A2280

An Act concerning child performers, amending P.L.1962, c. 91 and P.L.1981, c.147, supplementing chapter 2 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes, and repealing sections 3 and 4 of P.L.1962, c.91.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 1 of P.L.1962, c.91 (C.34:2-21.57) is amended to read as follows:

1. As used in this act:

a. “Artistic or creative services” includes, but is not limited to, services as an actor, actress, dancer, musician, comedian, singer, stunt-person, voice-over artist, songwriter, musical producer or arranger, writer, director, producer, production executive, choreographer, composer, conductor, designer, or other performer or entertainer.

b. “Child performer” means any child under the age of 18 who:

(1) Is required to attend school under applicable provisions of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and who resides in the State of New Jersey and who agrees to engage in professional employment; or

(2) Agrees to engage in professional employment in the State of New Jersey.

c. ”Entertainment production” means and includes motion pictures of any kind using any format distributed in any medium, photography, recording, modeling, motion picture, theatrical or stage production, television production, commercial production, voice-overs, production crew, publicity, rodeos, circuses, musical performances, or any other performance where minors perform to entertain the public.

d. "Professional employment" means employment [for pay] , regardless of compensation, as an actor or performer in [a theatrical] an entertainment production, except that “professional employment” shall not include the employment of child performers in connection with any church, academy or school, including dance school, as part of regular services or activities or in any annual graduation exercises.

[b. "Theatrical production" means and includes stage, motion picture and television performances and rehearsals therefor.

c.] e. "Prohibited performance" means and includes appearances as a rope or wire walker or rider, gymnast, wrestler, boxer, contortionist, acrobat, rider of a horse or other animal unless the minor is trained to safely ride such horse or animal or rider of any
vehicle other than that generally used by a minor of the same age, or appearance in any illegal, indecent or immoral exhibition, practice, or theatrical production or in any practice, exhibition or theatrical production dangerous to the life, limb, health or morals of a minor, or appearance or exhibition of any physically deformed or mentally deficient minor.

(cf: P.L.1981, c.331, s.4)

2. Section 6 of P.L.1981, c. 147 (C.34:2-21.63b) is amended to read as follows:

6. Whoever obtains any permit under [this act (] P.L.1962, c. 91[;] (C.34:2-21.57 et seq.) upon any false statement made in applying therefor, or employs or permits or suffers any minor to be employed or to work in violation of this act or of the terms of any permit issued under this act or of any order or ruling issued under the provisions of this act, or obstructs the Departments of Labor and Workforce Development and Education, their officers or agents, or any other person authorized to inspect places of employment under this act, and whoever, having under his control or custody any minor, permits or suffers him to be employed or to work in violation of this act is guilty of an offense. Where a defendant acts knowingly, an offense under this section shall be a crime of the fourth degree. [Otherwise, it shall be a disorderly persons offense. Each day during which any violation of this act continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense, and the employment of any minor in violation of the act shall with respect to each minor so employed, constitute a separate and distinct offense.]

(cf: P.L.1981, c.331, s.7)

3. (New section) No child performer may engage in professional employment without a child performer employment permit issued by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, nor may any person or entity engage a child performer for professional employment without a permit. Child performer employment permits shall be valid for six months from the date of issuance. The department shall not issue a child performer employment permit, including a renewal, unless the department receives satisfactory evidence:

a. That the child is maintaining satisfactory academic performance as determined by the minor performer’s school of enrollment pursuant to state law;

b. That the child is physically fit for professional employment, as evidenced by a statement of examination by a medical professional licensed by the State of New Jersey or the state or country in which the child resides and that was performed within six months of the application for the employment permit. The statement of examination shall include the state issued license number of the medical professional or the license number of the medical professional’s country of origin;

c. That the child has permission of a parent or guardian to engage in professional employment. Evidence herein shall consist of a writing signed by the parent or guardian;

d. That a parent, guardian or representative thereof be at all times present during the professional employment of the child; and

e. That the proposed employment will not exceed two shows or productions in a day or a total of eight shows or productions in any week where the professional employment is reasonably separable into discrete shows or productions; that the employment will not be for more than six days in any week, five hours in any day or a total of 24 hours, including rehearsal time, in any week and that the minor will not be employed before 7:00 a.m. or after 11:30 p.m. and that school and theatrical performance time shall not exceed eight hours in any one day and that the combined time spent on a set or on call and performance time shall not exceed a total of eight hours in any one day.

