child actor (laws, etc) ?

[Randall_Oelerich]

If I make an indie feature and have a ten year old for the protagonist, what sort of issue would I have to deal with in terms of child labor laws, having a teacher on set x hrs a day, extra costs by having the mother flown in / motel / food, etc, compared to say using an 18 year old for the part? Non-SAG. But still I would think there would be extra issues. Any wisdom someone would care to share with me on this matter? Greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Randall

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

For this sort of thing you really should consult a labor lawyer in your state. Since most of my film ideas do not involve children, I've not really looked into it. But in the case of 'no-compensation', I think for an adult, one could construe 'volunteer' to mean 'work with out compensation'... Here's a passage from California law:

(A) An individual shall be considered a volunteer only when his or
her services are offered freely and without pressure and coercion,
direct or implied, from an employer.
(B) An individual may receive reasonable meals, lodging,
transportation, and incidental expenses or nominal nonmonetary awards
without losing volunteer status if, in the entire context of the
situation, those benefits and payments are not a substitute form of
compensation for work performed.

---------------------

The operative words there are 'offered freely, without pressure or coercion'... which means there's no way you can 'guarentee' their presence... but then labor laws do not apply...

In a search in regard to 'child volunteer' work, the hours during the school year, (Sept-Jun), are limited to mostly 'day time', and a list of ages given. Summer hours are extended into the evening, like 9 pm. There is also wording prohibiting placing children in dangerous situations or using dangerous equipment.

This is for California... but I would imagine most states have something similar.

Another reason to go 'non-sag/non-compensation' until you get the bux to do so with all the legal frills required...

If there was a 'hint' of 'sex' or 'violence', I'd go with an adult no matter what. Since I don't know what your script is, that's just a general note that...