The Washington State law that created this funding assistance program calls for all productions receiving funding assistance to “make payments for health insurance and retirement benefits.”
Productions will meet this requirement if they enter into an agreement with the various trade unions that represent workers in the motion picture industry and provide health insurance and retirement programs tailored for the industry.
In cases where a production does not have such an agreement in place the applicant can meet this requirement by providing adequate health insurance coverage and making adequate contributions to retirement programs. These contributions must be industry standard payments that are equal to the amounts paid under applicable collective bargaining agreements.
WF defines an adequate health insurance program as one that considers all of the following:
- Coverage that starts by the beginning of the month following hiring
- Covers pre-existing conditions in accordance with relevant state laws
- Has no more than a $500 deductible
- Covers 80% of costs
- Provides for vision, dental, and prescription coverage
- Has a COBRA provision
- Makes some payment into a Flexible Spending Account (FSA) program
WF defines an adequate contribution into a retirement program as a minimum of 2% of the hourly salary. These funds need to be deposited into an existing IRA, 401 K, or some kind of retirement plan that remains in place after the end of the production and is for the benefit of the employee.
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