 ans	1
2.	at least 6 years of age but less than 12 years of age/au moins 6 ans, mais moins de 12 ans	3
3.	at least 12 years of age but less than 15 years of age/au moins 12 ans, mais moins de 15 ans	5

Income protection

   83.9  If a child actor earns more than $2,000 on a production or project, the person who employs or otherwise contracts with him or her must remit 25 per cent of any earnings over $2,000 to the Public Guardian and Trustee to hold in trust for him or her.

   3.  Section 141 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Regulations re Part XX.1

   (3.0.1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations providing for transitional matters which, in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, are necessary or desirable in connection with the enactment of sections 83.1 to 83.9 by the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Child Actors), 2007.

Commencement

   4.  This Act comes into force one year after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   5.  The short title of this Act is the Employment Standards Amendment Act (Child Actors), 2007.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Employment Standards Act, 2000 to add a Part setting out terms and conditions of work for minors under the age of 15 who work as actors in the entertainment industry.