Hollywood Reporter to pay $900,000 to freelancers

Industry publication The Hollywood Reporter has agreed to pay $900,000 to freelancers as part of a class action lawsuit settlement, reports Dominic Patten of Deadline Hollywood.

Patten writes, “The preliminary approval by Judge Ann Jones after a hearing on March 22 downtown at LA Superior Court means that about 35 THR contributors who were designated as independent contractors instead of employees will get a check for around $14,840. Approximately $380,000 of the overall agreement between the plaintiffs and THR will go to lawyers and other fees related to the case.

“With allegations of  ‘illegal common polices and practices’ by THR, the case was certified as a class action back in September 2015. Perhaps fearing a jury trial and maybe wanting to get the matter off its books before any possible sale, THR entered mediation with the plaintiffs not longer afterwards.

“A final approval on the settlement that the two side reached in January is expected in the next couple of months – likely. Not that this is entirely over for THR and Prometheus. Of the 45 punitive class members in the matter, ten decided not to be included in the action after the 2015 certification so that they may make claims of their own at some point.

“The road to this resolution so far started on September 27, 2013 when longtime THR contributor David Simpson went to court and claimed that freelancers at THR are ‘indistinguishable from employees in all material respects.'”

Read more here.