LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) moves closer to finalizing a years-long effort to amend and clarify Cal/OSHA’s Bloodborne Pathogens standard (Section 5193.1) in order to better protect adult film workers regarding the use of condoms in adult films shot in California, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)—a fierce advocate for improved adult film worker safety—is calling out the adult film industry and its producers’ trade group, the Free Speech Coalition (FSC) over its ongoing misleading and fear mongering claims about what the updated Cal/OSHA regulations actually entail.
FSC’s fear mongering tactics resurfaced again on Monday in comments made by Diane Duke, CEO of FSC, to Los Angeles Daily News reporter Susan Abram. The November 2nd article noted, “The safety standards were updated after five years of public hearings and debates but adult film performers said the newer set of regulations would make sex scenes look like medical dramas.” Duke told Abram, “Asking adult performers to wear goggles is up there with asking ballerinas to wear boots. It does not only not match the threat, it effectively prohibits production in California.”
Fact Versus Fiction: Cal/OSHA’s Proposed Updated Bloodborne Pathogens Standards
Following is a list of false claims about the proposed updated Cal/OSHA regulations made by the porn industry and its producers’ trade group, the Free Speech Coalition over the past few years as OSHA worked to update its Bloodborne Pathogens standards. With each falsehood put forth by the industry, there is also a factual counterpoint, including descriptions of what the regulations will actually entail.
Claim: Cal/OSHA’s proposed updated Bloodborne Pathogens Standard will require goggles in adult films.
Fact: According to Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, “The proposed language does not include the word ‘goggles’ anywhere. Only the current standard, Section 5193, cites goggles as a type of personal protective equipment because the language covers all types of industry workers in California. If anything, proposed Section 5193.1 demonstrates Cal/OSHA’s willingness to update existing regulations to specifically address safety and health in an industry as unique as adult films.” (The June 2, 2015 press release can be viewed here. )
Claim: Adult film workers are independent contractors, not employees.
Fact: Adult film workers are employees and therefore protected under the California Code of Regulations, which mandates condoms in adult films. The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) is tasked with protecting workers throughout California. While many adult film workers are paid as independent contractors, a California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board ruled in 2015 that adult film workers meet the legal conditions to be considered employees.
Claim: The adult film industry requires rigorous STD testing.
Fact: STD testing in the adult film industry is voluntary and does not meet medical recommendations. Some studios require adult film workers to get tested for STDs every two weeks, some studios require adult film workers to get tested monthly, and some studios do not require adult film workers to get tested at all. In addition, the Free Speech Coalition’s STD testing scheme does not test for all infections and does not test all anatomical sites.
Claim: There has been no HIV transmission in the adult film industry since 2004.
Fact: An adult film worker contracted HIV on an adult film set as recently as 2014. According to the California Department of Public Health, an adult film worker who had tested at a Free Speech Coalition-approved testing facility within the past 14 days infected another adult film worker on set because condoms were not provided. The California Department of Public Health presented the investigation of this on-set transmission at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Annual Conference on June 17, 2015. (The abstract and presentation can be viewed here.)
Claim: Adult film workers are consenting adults and should decide whether or not to use condoms.
Fact: Adult film producers must require condoms on set when adult film workers get paid to work. According to existing Cal/OSHA decisions, adult film producers are officially employers and adult film workers are officially employees. As employers, adult film producers are expected to comply with existing workplace health and safety regulations to protect their employees just like any other industry in California.
Claim: The adult film industry was ignored during discussions surrounding proposed Section 5193.1.
Fact: The adult film industry was well-represented and spoke at all meetings conducted by Cal/OSHA between 2009 and 2015. All comments submitted by the Free Speech Coalition on May 21, 2015 to the Cal/OSHA Standards Board were responded to by Cal/OSHA.
