SAG-AFTRA Prevails in Legal Battle Over COVID Safety Guidelines
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, SAG-AFTRA has successfully defended against a series of lawsuits challenging its COVID-19 safety protocols, which included mandates for vaccination, testing, masking, and quarantining. The lawsuits, filed by various union members, were dismissed by U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton on Thursday evening.
The lawsuits, numbering around 40, were spearheaded by Dorian Kingi, a stuntman with numerous film credits who filed his case in Los Angeles Superior Court in December. Kingi and other plaintiffs argued that the return-to-work agreement, implemented in September 2020, violated SAG-AFTRA’s constitution, collective bargaining, and membership agreements. They claimed that the union's mandate for vaccination led to discrimination against members who chose not to get vaccinated for various reasons, including personal, political, and philosophical beliefs.
The agreement, which lasted for nearly three years, allowed studios to enforce vaccination and regular testing requirements and mandate masking and quarantining under certain conditions. Plaintiffs argued that this agreement was not fairly negotiated and failed to represent the interests of all union members equally.
Judge Staton’s ruling concluded that the claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence were preempted by federal law, which protects unions from alleged state law violations based on labor contracts. The court also found that other claims, though not directly invoking the union's duty to fairly represent its members, were intrinsically linked to that duty and derived from the same contracts that underpinned the alleged breaches.
Staton noted that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate any independently wrongful conduct by the union, leading to the dismissal of the lawsuits.
SAG-AFTRA’s National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, praised the court’s decision, stating, “We look forward to continuing to expand our members’ work opportunities and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of those who helped make sets safe enough to return the industry to work during the unprecedented challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The return-to-work agreement was a crucial development in September 2020, following months of negotiations between Hollywood’s major studios and unions. It set the framework for the resumption of production with stringent safety measures, including virus testing, safety training, and paid sick leave. The protocols were later updated to include mandatory vaccinations, which sparked opposition from some union members.
Among those who resisted the mandate were actors Ingo Rademacher and Rockmond Dunbar, who both sued their respective studios after being denied exemptions and subsequently terminated from their roles on "General Hospital" and "911," respectively.
The return-to-work agreement expired in May 2023, ending the vaccine mandates for new productions. However, the court’s recent ruling reinforces the legality and necessity of the measures taken to ensure the safety and continuity of the entertainment industry during the height of the pandemic.