4. (New section) a. No person or entity may engage a child performer for professional employment without a valid certificate of eligibility to employ child performers issued by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Each application for initial registration and for every renewal shall be accompanied by a fee of $200 which shall be utilized to defray the department’s costs of administering the registration program. An employer’s certificate of eligibility shall be renewed every two years.

b. The department shall not issue a certificate of eligibility to employ child performers to any applicant unless the applicant submits evidence satisfactory to the department that the applicant has obtained workers’ compensation insurance in compliance with New Jersey law that covers child performers engaged in professional employment.

c. When an employer employs one or more child performers, the employer shall notify the department of the location and expected duration of the professional employment. The notification shall be given to the department during the business day prior to the commencement of a child’s professional employment and the means of notification shall be prescribed by the department.

d. The department shall have the discretion to refuse to issue a certificate of eligibility to employ child performers if the applicant has previously committed a violation of this act.

5. (New section) When an employer has good cause to employ a group or organization of child performers for a limited time period, the employer may apply for a blanket permit to employ a group or organization of minors in lieu of each minor obtaining a permit individually. The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may issue a blanket permit, upon terms and conditions within the commissioner’s discretion, valid for the limited duration of a particular production and only for the periods of time specified in the permit. If the child performers’ employment occurs when school is in session, the application for the permit must be supported by evidence showing that the education requirements specified in section 7 of this act will be satisfied.

6. (New section) Every person or entity employing one or more child performers shall keep on file all permits and certificates, either to work or to employ, issued under this chapter. The files shall be open at all times to the inspection of the school attendance officers, the State Board of Education and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Failure to allow entry by any official shall be evidence of a violation subject to penalty under this act.

7. (New section) a. A child performer shall fulfill the educational requirements set forth by the Department of Education or by the state or country of his residence if he is not a resident of New Jersey. A child who has not completed the requirements and who engages in professional employment when school is in session shall be subject to the requirements of subsection b. of this section.

b. (1) An employer employing, either directly or indirectly through a third person, a child performer for two or more school days in a 30-day period shall provide a State-certified teacher who has credentials issued by the New Jersey Department of Education or by the state where the child performer resides if the credentials of that state are recognized by the Department of Education. This requirement shall apply beginning on the second day that the child performer renders services for that employer and shall continue on each day thereafter that school is in session and the child is rendering services. A child performer receiving instruction from a teacher as required by this section shall not be declared absent from school while working pursuant to the permit requirement in accordance with this act. The requirements of this section shall be applicable only when school is in session and the child performer is not receiving educational instruction due to his employment schedule.

(2) A child performer receiving educational instruction pursuant to this section, and the child’s parents or guardians, shall work with the teacher provided to the child performer and the child’s school of enrollment to fulfill all applicable educational requirements.

(3) If there is a hiatus in a production that engages a child performer pursuant to this act, a teacher shall be provided to the child performer during the hiatus for periods when school is in session, pursuant to the requirements described in the section, unless the child performer is able to attend his regular school.

(4) An employer required by this section to provide a teacher shall provide a ratio of at least one teacher for every 10 child performers unless the child performers are all within two grade levels, in which case the employer shall provide a ratio of at least one teacher for every 20 child performers.

(5) School districts shall have the authority, in conjunction with the Department of Education and the parent or guardian of the child performer to develop alternative methods by which child performers may satisfy their educational requirements at times outside the normal school day.

