Jay Leno is a man with a big ol’ heart of gold – and a big ol’ wallet full of gold too. He is, very generously, paying his fired non-writing staff for the next week. And longer, if the writers strike continues.

Leno has decided to pay his non-writing staff out of his pocket through next week, sources said Saturday. That could be extended if the writers’ strike is not resolved by then.

Tonight Show executive producer Debbie Vickers is said to have been involved in the decision and reportedly began calling laid-off employees Saturday.

A couple of days after the Writers Guild of America strike began November 5, the star of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno told about 80 of his staffers that they need not worry about their finances. Leno was so adamant about paychecks being safe, many didn’t bother looking for new jobs even though NBC was forecasting layoffs.

So it came as quite a shock on Friday when the entire staff was told that they were not only out of a job but also that they weren’t guaranteed of being rehired once The Tonight Show returns.

“Some people were crying. Some people were screaming,” said one employee speaking on the condition of anonymity.

[From Sydney Morning Herald]

NBC’s Conan O’Brian is also paying his staff of around fifty on a week-to-week basis.

I’m not sure if out of his own pocket means out of Leno’s pocket, or out of his show’s pocket. Either way it must cost him at some point.

Despite the pay offer, it seems that some of Leno’s staff are getting upset that the writer’s are still striking and putting non-writing jobs at risk. Which is of course the exact kind of tension the networks are hoping to create to put pressure on the strikers to end their protest.

Leno himself has also been criticized, with one of his staff upset at earlier promises of people not losing their jobs. He says it gave the staff a false sense of security back when they should have begun job hunting. Although I doubt any television networks are hiring they could have looked for work elsewhere.

The administrative staff are also upset at what they consider to be a very low Christmas bonus of only $200, although I’m not sure what a Christmas Bonus should be in America, in New Zealand we don’t have them. I’m starting a campaign for them right away. I know a lot of people rely on that annual bonus to live.

In the meantime the strike continues, and re-runs are the order of the day on most television networks. Hopefully the strikers negotiate a good deal for themselves, as there is a huge amount of pressure on them to get shows back up and running.

Note by Celebitchy: Rumor has it that recent talks were successful, and that negotiations between the writers and networks are moving forward. The strike is expected to end by Christmas.

Jay Leno is shown on 11/14/07 out on his motorcycle supporting the strikers. Thanks to Splash News.