Live events are part and parcel of California’s landscape.  From Coachella to county fairs, thousands of workers each year participate in setting up and tearing down the infrastructure at these public event venues.  Widely reported tragedies related to this work in years’ past, combined with the temporary nature of these entertainment events, have prompted the California legislature to promulgate additional protections for this class of workers through the recently enacted Assembly Bill 2738.

Effective immediately, as part of the contract for production of any live event at a public events venue, the vendor for the event must certify for its employees, and any subcontractors’ employees, both of the following:

(1) An employee of an entertainment events vendor involved in the setting up,operation,    or tearing down of a live event at the venue has completed the Cal/OSHA-10, the OSHA-10/General Entertainment Safety training, or the OSHA-10 as applicable to their occupation; and

(2) One of the following applies:

(A) Heads of departments and leads have completed the Cal/OSHA-30, the OSHA-30/General Entertainment Safety training, or the OSHA-30, and are certified through the Entertainment Technician Certification Program relevant to the task or tasks they are supervising or performing, or another certification program, as specified by the division.

(B) The entertainment events vendor certifies that its employees and any subcontractors’ employees meet the conditions for a skilled and trained workforce.

In addition, the contract must provide, in writing, that the vendor has verified the training completion and certification requirements of all employees, and any subcontractor’s employees, who will work on the setting up, operation, or tearing down of the event.  Further, the contract must provide the contracting party with both of the following: (1) the names of the employees of the entertainment events vendor and the names of employees of any subcontractors; and (2) what training or certification the employee has completed and the date of certification.  Importantly, these new rules do not apply to a direct employee of the public events venue.

Failure to adhere to these new rules will lead to a citation that may be enforced by a public prosecutor who, in addition to any other remedies available, may seek up to a $500 penalty against the vendor, the contracting party, and the public events venue, as well as injunctive relief to prevent continued violations of the new law.  Any monetary recovery would go first to the workers’ unpaid wages, damages, or penalties, and the remainder to the state’s General Fund.  In addition, a prevailing plaintiff would be entitled to recover his or her reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.