8. (New section) a. This act shall apply to the following contracts entered into between an unemancipated minor and any third party or parties after the effective date of this act:

(1) A contract or agreement pursuant to which a minor is employed in professional employment as defined in section 1 of P.L.1962 c.91 (C.34:2-21.57) or otherwise agrees to render artistic or creative services for a fee, either directly or through a third-party individual or personal services corporation, or through an agency or service that provides artistic or creative services.

(2) A contract pursuant to which a minor agrees to purchase, or otherwise secure, sell, lease, license, or otherwise dispose of literary, musical, or dramatic properties, or use of the minor’s likeness, voice recording, performance, or story of or incidents in his life, either tangible or intangible, or any rights therein for use in motion pictures, television, the production of sound recordings in any format now known or hereafter devised, the legitimate or living stage, or otherwise in the entertainment field.

b. (1) If a minor is employed or agrees to render services directly to any person or entity, or if a minor’s services are being rendered through a third-party individual or personal services corporation, the person or entity receiving the services from the minor directly or though a third-party individual or personal services corporation shall be considered the employer for the purposes of this act.

(2) For the purposes of this act, if a minor renders services as an extra, background performer, or in a similar capacity through a casting agency or other service that provides one or more of those performers for a fee, the casting agency or service shall be considered the minor’s employer.

9. (New section) a. Not more than 15 days after the commencement of employment, the minor’s parent or guardian shall establish a child performer trust account in accordance with this act, unless an account has previously been established, and shall provide the employer with the following:

(1) A copy of the document from the bank, savings and loan institution, credit union, brokerage firm, or company registered under the “Investment Company Act of 1940,” Pub.L.76-768 (15 U.S.C. s.80a-1 et seq.), indicating establishment of an account on behalf of the minor;

(2) A certified copy of the minor’s birth certificate; and

(3) In the case of a guardian, a certified copy of the court document appointing the person as the minor’s guardian.

The parent or guardian may serve as custodian of the account on behalf of the minor, except that a trust company shall be appointed as custodian of any account with a balance of $250,000 or more. The custodian shall notify the employer of this change in the minor’s account.

The custodian of the account shall promptly notify the minor’s employer of any changes in facts which affect the employer’s obligation to set aside funds under this act.

b. Not more than 30 days following the final day of employment, except when the contract is for a period of more than 30 days, a minor’s employer shall transfer 15 percent of the gross earnings to the custodian of the child performer trust account. When the employment is longer than 30 days, the employer shall make the required transfer every payroll period.

Upon petition of the parent or guardian to the appropriate court in the county in which the minor resides or the trust account is established, the court may order an amount greater than 15 percent of the minor’s gross wages be set aside and transferred to the child performer trust account. The parent or guardian shall provide to the minor’s employer a certified copy of the court’s order specifying the amount of the minor’s gross wages to be transferred to the child performer trust account. The employer shall transfer to the child performer trust account the amount specified in the court order.

c. If the minor’s employer has not, within 15 days of commencement of employment, been provided with the items required pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the employer shall transfer the monies together with the minor’s name and last known address, to the State Treasurer, who shall deposit the monies into the Child Performers’ Holding Fund established pursuant to section 11 of this act.

Once transfers have been made to the child performer trust account or State Treasurer’s Holding Fund, the minor’s employer shall have no further duties under this act.

10. (New section) a. In an order approving a minor’s contract of a type described in section 8 of this act, the New Jersey Superior Court, or a court of appropriate jurisdiction in another state, shall require that 15 percent, or other amount specified by the court, of the minor’s gross earnings pursuant to the contract be set aside by the minor’s employer and transferred to the child performer’s trust account. If the contract is so approved, the minor may not, either during his minority or upon reaching his majority, disaffirm the contract on the grounds of infancy or assert that the parent or guardian lacked authority to make the contract.

