Expanding on the Meal Break thread already in existence, for you AEA SM's, here's a new, hypothetical scenario to bat around:
Your meal break is scheduled for 1:30-2:30pm. At 1:30pm you are still working and the Director wants to finish the scene, no matter how long it takes. Some of the actors in the room are due back after lunch and some are not. Additionally, there are actors not in the current scene (and therefore not in the room) who are also due back at 2:30pm. So, the Director doesn't stop, and continues until s/he has completed the work, say at about 1:50pm and then calls a one hour lunch break.
Assuming the extra 20 minutes do NOT put the company into any kind of "over five hours" scenario, here are the questions:
Is this illegal, overtime, simply rude, or the Director's prerogative? If you call it overtime or illegal, show a clause that supports this in the applicable rule book and show a penalty, if any. (If your argument is that the span of day has to be announced 12-24 hours before hand, show an example of a rule book that provides for a penalty, if the announced span of day is changed "on the job.")
If this has ever happened to you, and your cast/Deputy has objected, what did you say/do?
If this has ever happened to you and you have spoken to an AEA Business Rep. about it, what did they say/do/advise?
What do you do, if anything, for the actors due back at 2:30pm, who did not know that the earlier rehearsal session ended late?
What else can you think of (costume fittings, etc.) that might complicate this scenario further?