NL-Please note that this is a press release put out BY AHF. But according to it, the city of LA is wrong, and Cal OSHA thinks they can tie use of a condom to adult film permits.
Opinion by Cal OSHA legal counsel contradicts Los Angeles City Attorney’s March 2011 report claiming the City does not have authority to condition issuance of adult film permits to condom use
In its evaluation, Cal OSHA counsel noted, “…State law does not preempt such action by the City because the City does not seek to enact an occupational health and safety standard but rather a public health standard applicable to any film activity (regardless of employment) within the city boundaries.”
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In response to a push by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) to compel the City of Los Angeles to tie the issuance of its adult film permits to condom use in adult film productions, a recent opinion letter by Cal/OSHA’s (California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health) legal counsel sharply contradicts a March 2011 report in which the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office claimed it did not have the authority to condition issuance of adult film permits to condom use.
“Presently it (Cal OSHA) mandates that all employees exposed to blood borne pathogens wear protective barriers, which includes the use of condoms. CAL-OSHA has been responsive to complaints and has several open investigations, including production companies affiliated with Larry Flynt Publications and Playboy.”
In the initial City report, dated March 22, 2011 titled, “Mechanisms Necessary to Enable the City’s Film Permit Process to Require Workplace Safety in the Production of All Adult Films,’ Kimberly Miera, Deputy City Attorney, City of Los Angeles, on behalf of City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich, wrote:
“It is the opinion of this Office (City Attorney, City of Los Angeles) that the current permit language covers the use of condoms on all permitted adult film sets to the extent that the City may legally do so. Based on the current permit language, along with the jurisdictional concerns in regulating workplace safety issues, our Office recommends the permit language remains unchanged and this report be noted and filed.”
However, in a researched opinion letter dated July 20th titled, ‘Position of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health Concerning Possible Conditions on the City’s Film Permits Issued to Adult Film Producers,’ written in response to the City Attorney’s March report and addressed and sent to ‘the Honorable City Council, City of Los Angeles,’ James D. Clark, Staff Counsel for California’s Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Legal Unit, Southern California, wrote:
“It is the Division’s (of Occupational Safety and Health) position that State law does not preempt such action by the City because the City does not seek to enact an occupational health and safety standard but rather a public health standard applicable to any film activity (regardless of employment relationship) within the City boundaries.
“Cal OSHA and Mr. Clark have provided a very clear and compelling case as to why the City of Los Angeles can condition the issuing of film permits to adult film producers based upon compliance with condom use in their film productions, as currently required under state statute,” said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “Ordinarily, state agencies are given deference by cities and local bodies in situations such as this, and we ask the Los Angeles City Council to do so in this matter in order to better protect workers and performers working in the adult film industry here in Los Angeles.”
In her March report to City Council, Deputy City Attorney Miera also confirmed that condom use in adult film production in the state is required, writing, “Presently it (Cal OSHA) mandates that all employees exposed to blood borne pathogens wear protective barriers, which includes the use of condoms. CAL-OSHA has been responsive to complaints and has several open investigations, including production companies affiliated with Larry Flynt Publications and Playboy.”
Background on AHF’s Adult Film Worker Safety Efforts
Since an outbreak of as many as 20 HIV infections in the adult film industry in California several years ago—and the revelation that another adult film performer tested HIV positive last October—AHF and other AIDS advocates have spearheaded a multipronged campaign to improve worker safety by requiring condom use by adult film actors. As part of the effort, AHF has sued local Los Angeles County public health officials to enforce existing workplace safety regulations; it has lobbied for an overhaul of state workplace safety measures covering adult film sets in both California and Florida (the two largest production centers); it has filed worker safety complaints with state regulators against both adult film producers as well as adult talent agencies, it has sought legislation in Sacramento to more clearly codify adult film safety regulations.
Three outbreaks of HIV in the industry and an ongoing epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in California’s adult film industry prompted AHF to take a stepped up and ongoing role in trying to improve worker safety in the adult film industry. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH), workers in the adult film industry are ten times more likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease than members of the population at large. LADPH has observed that many workers suffer multiple infections, with some performers having four or more separate infections over the course of a year. In addition, LADPH has stated that as many as 25 industry-related cases of HIV have been reported since 2004.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and services to more than 174,000 individuals in 27 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific region and Eastern Europe. www.aidshealth.org
Contacts
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Ged Kenslea
Communications Director
+1.323.791.5526 [mobile]
+1.323.308.1833 [work]
gedk@aidshealth.org
or
Lori Yeghiayan
Associate Director of Communications +1.323.377-4312 [mobile] +1.323.308.1834 [work] lori.yeghiayan@aidshealth.org
Yeah…this looks like another one of AHF’s press releases.
Although…considering how much Cal-OSHA, the LACDPH, and AHF have been colluding for so long on imposing the condom mandate, I’d not find it surprising if Cal-OSHA and LACDPH were giving at least tacit support.
Still, I’d find it very surprising if the Cali Supreme Court overthrew the lower appellate decision, given the precedent that a court simply can’t impose one particular policy on a board as long as other policy alternatives exist.
