Paramount Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Labor Law Violations in California

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Paramount Pictures Corporation and president Brian Levine of violating California labor law by failing to pay film and TV production crew members proper minimum wages in full and on time.

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The 23-page lawsuit was filed by a crew member who claims Paramount has also breached state labor laws by failing to give employees adequate meal and rest breaks, reimburse them for business expenses, issue accurate wage statements and timely provide employment and payroll records upon request.

The wage-and-hour suit alleges that these labor law violations have occurred on the set of numerous Paramount movie and TV productions, such as “Top Gun,” “Lost City,” “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Fatal Attraction,” “The Offer” and “Wild Chickens,” among others.

The plaintiff, a Los Angeles resident who worked on the set of “The Offer” on January 20, 2022, contends that even though his wages were due by law by January 28 of that year, Paramount did not pay him until a month later, around February 23, 2022.

According to the case, the same was true for crew members who worked on the set of “Wild Chickens” in October 2021. Employees who worked on October 11 were not paid by October 22, as required by law, but instead received compensation around October 25 of that year, the complaint claims.

In addition, the filing charges that Paramount consistently required crew members to take late meal breaks, and failed to provide a second 30-minute meal period when shifts lasted over 12 hours. Per the lawsuit, the company also failed to give workers an extra hour of pay at their regular rate for each workday in which a proper meal break was not provided, as required by law.

Furthermore, the suit alleges that, even during meal and rest breaks, crew members were required to remain on the premises and be available via radio or cell phone at all times. Workers were not reimbursed for the use of their personal cell phones or for other necessary business expenses, such as purchasing or renting production equipment, the case asserts.

Finally, the complaint contends that Paramount, in violation of state labor laws, issued employees’ wage statements with incomplete information and failed to provide the plaintiff with his employment and personnel records within the lawful time period after his request.

The lawsuit looks to represent any exempt or non-exempt workers who, in the past four years and 133 days, were paid wages directly or indirectly—through the use of a “loan-out” corporation—for motion picture production services provided to Paramount in California.

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