Fred writes:
I read the AVN article re Brooke Ashley and Workman’s Comp. According to the article, if Ms. Ashley was found to be an "employee" (as opposed to an independent contractor), "Dupree would be required to pay workers compensation to Ashley, or if for some reason Dupree were unable to do so, Ashley’s compensation would be paid from the Uninsured Employees’ Benefit Trust Fund." (Query whether this means that the taxpayers would pick up the tab for this mess.)
The testimony recounted in the article is morbidly interesting. Ran Munee (sp?) was hired to work as the cook on the shoot "but soon found himself drafted into the production manager’s job, one of his duties then becoming the collector of the HIV tests from the performers." You could tell that monitoring these tests was a really high priority for the film maker.
Ms. Brooke then went on to have anal sex with about 50 guys, most of it unprotected, including with a person who was HIV positive. (According to AVN’s article, Munee said he was suspicious about the individual’s HIV paperwork, but "Dan Beck came in and said, ‘No, no, that’s good; we need a name.’")
As mentioned above, a major issue in this case is whether Ms. Brooke was an "employee" or an "independent contractor." As I understand it, an independent contractor is "any person who renders service for a specified recompense for a specified result, under the control of his principal as to the result of his work only and not as to the means by which such result is accomplished." (Cal Labor Code 3353)
I know nothing about workmans comp, or how this definition applies to a porno actress (or for that matter, any actress).
What comes out of this article is a story of lots of people acting unbelievably irresponsibly, causing enormous health problems, and then asking a court to sort out the consequences.
It would be interesting to see whether the court is swayed by the hardships dumped on Ms. Ashely (as upposed to merely following the letter of the law, come what may).
Luke, when the opinion comes down, you should publish a copy of it.
As for whether this will impact the adult business, it would be interesting to see what kind of insurance company is willing to insure porn producers against HIV and other diseases. (Query: when a porn actor or actress tries to get health insurance, does he/she have to disclose to the insurance company what sort of job they do?)
Query: If it becomes untenable to make porn in California, will the shoots take place in Mexico or Canada?
Luke, as our moral leader, what is your position on this?
In any event, I doubt that this is the death knell for porn. Some people will produce porn on their own and ignore the law. Some operations will shut down. Perhaps more porn will be produced outside California. Perhaps it will become less profitable.