Press Release from Hot Desert Knights, Inc.

[hdkbill]

Bill first Thanks for this move I hope we can get all the studios to make this an industry standard.

I was away for a week but I posted your press release on my Blog (second news item) right after your announcement.

I have a question and I made a comment about it on my blog.
Did CalOSHA's stance toward the straight industry in 2005 (the bareback poz test of 3 str workers) have something to do with the reticence of your company and other Bareback studios in California to test for HIV's because of CalOSHA's rule that if a model was HIV Poz they cannot "work in Cali"

Here is what I said and if you enlighten me I will correct my blog

Thanks DeWayne

DeWayne,

To answer your question, No.

Cal-OSHA had nothing to do with our decision.

First, we are not a California company and haven't been for 4 years. So, Cal-OSHA has no impact on us. Secondly, I'm not sure you are correct about Cal-OSHA having a a rule stating that HIV Poz models cannot work in adult films in California. Actually, California law states that an employee cannot be discriminated against for his/her HIV status, so for Cal-OSHA to have such a rule would be contrary to California law. Prior to retiring and then getting into this industry, my area of expertise was OSHA and DOT regulations, so I'm fairly familiar with them.

You may be confused with the fact the studios who use...and models who perform for studios who use, The Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation (AIM) for testing, agree that they will not use models who test positive for HIV. The model also signs agreeing to this.

I believe this may ultimately be challenged since at the time AIM created their rules models were assumed to be independent contractors. This is not true. It has been determined by the EED and Courts that in California models are in fact employees. As employees they cannot be discriminated against because of their status and as employees Cal-OSHA has regulatory control over studios using them. This fact is going to have far greater impact on adult filming in California than any we have faced so far.

Our decision to start testing for a complete panel of STD's was because we are alarmed at what some of the bareback studios here and overseas are doing nowadays. Many have just gotten too extreme for us and we don't want to be associated with them. Many don't offer any type of HIV/STD counseling, guidance or even attempt to Serosort. We also made the decision to start the testing since now, with the new PRC/DNA HIV test, results can be obtained more quickly and the "window period" after initial infection has been reduced substantially.

We have always Serosorted our models according to HIV status, but honestly, we took them at their word. We just believe the time has come to test so that we know for a fact we are Serosorting correctly and we grow more concerned each day with the huge increases we are seeing with other STD's, especially Hep C, which can really be a life threatening situation to some guys who are HIV Poz.

We, like you, hope that eventually the entire adult industry, but especially the gay adult industry begins testing. All it can do is to provide a safer work environment for all talent.

Since announcing our decision we've gotten nothing but positive feedback from models, other studios and gay webmasters. What is surprising is that we haven't heard anything from those gay studios who have always been so outspoken against bareback films. It's almost like they are just ignoring the issue altogether. But then, I suppose that's human nature. We tend to be quick to complain and condemn and slow to say anything positive. But, they can only ignore this issue for a certain amount of time. Even though they may use condoms for anal sex in their films, they are still allowing rimming, facial cum shots and watersports featuring guys swallowing urine, all of which carries various degrees of risk of transmitting STD's other than HIV.

Thanks for posting on your blog,

Bill

[Dilbertdidporn]

Thanks Bill I will post a correction And a follow up this Sunday.

[Dilbertdidporn]

Bill I just caught this on a reread

It has been determined by the EED and Courts that in California models are in fact employees. As employees they cannot be discriminated against because of their status and as employees Cal-OSHA has regulatory control over studios using them. This fact is going to have far greater impact on adult filming in California than any we have faced so far.

I thought this only applied to exclusives? You hire a guy for one porno scene he is out in a day like my gardener or your REAL poolboy THEY are independent contractors to impose completely different rules on Adult Performers sounds to me like a BLATANT attempt to regulate the Adult Biz out of existence! Is that an exaggeration?

[basschick]

i believe that it often applies to the mainstream movie industry, which is why using a performer from an agency that pays them is worth doing even if it costs more.

Bill I just caught this on a reread

I thought this only applied to exclusives? You hire a guy for one porno scene he is out in a day like my gardener or your REAL poolboy THEY are independent contractors to impose completely different rules on Adult Performers sounds to me like a BLATANT attempt to regulate the Adult Biz out of existence! Is that an exaggeration?

[hdkbill]

Bill I just caught this on a reread

I thought this only applied to exclusives? You hire a guy for one porno scene he is out in a day like my gardener or your REAL poolboy THEY are independent contractors to impose completely different rules on Adult Performers sounds to me like a BLATANT attempt to regulate the Adult Biz out of existence! Is that an exaggeration?

