Conan Crew Screwed? Some Tonight Show Staffers Not Seeing NBC's "Millions"

Los Angeles, CAWhen NBC told Conan O'Brien that the "Tonight Show" would be moving to a later slot, O'Brien had no choice but to leave the show. It put a lot of people out of work, but NBC says they are paying "millions of dollars to compensate every one of them." Not so, according to one former NBC employee who worked 25 years for the network. A California labor law attorney says he might have a misrepresentation case against NBC.

John (real name withheld) worked with O'Brien for 17 years in New York. "Conan O'Brien was invited to take over as host of the "Tonight Show" from Jay Leno more than five years ago," explains John's wife, Linda (real name withheld). "Time rolled by, and a year ago they invited my husband to relocate from New York to LA and join the show."

John wasn't employed by Conan's production company, but the "Tonight Show" is produced in conjunction with NBC. As an employee of NBC, John had been a member of the NABET union for 25 years, so the union's agreement with NBC protected him from getting laid off if the show was cancelled. He would simply be shifted to another NBC show.

"When the head of my husband's department at NBC asked him to relocate to LA, there was never a discussion about the union," says Linda. "Just before we relocated, John was informed that he would have to join the IATSE union in LA. He paid initiation fees and quarterly dues, but he was never informed that the union was different from NABET. In other words, he lost all job protection. His co-worker declined to move from New York and instead took a buy-out: one year's salary.

"My husband also lost the buy-out. Now he is being offered five weeks severance pay—that's it. And it has been less than a year since we uprooted our lives. Not only that, we sold our home in a down market and NBC only covered a third of our moving expenses. We are still paying off our move and find that we have literally been dumped here in LA.

"We are waiting to hear whether Conan gets picked up for another network; I am sure that Conan will hire my husband if that happens. Meanwhile, we are in limbo. Conan is helping by trying to bridge the gap for certain employees that are not being treated fairly by NBC. He's even paying some NBC employees out of his own pocket!

"Conan got a huge settlement, which he deserved, because NBC broke his contract. And there was additional money negotiated for staff people with contracts but my husband didn't qualify because he didn't have a written contract.

"The California labor law attorneys I found online were very helpful and took the time to listen. Technically, however, we don't have a case because he didn't have a written contract. What came out of this is that you shouldn't move across the country without a contract. I highly recommend that you don't go anywhere until you have it in writing. It never occurred to us that the show would be canceled within seven months of it starting. It's a weird set of circumstances.

"It is possible that we do have a case. One California labor law has to do with an employer misrepresenting a job. And I believe that NBC acted in an immoral manner. Not only that, my husband worked really hard and took great pride in his work. NBC has just turned its back on him."