If you’re an employee of Wired Talent, all accidents and injuries should be reported immediately to Eplica, Inc. — even if the injuries seem minor. Eplica is the corporate services provider that takes care of workers’ compensation claims, safety and benefits for our contractors. Here's what to do if you or another Wired Talent employee is injured on assignment:

• Get first aid. If it’s a life-threatening injury, call 911.
• Report the incident immediately to the Eplica Injury Hotline at 888.237.1223.

After you’ve reported an injury, Eplica will send you to the appropriate clinic for treatment, if necessary. Authorization to go to the clinic must be given by Eplica prior to your admittance so your workers’ comp. benefits aren’t compromised. Your Wired Talent recruiter will take a statement from you for details of the injury or accident. If you can, return to your assignment after treatment at the clinic. Follow-up treatment should be scheduled for non-working hours.

Our staffing team provides various training services to help candidates from beginner to expert advance their career in the video game industry. We have easily accessible tutorials online for Microsoft Office applications, including XP and previous versions, Internet Explorer, Peachtree accounting software, QuickBooks Pro and more.

We also provide quality assurance tester training and other training guides for job seekers new to the video game industry. We give candidates insight into video game testing, development, design and other important jobs in production. The info we provide serves as sort of an expansion pack for their career, helping candidates understand the needs of the industry so they can stay a level above the competition.

We know game fanatics like rewards. We think just creating games and getting paid to play video games isn’t enough, so we offer a comprehensive benefits package for video game pros employed in contract jobs. Through our back-office service provider, Eplica, Inc., our package includes:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• 401 (k)
• Short-term disability
• Paid Family Leave
• Memberships / discounts
• Employer incentives

And so much more …

Another great thing that people in the video game community enjoy about working with Wired Talent is the group discount health insurance. Employees under contract jobs can enroll in our medical benefits after the first week of their new assignment.

However, employees must enroll within the first 60 days after the start of their assignment. For example, if an employee interviews with a video game recruiter in March, but is placed on an assignment with a Wired Talent client in April, they have 60 days from their April start date to enroll. If the deadline is missed,there is a chance to sign up during the open enrollment period.

Also, contract workers hired on full time by a video game client can take advantage of our benefits through COBRA during the 90-day waiting period at their full-time job. Need help? Contact a video game recruiter at Wired Talent today.

Because this is considered a qualifying life event, the contractor can enroll in our medical benefits. The contractor has 30 days from the date the spouse lost his or her job and coverage to enroll in our plan. Proof of loss of spousal coverage must be submitted with the enrollment form. Acceptable proof includes:

• Copy of HIPAA certificate from insurance carrier showing last day of coverage
• Copy of Cobra notice showing last day of coverage
• Letter from spouse’s employer confirming loss of coverage and date of loss

No. As a general rule, staffing companies don’t offer paid time off or vacation pay to their employees. However, some of our clients offer accrued time and holiday pay as incentives to employees placed in their contract jobs or direct-hire positions.

No. According to California law, all hourly employees working more than six hours in a day must take a lunch break at or before the fifth hour worked. It’s your responsibility to take a lunch at the appropriate time. If you’re asked to work through your lunch, you must notify a Wired Talent representative immediately.

Call a Wired Talent representative if you need to call in late, sick or need to request time off. Wired Talent is your employer and is in charge of relaying the message to the company you’re assigned to.

Some of our clients do offer overtime pay, especially during crunch time before a video game is released. However, it’s up to our client to do so.

Our pay week lasts from Monday to Sunday. Paychecks are distributed every Friday and includes hours completed for the previous pay week. For example, if you logged 40 hours for last week’s pay period, you will be issued a paycheck this Friday for those hours.

Simply contact us. A Wired Talent representative can help you obtain a copy of any previous pay stubs and assist you with other questions or concerns.

W-2s for 2008 were sent beginning on Jan. 27, 2009. Wired Talent contract employees should have received their W-2s shortly after. If you need to update your address information or have questions regarding your W-2, call our W-2 hotline at 866.826.2806, where you can leave a message with the department that processes our payroll at Eplica, Inc.

The opportunity may be there and we're open to discuss it. Our clients prefer that we act as the employer, so please direct these types of questions to your Wired Talent rep.

Some video game companies don’t require experience and some do. We’ve worked with many talented professionals who have skill sets in areas that translate to any industry, for example, customer service. We also offer different types of training to help professionals prepare for jobs in the industry. If you want to break into the video game sector, give us a call -- we may have something for you.