The 2026 production landscape is shaping up to be one of the most compliance-heavy environments the industry has seen in years. New laws are taking effect, guild negotiations are underway, technology shifts are accelerating, and productions are operating with tighter budgets and smaller administrative teams. All of this creates pressure on payroll accuracy, labor relations, and compliance workflows at the exact moment when productions can least afford mistakes.

For new features, episodic series, and streaming projects gearing up in 2026, there are several emerging payroll risk areas that are already showing up across major payroll companies, production offices, and studio audits. These red flags often appear during pre-production and quickly escalate if not addressed early. For productions that want to avoid grievances, retro payments, audit exposure, and costly delays, understanding these red flags is essential.

Below are the top payroll compliance red flags new productions should be watching for in 2026, along with why they matter and what leaders can do to get ahead of them.

1. Misalignment between budgeted rates and 2026 minimum increases

One of the biggest issues surfacing for new projects is a mismatch between budgeted wages and updated contract minimums. Many productions build their budgets months before prep, often using outdated rate sheets or incorrect assumptions about upcoming minimum increases. This becomes especially risky in 2026, because several union agreements either recently renewed or are facing negotiation cycles that may lead to midyear increases.

This is particularly common for departments with a large spread of classifications, such as 600, 700, 800, and Teamsters. When rates increase after a budget is locked, productions often try to “hold the line,” which leads to payroll reporting employees below scale and generating payment variances that must later be corrected. In extreme cases, underpayments discovered during studio audits trigger retro penalties, late payment claims, and months of unnecessary cleanup.

Early rate validation is the key to preventing this. Pre-production labor consulting helps identify the correct minimums for every classification before hiring begins. It also ensures production accountants and line producers are working off current year rates, not the prior year or estimates from friends on other shows.

2. Hiring staff before labor law and CBA analysis is complete

A surprising number of productions begin onboarding crew before confirming which rules apply, particularly on hybrid or cross-platform projects. In 2026, with more shows blending elements of streaming, limited series, and event production, this problem is becoming more common.

The risk is simple. If the wrong contract is applied on day one, payroll accountants must make extensive adjustments later. This affects fringe contributions, overtime rules, rest period requirements, and premium pay structures. It can also create disputes between locals, unexpected jurisdictional claims, and grievances from misclassified employees.

Another issue is that productions often default to an incorrect workweek, meal rule, or classification assumption without confirming the correct standard. The earlier these decisions are made, the harder they are to unwind.

To avoid this, productions should complete a full CBA and labor law review during prep, not after timecards start arriving. A structured compliance audit during the first week of prep ensures all hiring templates, rate sheets, start forms, and deal memos reflect the correct requirements.

3. Missing, inconsistent, or outdated pre-production paperwork

Inconsistent onboarding paperwork remains one of the largest audit red flags for studios and unions. Productions in 2026 are under increased pressure to maintain digital and standardized documentation, but many still rely on informal processes or patched-together documents from previous shows.

Missing or incorrect paperwork affects compliance in several ways:

• Incorrect W-4 or state tax forms lead to withholding errors that must later be corrected.
• I-9 issues expose productions to federal penalties.
• Incorrect classification descriptions or job titles lead to wage violations.
• Deal memos that omit guaranteed hours, night premiums, or meal break rules create vulnerabilities in wage claims.

Payroll companies often catch these problems only after the first edit reports are generated, which means the mistakes have already been processed.

Productions can prevent these issues by implementing standardized onboarding packets and allowing time for a compliance review before anyone starts work. Having a labor consultant audit the onboarding templates at least two weeks before the first day of photography dramatically reduces downstream problems.

4. Misclassifying daily, weekly, and on-call employees

Classification mistakes continue to be one of the top drivers of payroll errors, particularly on episodic SVOD series, hybrid streaming shows, and multi-unit shoots. In 2026, the rise of short-form content for streaming and the use of cross-budgeted production formats mean productions are using a wider mix of employee types than ever before.