b. The court shall require that at least one parent or guardian be appointed as trustee of the funds ordered to be set aside in trust for the benefit of the minor, unless the court shall determine that appointment of a different individual or entity as trustee is required in the best interest of the minor.

c. The court shall have continuing jurisdiction over the child performer trust established pursuant to the order and may at any time, upon petition of the parent or guardian, the minor, through a guardian ad litem, or the trustee, on good cause shown, order that the trust be amended or terminated, notwithstanding the provisions of the declaration of trust. An order amending or terminating a trust may be made only after reasonable notice to the beneficiary and, if the beneficiary is then a minor, to the parent or guardian, if any and to the trustee of the funds with opportunity for all parties to appear and be heard.

11. (New section) a. There is hereby established in the office of the State Treasurer a special fund known as the Child Performers’ Holding Fund. The fund shall consist of revenues received and interest accrued pursuant to this act.

b. Monies contained in the fund shall be distributed to an individual minor’s trust account upon receipt of a copy of the document from the bank, savings and loan institution, credit union, brokerage firm, or company registered under the “Investment Company Act of 1940,” Pub.L.76-768 (15 U.S.C. s.80a-1 et seq.), indicating establishment of an account on behalf of the minor, as well as a certified copy of the minor’s birth certificate.

c. The Treasurer shall disburse the unclaimed set-aside funds to a beneficiary who has attained 18 years of age, after receiving proof of the beneficiary’s identity and a certified copy of the beneficiary’s birth certificate or United States passport, or to a beneficiary who has been emancipated, after receiving proof of the beneficiary’s identity and appropriate documentation evidencing emancipation.

d. The Treasurer shall disburse the unclaimed set-aside funds to the estate of a deceased beneficiary after receiving appropriate documentation evidencing the death of the beneficiary and the claimant’s authority to collect those funds on behalf of the beneficiary.

e. Monies not claimed shall be used solely to fund programs for the health, education and welfare of child performers.

f. The Treasurer shall submit an annual report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature concerning the Child Performers’ Holding Fund and implementation of this section.

12. The following sections are repealed:

Section 3 of P.L.1962, c.91 (C.34:2-21.59); and

Section 4 of P.L.1962, c.91 (C.34:2-21.60).

13. This act shall take effect in 90 days.

STATEMENT

This bill concerns child performers who are engaged in professional employment through their involvement in entertainment productions.

The bill specifies that a child performer may not engage in professional employment without a child performer employment permit issued by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. In order to obtain a permit, evidence must be presented to the department which shows:

a. That the child is maintaining satisfactory academic performance as determined by the minor performer’s school of enrollment pursuant to state law;

c. That the child has permission of a parent or guardian to engage in professional employment. Such evidence shall consist of a writing signed by the parent or guardian;

d. That a parent, guardian or representative thereof be at all times present during the professional employment of the child; and

The bill provides that the permits will be valid for six months from the date of issuance and cost $200, which will be utilized to defray the department’s costs of administering the registration program. The bill sets forth further requirements for receiving a child performer employment permit.

The bill enumerates the educational requirements, set forth by the Department of Education or by the state or country of residence if he is not a resident of New Jersey, that a child performer must fulfill while engaging in professional employment.

Furthermore, this bill ensures that child performers who work in New Jersey have a portion of their earnings kept in a trust account for them until they reach the age of majority by requiring that the minor's parent or custodian must establish the trust account. The bill states within 15 days of the start of employment the minor’s parent or guardian must establish such an account and notify the minor's employer of the account's existence. The minor's employer must transfer not less than 15% of the gross pay to the trust account within 30 days after the end of employment unless the period of employment is longer than 30 days. In such a case, the funds must be transferred every pay period.

Finally, the bill establishes a special fund within the office of the State Treasurer called the Child Performers’ Holding Fund. If, after the required 15 day period, a minor’s employer has not received proof of the existence of a trust fund, the employer shall transfer the monies along with the child performer’s name and address, to the State Treasurer, who shall create a holding fund and administer the monies.