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Paramount PAs Had To Poop In Cars, Suit Claims
All in a day's work (Photo by Pressmaster via Shutterstock)
A lawsuit is accusing Paramount Pictures and other film companies of mistreating their production assistants by not giving them overtime and giving them no options but to go to the bathroom in their cars. Four parking productions assistants (PPAs) are suing Paramount, Nickelodeon Movies and Regency Films among other production companies, claiming that they were mistreated on the job, the Wrap reports.
Their duties were to ensure that filming sites remained clear of pedestrians or drivers. The four New York-based PPAs claim that they were paid about $150 per day for a typically 12-hour day. That would amount to a 60-hour work week, but sometimes, the PPAs allege that they could log in as many as 100 hours and would not be paid overtime. They were also not given any food, nor compensated for meal expenses, even though others on the set were provided with food.
It gets worse, though: the complaint alleges that the companies would not allow them to leave their posts for any reason, including going to the bathroom, meaning the PPAs had no choice but to urinate and defecate into bottles and buckets they kept in their cars.
The PPAs said they worked on movies such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Wolf of Wall Street, and we can pretty much guarantee that Leo did no pooping in a car bucket.
The PPAs want back pay, plus damages for lost compensation and benefits.
Yesterday, we reported that Cerritos-based Gatten Sushi and GTN were ordered to pay over $621,000 in back pay and damages to chefs and other employees who were swindled out of overtime pay.
If you have your own crazy story from working as a PA, please share it with us by emailing tips@laist.com with the subject line: "PA Stories."
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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