The DGA Signatories / Reports Compliance Department performs two functions:
- to ensure that Guild members work for producers who are signatories of the collectively bargained agreements,
- and to gather and process the necessary documents to ensure that members receive what they are due under those agreements.
The department is responsible for legally binding the producers to the Agreements which have been negotiated by gathering the appropriate documents to verify wages and working conditions and also making certain the Guild has appropriate and adequate financial assurances in the form of security agreements, liens, distributor's assumption agreements. This ensures that the Guild has the legal means to collect residuals payments due to the members.
Obtaining financial assurances on the screenplay and all the collateral that flows from it are part of the obligations a producer assumes when employing Guild members. These assurances are protection against the potential loss of residuals and must be provided three weeks prior to principal photography so that there is sufficient time to deal with any issues that may arise as the documents are reviewed. As the Signatories/Reports Compliance Department deals with hundreds of Guild signatories to the DGA Basic Agreement (BA), the DGA Freelance Live and Tape Television Agreement (FLTTA), the Commercial Agreement and Experimental Agreement; and because early notification to us of a project is vital, they have implemented a tracking procedure in coordination with the Guild's Research Department to help identify projects as they move from the development stage to production. Another key aid in this process is the Work Report Hotline that members use to report their scheduled employment. The department also maintains the DGA's new Signatories Database Website of more than 15,000 titles that reflect the Guild's film and television industry history from 1960 to the present and provides constructive notice to distributors of their residuals obligations.
The Signatories Representatives work with the producer's representatives to obtain documents that have to be reviewed, prepared, circulated for signature and recorded in the U.S. Copyrights Office or with the Secretaries of State; and all with deadlines that impact the Guild's protection of its members. The Signatories Representatives also confirm through additional research that the Guild is entering into agreements with the bona fide employer(s) and owner(s) of the company and its projects. It is always important to remember that the work done by Signatories/Reports Compliance provides the foundation for the Guild's legal rights, so that even when the original signatory producer no longer owns the rights to a picture, the residuals remain secure in perpetuity.
The Reports Compliance Representatives focus on the day-to-day and quarter-to-quarter on-going paperwork of a project. This paperwork includes deal memos; quarterly premiums reports for a company; a quarterly employment data report which is an ethnicity report; and a weekly work list which also shows who was working for a company during the prior week but it does not involve the money aspect. Reports Compliance also gathers the Post Production Addendum associated with the director's deal memo for movies for television, projects 90 minutes or more, and theatrical projects. This addresses the director's creative rights such as when the director's cut is scheduled to commence, when it is scheduled to be completed, when the answer print is due; when the project is scheduled to premiere. All of this is to ensure that the director is provided no less than the time due them to accomplish their cut, as required by the DGA Basic Agreement.
From the Reports Compliance paperwork, the Guild is able to get an idea of the status of its members within the industry and also allows the DGA to compile data for its annual look at the employment of Women and Ethnic Minorities Reports within the industry. Full and complete data of all members' projects directly impacts upon the directions the Guild moves, and always with the goal of improving the benefits and working conditions of its members. Therefore, it cannot be overstressed how very important it is for the Guild to make certain that it has all the data and the documents that are utilized by every department within the Guild to ensure that the member's rights are protected.
Tips to DGA Members
- If uncertain about your employer's signatory status, call the department at (310) 289-2094.
- Always insist on a completed and signed copy of your deal memo and check it for accuracy. It is your right.
- Inform Michael Hencin on the Work Report Hotline [(310) 289-2040] when you report work on a new project or need to place yourself on the availability list.
- If you have questions about your agreement, contact the Signatories/Reports Compliance Department at: (310) 289-5362 or email Karen Nyhlen with your Signatory Questions and/or Angela Webb with your Reports Compliance questions.
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