OHSA is mandating all film and TV productions to report any work related accident to increase workplace safety.
Following the death of camera assistant Sarah Jones, the near death experiences of several crew members and extras on set of Selma, the government is starting to crackdown on “corner cutting” film and TV producers.
Starting January 1st, the federal government will require more thorough reporting of injuries on film and TV productions. Up until now, only deaths or injuries to three or more workers in an eight-hour period that require hospitalization had to be reported. The new Occupational Safetey & Health Administration requirements, however, mandate all accidents that result in trips to the hospital be reported to the agency.
From Deadline:
Unless there’s a death, or unless it’s sexy, or unless there’s a lawsuit, most film and TV injuries go unreported in the media. Many more go unreported toOSHA. According to the agency’s database, fewer than a dozen stunt- or special effects-related injuries have been reported in the last 10 years, and only a handful of other injuries — including falls on set and a few accidents involving props — have been reported, including the train crash that killed camera assistant Sarah Jones on location in rural Georgia in February.
“Ultimately, (the new rules) will produce a safer workplace,” said Lindsay Williams, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA. He told Deadline the film and TV industry is well known for “a lot of corner cutting” when it comes to reporting accidents, and that injured workers are often told “not to mention it and keep it off the record. It’s terrible that that sort of mentality exists.”
The new laws will not impact California, but will affect major production hubs like Georgia, Louisiana, Texas and Florida, and other states whose workplace safety is covered at the federal level.
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