A long and winding legal battle that raised uncomfortable questions about Hollywood's treatment of middle-aged and older TV writers was settled Friday, a decade after a class-action lawsuit alleged they were the victims of widespread age discrimination.Although, as Verrier reports, the Writers Guild of America, West was not a party to the dispute its research provided crucial evidence in winning the money - although the networks and studios continue to deny any wrongdoing.
Under the settlement, 17 major networks and production studios, along with seven talent agencies, agreed to pay $70 million to thousands of writers to resolve 19 claims.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Hollywood age discrimination case settled
From Richard Verrier in the LA Times comes news of a settlement in major legal case about alleged age discrimination in Hollywood.
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Writers in the UK should applaud this decision. Suspicions of ageism have long been rife in our industry and while we do not have any direct equivalent of Class Actions in the UK there are some alternatives. What all freelance writers should remember is that they have legal rights too. It is not just salaried staff that are covered by anti-discrimination laws - any one working under a contract or applying for work is also covered - and this will cover anyone commissioned to write or pitching for commissions.
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