If you hire a model, pay him directly, he IS AN EMPLOYEE in the State of California, period. Models are not like poolboys or gardeners. When you hire a model, you provide the location, you provide the cameras, you tell him what to do, you tell him when to be there, you tell him when he's finished. He is working for you for that hour, or that day or that week for only one reason, and this is to assist your company to make money. A poolboy only cleans your pool. He doesn't help you to make money.

A pool boy or gardener generally works for himself and will work for many other people usually on the same day. That is called self employment.

The definition of an indepdendent contractor is much tighter in the State of California than they definition provided by the IRS. The reason for this is that the State of California decided many years ago that the did not want to lose employee tax revenue from the mainstream film industry. This is not an adult industry issue.

We went through a EED audit and fought them for 3 years over this issue. After three years we finally lost the battle. Now you are beginning to understand why we are no longer a California Corporation and no longer film in California.

Several adult studios have been audited over this same issue and they ALL have lost. If I'm not mistaken, Falcon was one of the first on the gay side to find out the hard way and that was a number of years ago.

One of these days you will hire a model for a film. He will also have a "real" full time or part time job and will get laid off. When he does, if he puts your studio name down as having earned income, you can expect the EED to come knocking at your door and looking back into your records for the previous three years. Been there, done that.

Bill

[desslock]

Very insightful story.

And this is why movies like the best picture of 2007 No Country for Old Men was filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Marfa, Texas.... and not in the California desert.

Steve

[hdkbill]

Very insightful story.

And this is why movies like the best picture of 2007 No Country for Old Men was filmed in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Marfa, Texas.... and not in the California desert.

Steve

Yep, that's probably true. California does a really good job of shooting itself in the foot. Seems that California keeps becoming more and more business unfriendly as well as unfriendly to individuals. In Delaware it cost me $30 a year to tag my vehicle, in California it would cost nearly $500. My RE tax on a 4,000 sq. ft. house is a bit over $400 a year but the taxes on my 2,500 sq ft. house in California is $5,250 a year. Personal income taxes maxes out at 5.75% in Delaware but 9.75 in California. Sales tax in Delaware is 0% but in Palm Springs it is 7.75%. Outside of Hawaii, California has the highest priced gasoline in the country.

The only thing that Palm Springs and California has going for it is the sunshine, yet, California, in it's infinite wisdom, has all but eliminated any tax credits for solar energy so that Edison Electric can continue to charge the highest per kilowatt rate in the nation.

Gee, wasn't such a difficult decision to move HDK out of California and for me to move back to Delaware.

I have a great place for sale in Palm Springs...anyone interested?:innocent:

Bill

[Rob Ragan]

Gee, wasn't such a difficult decision to move HDK out of California and for me to move back to Delaware.

I have a great place for sale in Palm Springs...anyone interested?:innocent:

Bill[/QUOTE]

[gaybucks_chip]

Wait, I thought the article in GayVN said Maine. Big difference between Maine and Delaware... last time I was in either place, that is

[Rob Ragan]

LOL Ya Caught me Chip!! I was reading it, was going to comment, and mistakenly hit the reply button!!
This is what happens after the 75th hour for the week!!::uhoh:

[abostonboy]

Wait, I thought the article in GayVN said Maine. Big difference between Maine and Delaware... last time I was in either place, that is

Actually I am in Maine quite a bit. Where is allboysstudio in Maine? Maybe we are neighbors?

There is a HUGE difference between Maine and Delaware. Trust me. Maine has bears crossing the street.

[Rob Ragan]

Actually I am in Maine quite a bit. Where is allboysstudio in Maine? Maybe we are neighbors?

There is a HUGE difference between Maine and Delaware. Trust me. Maine has bears crossing the street.

I'm in Norway...about 25 minutes west of I-95 on RT. 26...I'm not a studio though, I'm a releasing company for wholesale DVD's.

[gaybucks_chip]

You people and your Allboys. I think you intentionally sat down at a show and hatched a plan to permanently confuse everyone

Allboy Magazine

Allboys Video

Allboys Distribution

All(boy) totally unrelated to each other, though I know that you all(boy) work together on various projects now and then

[gaybucks_chip]

oh, and I forgot about the totally fraudulent Allboy Modeling run by the mobile home repair guy out of upstate new york, and TOTALLY unrelated to any of the above. (I'm not kidding, do a search.)

[hdkbill]

Wait, I thought the article in GayVN said Maine. Big difference between Maine and Delaware... last time I was in either place, that is

Oh yeah! HUGE difference between Maine and Delaware. We are going to be in the upper 40's today and 60's by Monday with lots of sunshine.....Maine, on the other hand is having a blizzard today.

We've got spring flowers blooming and the trees are starting to bud out, Maine is all white with ass deep snow. Rob, hope you are having a good time!

Bill