NBCU To Extend Its Anti-Discrimination & Harassment Workplace Policies To Outside Productions Ahead Of Filming Restart

Nellie Andreeva
·4 min read

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As Deadline reported last month, NBCUniversal in mid-June began an incremental reopening for employees at its headquarters in Universal City. In a company memo today, Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, who oversees all NBC broadcast and cable networks, along with the Peacock streaming service, confirmed that “we are gearing up to go back into production on many of our shows across our linear and streaming platforms.”

NBCU has a detailed safety protocols in place for its productions and has run drills to test them in real-life conditions. Now the company wants to make sure the same level of safeguards are in place for shows airing on the networks of NBCU that come from a third-party provider. But the company is going beyond health and protecting people working on NBCU shows from COVID-19 to include all NBCU “workplace policies and procedures designed to prevent discrimination and harassment”, which have to be adhered to by outside productions.

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“When a show airs on our networks, even if we do not produce it, we need to take a more active role in ensuring that the experience on set accurately reflects our company’s values,” Lazarus said. “To support this effort, we have started to provide our third-party production partners with a variety of additional resources that reflect those provided to our in-house productions, including: respectful workplace policies, training materials tailored to the various types of production, and additional channels through which workers can report workplace concerns, including Comcast NBCUniversal Listens, which allows for anonymous reporting.”

An outside NBC series, reality hit America’s Got Talent, is the object of a discriminatory action by former judge Gabrielle Union who cited a toxic work environment on the Fremantle/Syco show.

Here is Lazarus’ memo:

I wanted to share the good news that we are gearing up to go back into production on many of our shows across our linear and streaming platforms. As we return, we are taking this opportunity to look holistically at a healthy workplace environment, not only as it relates to safety measures in response to COVID-19, but with regard to culture as well.

Employees on shows produced by NBCUniversal work under the protection of respectful workplace policies and procedures designed to prevent discrimination and harassment – including specially tailored training for the TV production environment and various reporting mechanisms. But with many of our series produced by outside entities, we have come to realize that we need to do more. When a show airs on our networks, even if we do not produce it, we need to take a more active role in ensuring that the experience on set accurately reflects our company’s values.

To support this effort, we have started to provide our third-party production partners with a variety of additional resources that reflect those provided to our in-house productions, including: respectful workplace policies, training materials tailored to the various types of production, and additional channels through which workers can report workplace concerns, including Comcast NBCUniversal Listens, which allows for anonymous reporting.

We will also expand our production-focused HR and corporate-level Fair Employment Practices teams, who will serve as resources for these shows as needed. In addition, we will provide our network employees who work closely with these third-party productions with specialized training to help them identify and escalate workplace issues they observe or experience themselves.

Promoting a positive culture is an ongoing effort, and with this commitment, we are confident that we will be able to promote a positive and respectful work environment across all productions. For more information or if you have any questions please reach out to your HR manager.

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