2015Legal / Business Practices forum
Using a limited liability company for union film work while maintaining union hour credits and equipment billing
What the thread found
- Union hours must be recorded under the individual's social security number on timecards to ensure they are credited toward union benefits, even when the LLC is used for other purposes.
- Equipment rentals can be invoiced to productions through the LLC using a W9 form, while labor should go through payroll under the individual's social security number.
- Union contracts require producers to contribute to union health and pension plans based on the individual's work, not the LLC, so the LLC cannot make these contributions on behalf of the worker.
- Some productions restrict loan-out company usage due to their own workers' compensation insurance requirements, which need each worker and their hours reported separately.
- A single-member LLC owner can potentially file an exemption from workers' compensation insurance requirements in certain states if the LLC has no employees.
- Timecards for union work typically include both the individual's social security number and the company's federal tax ID number, with SSN used for benefits reporting and tax ID for income reporting to the corporation.
- Some major studios only permit loan-outs for department heads or restrict their use entirely, requiring labor payments through standard payroll regardless of equipment billing method.
- For longer assignments, using W2 payroll for hours and loan-out invoicing for gear is common practice; for shorter gigs, some use loan-out for both.
Depends on
- The information comes from production workers and is not verified legal or accounting advice.
- Workers' compensation exemption rules vary by state and may have changed since this discussion.
- Union policies and studio requirements vary and individual business representatives should be consulted for specific situations.
- One participant indicated they were still verifying whether union hours were properly credited when using loan-out arrangements.
- Warner Bros and other studios have varying policies that may not align with general union practices.