3. The economics!
The Renaissance Faire is owned by the Renaissance Entertainment Corporation, which also runs fairs in three other locations. It’s not a non-profit group, but not everyone “working” at the fair is a paid employee. According to their website, they “hire” a mix of paid and volunteer “workers.”
Strictly speaking, from what I understand, it’s not legal to do so; if you work at a for-profit group, you are required to be paid or you’re violating wage laws. (There was a case not long ago, which I don’t have a link to, in which a company that specialized in putting on rummage sales, “paid” helpers in the form of discounts on merchandise, and was judged to have run afoul of this law.)
So is what these “volunteers” are doing “work”? Is it perhaps, “we’ll give you the opportunity to engage in the performing arts on our property”? I don’t know — on the one hand, it seems like many of the tests that can be performed to identify independent contractors would also apply here, and I’m assuming that these “volunteers” need to follow the schedule set out by the fair/company, and play the roles assigned to them by the company, to the satisfaction of the company management. On the other hand, also according to the website, the company provides valuable services to the performers, in the form of the “Bristol Academy of Performance Arts”, which is an extended form of training, though it seems to be training in Renaissance Fair performing, not performing in general.
And imagine if the Fair were required to, in fact, pay everyone minimum wage, either as it stands now ($7.25 in Wisconsin) or at the hoped-for $15 per hour. It wouldn’t be sustainable. There are scads and scads of performers there.
That does suggest that fair wage laws are murky and less than clear-cut, as is the line between for-profit and non-profit. Perhaps this is acknowledged by the Department of Labor and there’s an “official” loophole, or perhaps there’s general acknowledgement that enforcing the laws as written would be destructive.
So there you have it. As always, readers, if you have been to such a fair, or something similar, what can you share?
All images my own, posted with the permission of the Bristol Renaissance Faire.
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