Anthony
OOPS…I misread a bit. This is about the LA city film permit issue, NOT LACDPH policy. My bad.
I thought that that was a dead issue, since the film board has said countless times that they cannot and will not impose such regulations on porn shoots, at least not without specific legislation.
Anthony
You are correct Anthony, this is more grandstanding — and AHF won’t be winning any (more) friends in LA government or politics because of it. AHF just pressured Cal/OSHA to tell the city of Los Angeles that its city attorney is wrong. Every attorney I’ve spoken with about this laughed his/her ass off. This is a terrible strategy.
Michael Weinstein knows his agenda has no chance in the courts so, vindictive prick that he is, he’s attacking everyone in sight (just as he did with LA County’s Dr. Fielding when he refused to take marching orders from AHF). And the fine people at Cal/OSHA once again jump when he shouts. OSHA is so far up AHF’s ass it’s ridiculous. Talk about the “gay mafia”! The Donkey and friends had it all wrong.
I wonder what money people behind Weinstein are having him push this agenda.
Unfortunately, Larry, in today’s milieu, ego often trumps greed. It’s hard to tell which impulse dominates AHF’s executive staff, because there’s clearly a great deal of both.
http://lukeford.com/2011-08-05/genital-warts/
I wonder what % of this issue is actual health and safety of the porn talent on a shoot and what % of it is the Holy Joes and the Christian Mafia (with Shelley) using this as a platform to try and get rid of porn?
Our constitution gives us certain freedoms including free speech so that they could not get rid of porn the way they wanted to (except for the kind of porn Max Hardcore makes) so they decide on a different strategy of sneaking thru the sewers past all the aligators and come up from the cellar to try and do an endrun around the legal issue of making porn and try to get rid of porn thru a different direction (OSHA and health & safety).
An end-run is exactly what this is — and more: win or lose, there’s a tremendous amount of press to be had from taking on pornography. Either way it is a political move, carried out through lawsuits, political theater, harassment, back-door deals (perhaps quite literally) and abuse of the process.
Weinstein comes out and says it: he doesn’t like condomless porn because “it sends the wrong message.” This is a content-based classification. He doesn’t want condomless porn because he’s a maniac sexophobe who doesn’t want anyone practicing condomless sex. And he and his condom-peddling organization just so happen to benefit financially from AIDS fear and hysteria.
Weinstein wants to turn adult entertainment into product placement opportunities for his agenda, and his business.
In the section entitled “Background on AHF’s Adult Film Worker Safety Efforts”, AHF’s press release notes:
“CAL-OSHA has been responsive to complaints and has several open investigations, including production companies affiliated with Larry Flynt Publications and Playboy.”
What it neglects to mention is that these complaints WERE FILED BY AHF, not by workers.
This is obscene.
And the lies continue:
“Three outbreaks of HIV in the industry and an ongoing epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in California’s adult film industry prompted AHF to take a stepped up and ongoing role in trying to improve worker safety in the adult film industry. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH), workers in the adult film industry are ten times more likely to be infected with a sexually transmitted disease than members of the population at large. LADPH has observed that many workers suffer multiple infections, with some performers having four or more separate infections over the course of a year. In addition, LADPH has stated that as many as 25 industry-related cases of HIV have been reported since 2004.”
LADPH’s numbers have been debunked — there were made to order for AHF and are provably “without basis in science.” The word “epidemic” has a definition, and there is NO epidemic amongst performers. Weinstein et al know this but continue to use these FALSE statistics.
And yes, LADPH DID state that as many as 25 industry-related cases of HIV have been reported since 2004 — but then they RETRACTED THAT STATEMENT because they could not even demonstrate that those cases involved people who were actually performers.
Are you pissed off enough yet? Fuck you Michael Weinstein. Eat shit.
Cal/OSHA is making it a real easy decision for producers to pick up and move to Las Vegas aren’t they?
Them pushing this issue isn’t going to cause porn to go away. Hell no. But it may mean a shift in the location of production.
All the drama aside, CA will lose a lot of money if that really does happen. Isn’t the state hurting enough? Apparently that’s not a concern in any way of CAL/OSHA but maybe it should be.
To me epidemic means a massive quantity (4 out of 5 performers or 8/10 is an epidemic) when in fact the sexually transmited disease rate is no higher then the general public and most likely is LOWER then the general public.
Also OSHA/AHF isn’t doing this for the talent or the safety of the general public, they are going after mandatory condoms as a way of kicking the porn industry out of CA. Its their end run to get rid of porn from a different direction.
If not to get rid of porn, then to use it as free advertising for their highly profitable agenda of AIDS fear and hysteria.
Have you ever worked in a kitchen? I have, and I’ve got to tell you, you’re not going to get that job if you have an aversion to knives or ovens or hot oil. And if you get that job, you’re going to get cuts and minor burns. Even when you’re careful. You put a band-aid on and get back on the line. But there is no “epidemic” of workplace injuries at your local Burger King.
This whole zero-risk paradigm is a sham and a fraud. It’s a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham.