Circus Workers & Performers Safety Act
What is the Circus Workers & Performers Safety Act?
The Performers Safety Act is a national law that regulates the circus industry and establishes labor rights and protections for circus performers. Circus Workers are highly specialized and skilled professionals who perform under physically demanding, hazardous, and often precarious conditions that require its own set of standards and regulations. The Circus Arts Guild of America is the leading organization behind the legislation.
A Case For Circus Workers
Why is the Circus Workers & Performers Safety Act significant?
The circus industry was estimated at 3.78 billion globally, and growing at the rate of 2.69% yearly. And yet, Circus Workers have not been afforded basic labor protections in the USA.
Who is covered under the Circus Workers & Performers Safety Act?
The Circus Worker is a highly skilled and specialized performance type segmented into Acrobatics, Aerial Arts, Clowning, Juggling, Wire walking and large scale performance stunts. The Performers Safety Act creates rights and protections across the industry, regardless of their status as an employee or independent contractor.
What issues does the Circus Workers & Performers Safety Act address?
Circus workers have seen a decrease in safety regulations, equitable pay, and have been subject to mass layoffs without full benefits, lack of paid leave, and reduced insurance and retirement benefits. Additionally Circus Workers experience abuse within their limited employee contracts or misclassification as independent contractors.
The Performers Safety Act advocates for increased protections, regulations, safety and labor rights within the entertainment industry. It looks to equalize the living standards and increase the benefits to all Circus Workers no matter their employee status. This act provides stipulations that standardize working conditions across the various venues and environments that circus performances are located.
What do Circus Workers & Performers Safety services include?
Under the Performers Safety Act, circus services are defined as the appearance/performance of a circus worker engaged in contracted entertainment either live or filmed. These contracts can range from a single performance in a corporate setting to swing performances in a resident show to extended contracts in a traveling show.
Who is considered a hiring company vs who is considered a third party client?
The hiring company is directly contracting the entertainment services of the Circus Worker (ie. Cirque du Soleil hires a hand balancer for their show). A third party client may be an entertainment agency contracting a Circus Worker for an event (ie. Entertainment Worldwide contracts the Circus Worker to perform at a wedding)
What do equitable contracts require from companies hiring under the Circus Workers & Performers Safety Act?
The Act lays out duties and responsibilities that hiring companies and third party clients must provide to the Circus Worker. The Fashion Workers Act will require hiring companies to:
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Take reasonable steps to ensure that any job contracted is complicit with living wage standards that apply to specialty entertainment.
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Establish and communicate a company policy consistent with existing laws that address abuse, harassment, and other forms of inappropriate behavior towards a circus worker
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Contracts that include workers comp and/or accident insurance
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Comply with safety standards within the industry
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Gives the Circus Worker access to the rigging and safety teams on site
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Creates standards for time off, meal allocations and breaks during rehearsals and throughout the contract that is specific to specialty entertainment
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Couch Circus Workers within SafeSport protections