Were Octo-mom's newborns mistreated as actors? Labor commish says maybe
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Technology, Health, Relationships
"Won't somebody please think of the children?"Those words, whined facetiously by a religious female character on the TV show "The Simpsons," were taken to heart recently by California's highest ranking labor official -- who might possibly have nothing better to do than make a situation where there probably isn't one.
Utilizing a strict, if not forced, interpretation of California labor law, the office of Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet has issued four initial citations against RadarOnline.com, for its efforts in reporting updates on the lives of Octo-mom Nadya Suleman and her 14 children.
According to statements quoted by LATimes.com, Labor Commissioner Bradstreet feels that she has sufficient reason to believe the octuplets have been, or could be, mistreated as actors.
LATimes.com quotes Labor Commissioner Angela Bradstreet as stating: "Any time there's a question of a baby being put at risk in the entertainment industry, I think it's incumbent on me as labor commissioner to take my statutory jurisdiction very, very seriously."
RadarOnline has defended its actions utilizing basic journalistic principles. The labor commissioner has made her position by invoking entertainment industry labor laws.
Octo-mom Nadya Suleman's own mother, Angela Suleman, has indicated that she finds the labor commissioner's complaints to be baseless. She is quoted by the Los Angeles Times as stating: "How can babies, you know, not even a month old, how can they 'work'?" She went on to call the labor commissioners accusations, "ridiculous."
Maybe the commissioner just wants her own 15 minutes of fame. But in light of her actions, I just have to ask: Exactly who is exploiting those babies now?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-18-2009 @ 1:15PM
jennielee said...
Oh, Please, let this go! the mother screwed up and she's got to live with it! I for one am discussed with this whole mess! She's a screw-ball and everyone knows it! but i do feel sorry for those cute little kids. we the taxpayers will be paying for her stupid mistakes. GOD help her, somebody has to! six kids then eight more? she's an idiot!
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6-18-2009 @ 6:08PM
BigCityGal said...
If an infant of any age is filmed, even when obviously they are not cognizant of their surroundings, then the rules apply. That's why twins are so often used in t.v. and movies, so that the rules can be followed as to onscreen filming time limitations. This radar online is a money making venture for both parties, the mother and the production company. and when money changes hands under a contractual scenario, it becomes a capitalistic venture, just like anything on t.v. and the movies. Further, since money is changing hands, the participant infants (whether they can say goo goo or not) are entitled to a percentage of these earnings. If this stupid excuse for a mother wants to earn money off the backs of her kids without following the legal criteria, go to a right-to-work state; otherwise, too bad.... the law in California is for everyone, not just for some people.
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6-18-2009 @ 6:16PM
Dixie said...
Excuse me.,but have you actually read the labor laws? Do you know what hours infants can be filmed? Do you know how long they can be under the lights? Do you know what is developmentally appropriate for a premature infant? How about what is safe?
Nope, I didn't think so.
If it were up to people like you, all that would matter is that people like octoscum were able to profit off of having their litters of kids.
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6-18-2009 @ 7:17PM
barbara said...
Who cares what an ignorant woman has to say about the labor commissioner's complaints?
Those infants were subjected to extremely bright lights in their eyes for extended periods by the media, loud noises, dirty camera equipment in their newly sterilized environment, mass confusion and mayhem not to mention they interfered with a nurse suctioning a choking baby!
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6-18-2009 @ 8:54PM
GB said...
Gary, you need to catch up before shooting your clearly uninformed opinion into cyberspace. First, do a little research on this woman and her activities over the past four months. Then check our her activities over the past ten years. Then see what the grandparents have been up to. And then finally, read the labor code sections that apply to this situation. Or, you know, keep opining about something you know less that zero about. Your call. At least you got your dig in at Gloria Allred, eh?
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