SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah Film Commission that oversees networking and tax incentives to an industry that spent $66 million in the state last year has implemented a policy requiring any company it works with to have rules in place to prevent sexual harassment, a move that comes as the movie industry grapples with allegations of sexual misconduct.
The state’s new policy “requires work environments be free from discrimination and harassments based on race, religion, color, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation,” the Salt Lake Tribune reported Wednesday.
Virginia Pearce, director of the Utah Film Commission, said revelations in early October of sexual abuse and harassment by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, followed by allegations against other prominent Hollywood figures prompted the action.
Kynan Griffin consulted with the film commission to develop its workplace-harassment policy for the cast and crew of “The Outpost,” a fantasy TV series that starts shooting in Orem in January.
“The policy we ended up distributing (to our employees) makes pretty plain what sexual harassment, or any kind of discrimination, is,” said Griffin, the show’s executive producer. “Is it unwanted? Does it make you feel uncomfortable?”
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
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