The IATSE Commercial Production Agreement (“CPA”) provides covered employees with minimum rest periods between workweeks in certain circumstances. Commonly referred to as “weekend turnaround,” this provision can be confusing because the required rest period depends on the number and sequence of days an employee works.
Importantly, weekend turnaround is generally a requirement between consecutive workweeks. It is not a general requirement that employees receive an entire weekend off. The CPA provides different turnaround requirements depending on whether an employee works five or six consecutive days, with a special rule applying when an employee's sixth workday falls on the seventh day of the workweek.
Five Consecutive Days Worked: 54 Hours
When an employee works five consecutive days beginning with the first day of the workweek, the employee is entitled to 54 hours of rest following dismissal on the fifth day before returning to work on the first day of the following workweek.
For example, an employee who works Monday through Friday and is dismissed Friday at 10:00 p.m. would have a 54-hour turnaround period extending until Monday at 4:00 a.m. The employee could therefore return to work Monday at or after 4:00 a.m. (Note: This is only an example. The contractual workweek is seven consecutive days starting with the first day worked, and therefore, the workweek can begin on any day of the week.)
The 54-hour provision generally corresponds to two full days off—the sixth and seventh days of the workweek—before the employee begins the next workweek.
If the required 54 hours of rest is not provided, a turnaround penalty applies when the employee returns to work in the new workweek.
Six Consecutive Days Worked: 32 Hours
When an employee works six consecutive days beginning with the first day of the workweek, the required weekend turnaround is 32 hours.
In this situation, the employee generally works through the sixth day of the workweek and receives the seventh day as a rest day before beginning the following workweek.
For example, if an employee works Monday through Saturday and is dismissed Saturday at 10:00 p.m., the 32-hour turnaround period extends until Monday at 6:00 a.m. A Monday call at or after 6:00 a.m. would satisfy the requirement.
As with the five-day scenario, failure to provide the required turnaround results in a penalty when the employee returns to work in the following workweek.
When the Sixth Workday Falls on the Seventh Day
The CPA also contains a specific rule for situations in which an employee's sixth workday falls on the seventh day of the workweek.
In this circumstance, the employee is entitled to a 32-hour rest period, inclusive of the 10-hour daily turnaround period. Unlike the general weekend-turnaround provisions, this is the one circumstance in which the weekend-turnaround requirement can apply within a single workweek.
For example, an employee may work Monday through Friday, be off Saturday, and then return to work Sunday. Because Sunday is the seventh day of the workweek and represents the employee's sixth workday, the employee is entitled to 32 hours of rest measured from dismissal on Friday to the Sunday start time.
If the employee is dismissed Friday at 10:00 p.m., the 32-hour period would run until Sunday at 6:00 a.m. A Sunday call at or after 6:00 a.m. would satisfy the requirement.
If the employee is then scheduled to work in the following workweek, the normal 10-hour daily turnaround applies between dismissal on Sunday and the employee's start time on the first day of the new workweek.
A Day Off During the First Five Days Breaks the Turnaround Sequence
It is important to understand that the weekend-turnaround provisions are triggered by a specific sequence of workdays. An employee does not become entitled to weekend turnaround simply because they worked five or six days during the week and then return to work the following week.
For the five- and six-consecutive-day provisions, the employee must work consecutive days beginning with the first day of the workweek. A single unworked day during the first five days of the workweek breaks that sequence and prevents the employee from qualifying for the weekend-turnaround.
In practical terms, to trigger the weekend-turnaround provisions, the employee must either:
Work five consecutive days beginning with the first day of the workweek and then work in the following consecutive workweek, triggering the 54-hour provision;
Work six consecutive days beginning with the first day of the workweek and then work in the following consecutive workweek, triggering the 32-hour provision; or
Have their sixth workday fall on the seventh day of the workweek, which is the special exception that allows weekend turnaround to apply within a single workweek.
For example: an employee works Monday, is down Tuesday, then works Wednesday through Sunday. Although the employee worked five consecutive days from Wednesday to Sunday, the consecutive days are not starting from the first day worked, which was Monday. The Tuesday day off breaks the sequence of consecutive workdays requirement to trigger the weekend turnaround. In this scenario, the employee has received one day off (Tuesday) and has received premium pay for their sixth workday (Sunday), which is consistent with the any five out of seven workdays application of the workweek in the IATSE CPA. No additional “weekend” turnaround time is owed in this scenario.
What If an Employee Works Seven Consecutive Days?
An employee who works all seven days of a workweek does not receive a weekend-turnaround period during that workweek. Instead, the CPA provides premium pay for the sixth and seventh workdays.
In other words, the weekend-turnaround provision should not be interpreted as requiring an employee who works seven consecutive days to receive 32 or 54 hours off during that workweek. The employee instead receives the applicable premium pay for the sixth and seventh days worked.
If the employee continues working into the following workweek, however, the 10-hour daily turnaround applies between dismissal on the seventh day and the employee's start time on the first day of the new workweek.
For example, if an employee works Monday through Sunday and is dismissed Sunday at 8:00 p.m., the earliest Monday start time would be 6:00 a.m., assuming the employee is scheduled to work the following day.
Key Takeaways
The weekend turnaround provision is generally a between-consecutive-workweeks rest requirement:
5 consecutive days worked: 54 hours of weekend turnaround, measured from dismissal on the fifth day through the start of work on the first day of the next workweek. This generally corresponds to two rest days (the sixth and seventh days).
6 consecutive days worked: 32 hours of weekend turnaround, from dismissal on the sixth day through the start of work on the first day of the next workweek.
However, there is a special rule that applies within a workweek :
6th day worked on the 7th day: 32-hours of weekend turnaround, measured from dismissal on the fifth consecutive day to the start of work on the seventh day, with the 32 hours inclusive of the daily rest period.
Nevertheless, an employee can work five, six or seven consecutive days without triggering weekend turnaround penalties:
1 unworked day during the first five days of the workweek: no weekend turnaround during that workweek; the necessary sequence of consecutive workdays starting with the first day worked is broken by any single down day during the first five days of work.
7 consecutive days worked: no weekend turnaround during that workweek; the employee instead receives the applicable sixth- and seventh-day premium pay.
Employers should carefully review an employee's actual work schedule and the applicable provisions of the CPA when determining whether a weekend turnaround requirement or penalty applies.
Necessary Disclaimer: The information provided here is a general overview for educational purposes and should not be considered fully comprehensive or exhaustive of the subject matter covered. For guidance on specific situations or other contract-related questions, please contact David Michael González, VP, Labor Relations, davidg@aicp.com, and Ralph Loyola, Labor Relations Manager, ralphl@aicp.com.