Thursday, Mar 11, 2010    Text size: 

CANOGA PARK, Calif. — The Free Speech Coalition and its adult industry stakeholders will attend a meeting next week of the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health standards (CalOSHA) board, the organization announced yesterday.

At the meeting, the CalOSHA board will consider a petition filed in December that would change current state regulations and require condom and other barrier protection use on adult production sets, as well as other workplace safety regulations for adult productions.

XBIZ recently reported that the Board staff at Cal/OSHA recommended the creation of an advisory committee to consider amending section 5193 of the California labor code “in order to give greater protection to employees in the adult film industry.”

The board also stated that serious consideration should be given to the possible amendment of section 5193 in order to give greater protection to employees in the adult film industry.

“I think it’s a game changer. We’re getting validation from an official state agency that the supposed protections offered are inadequate and the opportunity for new regulations, which we have said, is needed,” Michael Weinstein, president of the Los Angeles- based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), told XBIZ.

However, the FSC said these actions follow pressure on CalOSHA from AFH which alleges that current industry protocols for adult productions are insufficient and that the industry is under-regulated.

“This is a workplace safety issue. AHF has no presence in the industry and, therefore, is not a stakeholder,” FSC executive director Diane Duke said. “Stakeholders include performers, producers and individuals who work on or around production sets. As is appropriate, Free Speech Coalition (the adult entertainment industry’s trade association) continues to work with industry stakeholders to reduce risk and provide a safe working environment.”

“Unfortunately, in what seems to be a witch hunt, the folks at AHF have garnered a great deal of attention in the dissemination of misinformation and untruths,” Duke said. “We look forward to being the voice of reason at this upcoming hearing.”

FSC hopes to address current CalOSHA compliance regulations for adult productions either at the meeting, or with an advisory committee created to discuss workplace safety issues for the industry. Current compliance regulations are based on clinical protocols.

“The meeting will provide the adult industry an opportunity to address our concerns with a Bloodborne Pathogen plan that was not designed to address adult entertainment industry issues,” Duke added.

Next week’s CalOSHA board meeting will be held in Costa Mesa, Calif.