Hollywood’s return to work agreement governing Covid protocols has been extended from April 1 and will now expire on May 12, it emerged on Thursday.
The agreement negotiated by Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and the guilds and unions was introduced in September 2020 to help the industry get back on its feet after the initial production lockdown.
It covered production protocols, and later vaccine mandates, and was initially intended to run until the end of April 2021. The gravity of the pandemic meant the expiry date was pushed back multiple times.
The vaccine mandate that producers were allowed to impose on employees in Zone A also appears to be expiring after May 12 except for those brought into effect prior to that date, until production has wrapped.
The US government has said its emergency protocols will expire on May 11.
The AMPTP issued a statement on Thursday which read:
The Return to Work Agreement, set to expire on April 1, 2023, will now will continue to remain in effect through May 11, 2023. As of May 12, 2023, the Return to Work Agreement will terminate.
The date coincides with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ end to the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration on May 11.
All employees shall have a total of five (5) days of temporary COVID-19 paid sick leave per Producer, which may be used during the period beginning April 2, 2023 and ending on December 31, 2023, to cover one or more Eligible COVID-19 Events.
Any production which has implemented a mandatory vaccination policy for employees in Zone A prior to May 12, 2023 may continue to apply that mandatory vaccination policy for the remainder of the production (or season, in the case of a series).
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