legislation

New California Laws Ban Common Cinefamily Practices

October 13, 2019 in commentary

Two new laws attack exploitative workplace practices reportedly at the heart of Cinefamily’s business model— employee misclassification and forced arbitration agreements.

New 2019 California Laws Fight Wage Theft, Sexual Harassment

January 06, 2019 in commentary

A new set of laws went into effect on January 1. They probably would have helped workers at Cinefamily. Hopefully at Fairfax Cinema the Harkhams will increase their attentions to wage theft, workplace bullying, and sexual harassment and abuse.

California's Pending #MeToo Laws: Call Your Legislators [updated]

August 19, 2018 in commentary

California workers get new legal tools to fight sexual abuse and harassment on the job, and more legislation is pending.

TL;DR

For the decade of Cinefamily’s existence, and for a certain sort of weirdo, the nonprofit single-screen cinematheque was the best thing about L.A.

In August 2017 we discovered Cinefamily was also a harmful place, especially for workers and for women. Reporting at the time focused on workplace sexual harassment, but when this website investigated we found a deeper rot. Former insiders told us of alleged assault, retaliation, wage theft, and embezzlement—as well as fraud against distributors, taxpayers, and regulators.

Cinefamily’s $2 million annual budget was subsidized by taxpayers and overseen by professionals. If the board of directors had done its job, damage may have been reduced, and Cinefamily might still exist. Instead, evidence indicates some directors were not only aware of problems, but were involved in covering them up.

This website provides original reporting as an ongoing call for institutional responsibility. We seek what the board promised: a credible and comprehensive accounting, victims heard and creditors paid, and a new approach to corporate governance and community accountability.

Please reach out with questions, complaints, tips.