In 2024, California enacted new safety standards for motion picture productions. In addition to requiring training for employees who handle or work in proximity to firearms on set (click here for more information about this firearms training requirement), California also created the Safety on Productions Pilot Program. Under this Pilot Program, productions receiving a California motion picture tax credit must employ a Safety Advisor who meets certain minimum qualifications. One of those qualifications is the completion of a joint labor and management training program, available through Contract Services.

If you are interested in working as a Safety Advisor, read below for more information about how to apply for access to Safety Advisor Training.

How does the Pilot Program Work?

The Safety on Productions Pilot Program is in effect from July 1, 2025 until July 30, 2030. During this period, an employer for a motion picture production that receives a motion picture tax credit assign a Safety Advisor to that production. For more information, we encourage you to visit the California Film Commission website and review California Labor Code Sections 9150 through 9152.5.

What is Safety Advisor Training?

Safety Advisors must complete a joint labor and management training program. This program, called Safety Advisor Training, has been developed by the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee and is now available through Contract Services.

What is a Safety Advisor?

A Safety Advisor is a new role created under the Pilot Program and defined in California Labor Code Section 9151(k). Productions participating in the Pilot Program must employ a Safety Advisor to oversee production safety and complete detailed, script-specific risk assessments and other reports.

The California Labor Code defines a Safety Advisor as a person who works in tandem with, but independent of, performers and crew and who is not employed for any other role on the motion picture production. A Safety Advisor reports to the unit production manager, or a person or persons having overall responsibility for the safety program but retains autonomy to address production-related risk. Such autonomy includes, as a last resort, the authority to temporarily halt production until a thorough examination of the potential hazard or hazards and the mitigation plan can take place among the decisionmakers on productions.

Safety Advisors must also meet certain qualifications, including:

1. Satisfying one of the following Qualification Paths:
   • At least two years’ experience primarily performing safety-related work in the entertainment industry as a department head, foreperson, or in a production safety position within motion picture production;
   • At least 500 verifiable days in another crew position in motion picture production, so long as they possess an appropriate breadth of specialist knowledge, experience, and expertise aimed at minimizing risks to both performers and crew; or
   • Five or more years of safety-related work, where safety was a primary role and responsibility, in another industry, so long as they possess an appropriate breadth of specialist knowledge, experience, and expertise aimed at minimizing risks to workers and the public.
2. Completion of a joint labor and management training on industry protocols, state and federal law, and safety practices in motion picture production (i.e., Safety Advisor Training); and
3. Completion of an OSHA 30-hour training for general industry.

How do I become a Safety Advisor?

To work as a Safety Advisor under the Pilot Program, you must meet the minimum qualifications set forth in California Labor Code Section 9151(k), described above. One of those requirements is completion of Safety Advisor Training.

The Safety Advisor Training is available through the Contract Services Industry Hub (thehub.org). You must first apply for access to the Safety Advisor Training. This is a multi-step online process that includes creating a Portal account on the Industry Hub, e-signing an acknowledgement form, satisfying one of the three required work experience Qualification Paths, uploading work experience documentation and an OSHA 30-Hour General Industry Card, and, finally, submitting payment for the training.

Please see our Quick Start Guide HERE to begin the application process.

After you have completed each step and we have received your payment, you will be able to access Safety Advisor Training through your Portal. The training includes a total of 36 courses with 29 available at launch and 7 additional courses launching in the coming weeks. The training covers industry protocols, state and federal laws, and safety practices in the motion picture industry as well as information about Safety Advisor’s roles and responsibilities, including how to perform risk assessments and submit a final safety evaluation report. You will be able to see the specific training requirements in your Portal.

What’s Next?

After completing Safety Advisor Training, you may be eligible for employment as a Safety Advisor by a production participating in the California motion picture tax credit program. While employed as a Safety Advisor, you will be required to perform risk assessments and prepare mitigation plans in accordance with California Labor Code Section 9152.

After a production ends, as a Safety Advisor, you will prepare a final safety evaluation report based on the actual risk and compliance experience on the production. This report must be submitted to the Industry-Wide Labor-Management Safety Committee and the California Film Commission within 60 days following completion of filming activities. Unplanned or unknown reshoots or additional scenes filmed after the submission of the initial report shall require an addendum report. See California Labor Code Section 9152 for more information.

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