Some common issues include:

• Paying a weekly employee as a daily after a schedule change
• Incorrectly applying daily overtime rules to a weekly employee
• Placing an employee on an on-call contract that does not meet the required criteria
• Classifying workers as non covered or excluding them from fringes when the CBA requires contributions

Correct classification affects nearly every compliance obligation: overtime calculations, minimum calls, meal penalties, turnaround requirements, and health and pension contributions. If employees are misclassified at the start of production, the payroll accountant ends up spending weeks correcting fringe reports, adjusting OT calculations, and reconciling pension contributions.

In pre-production, productions should make classification decisions deliberately and validate them against both the contract and the expected schedule. Using a pre-production consulting team can help prevent misalignment between actual working conditions and the selected classification.

5. Ignoring local wage and hour laws when filming across multiple states

More productions are filming in multiple locations, including states with very different wage and hour requirements. In 2026, the patchwork of local regulations continues to grow, and state agencies are more aggressively enforcing them.

Common mistakes include:

• Applying California meal and rest rules in states that follow federal rules only
• Ignoring daily overtime in states that require it
• Missing local tax requirements
• Applying the contract rules correctly but failing to comply with local labor statutes

Problems often appear when a unit moves from its home base to another jurisdiction, but the production continues using the same timekeeping, meal break, and overtime assumptions.

A multi-state compliance plan should be created during prep. This plan should outline which rules apply in each jurisdiction, who is responsible for tracking location-based work, and how payroll will be coded to reflect work state, not home state. Pre-production labor consulting can play a major role in helping production build this plan before cameras roll.

6. Lack of clear timecard workflows, especially for digital platforms

Digital timecards have become standard, but many productions still enter the shoot without a unified timecard workflow. In 2026, inconsistencies in digital submission systems, approval chains, and department-level practices continue to be a major red flag.

These inconsistencies often lead to:

• Missing in and out times
• Incorrect meal break entries
• Uncaptured travel time
• Not coding work state accurately
• Missing forced call or grace information
• Approvals by the wrong person or missing approvals altogether

When these problems appear, payroll processors are forced to guess, delay processing, or escalate disputes to production. Poor timecard workflows also increase the risk of wage claims for missed meals or turnaround violations.

A strong timekeeping workflow should be established during prep. Crews should be trained on the digital system, department heads should understand their approval responsibilities, and payroll should run a workflow test before the first week of photography.

7. Not preparing for the 2026 guild negotiation cycle

Several guilds are entering negotiation cycles in 2026, and productions beginning in 2026 will have to plan for the risk of new conditions or mid-year adjustments. Productions tend to assume that whatever rules were in effect during budgeting will hold through the shoot, but negotiation years often bring surprises.

New conditions can affect:

• Workweek rules
• Rest period thresholds
• Rate increases
• Premium structures
• Allowance amounts
• Health and pension contributions

Even if negotiations do not lead to a strike, midyear changes can dramatically impact payroll. Productions should expect that 2026 may require quick implementation of revised rates, updates to sideletters, or changes in classification rules.

A labor consultant can help monitor negotiation updates, translate changes into actionable payroll steps, and adjust production policies quickly. This dramatically reduces the risk of midseason corrections and misunderstandings that result in grievances.

Why productions need pre-production labor consulting more than ever in 2026

The complexity of the 2026 environment means productions cannot afford a reactive approach to payroll compliance. Pre-production is the only window where leadership can build a strong foundation before compliance issues surface.

Pre-production consulting supports productions by:

• Reviewing CBAs and selecting the correct contract application
• Validating rates before budgeting and hiring
• Auditing onboarding paperwork and templates
• Designing classification and timecard workflows
• Building multi-state compliance strategies
• Preparing for upcoming negotiation cycles
• Training production and accounting teams before the shoot

Productions that invest in this early guidance tend to avoid the most costly mistakes that occur once filming is underway. They also reduce the burden on payroll accountants and prevent expensive corrections, grievances, and retroactive contributions.

As 2026 unfolds, the productions that succeed will be the ones that treat compliance as a strategic requirement, not a last-minute check on a to-do list. Early labor consulting support helps productions start strong, stay compliant, and maintain a stable and predictable workflow throughout the shoot.



If your production is gearing up for 2026, now is the right time to build your compliance plan and secure the expertise you need before filming begins.