UPDATED: 3:40 P.M. (PST): FSC says complaint was filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
LOS ANGELES — Cal/OSHA said it issued citations today to adult film production company Third Rock Enterprises Inc., also known as James Deen Productions, for multiple violations of state condom and other safety laws that the agency said exposed performers to sexually transmitted infections.
Cal/OSHA proposed penalties of $77,875 after probing a complaint about a James Deen Production film shoot in Woodland Hills, Calif., on Jan. 12.
Cal/OSHA said investigators found that producers did not protect performers through the use of condoms as required by California's bloodborne pathogens standard.
Additionally, Cal/OSHA said producers did not provide a vaccine or follow-up medical examination to staff who were potentially exposed to hepatitis B,
Third Rock Enterprises and James Deen Productions are owned by James Deen.
When Cal/OSHA initially opened its investigation on Dec. 8, officials said, Deen and his attorney refused to provide Cal/OSHA with requested safety documentation or permission to investigate.
Cal/OSHA then obtained a warrant from a Los Angeles Superior Court judge that then allowed the agency to conduct the January film site inspection.
Cal/OSHA cited James Deen Productions for failing to provide the requested safety records in addition to the serious health-related violations. In total, Cal/OSHA issued citations for nine violations including four that were deemed “serious.”
A serious violation is cited when there is a realistic possibility that death or serious harm could result from the actual hazardous condition, officials said.
"Cal/OSHA requires condom use in adult films to protect workers from exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections," Cal/OSHA Chief Juliann Sum said. "Third Rock Enterprises failed to protect employees from illness and injury while on set."
Eric Paul Leue, executive director of adult entertainment industry trade group Free Speech Coalition, said that the number may look eye-catching, but “it should be viewed critically.”
“While we can't speak to the particulars of this case, the fine is only a preliminary assessment, which is often quite different than any final number,” Leue told XBIZ in a statement. “Nor does the fine necessarily relate to an actual danger on-set, or threat to performers.
"In fact, upon closer inspection in similar cases, Cal/OSHA has deemed failure to use a condom to be a "not serious" violation, with fines in the hundreds of dollars," Leue said.
“It is also worth noting that this complaint was filed not by any performers or any person on set, but by the controversial, morals-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which merely watched the film to look for a condom.
“Like most of AHF's actions, this complaint should be viewed politically. AHF is currently pushing a mandatory condom law in California that would allow private citizens like them to file lawsuits against performers who don't use condoms — and to profit from the lawsuits.
“AHF's repeated Cal/OSHA campaigns have less to do with performer health and more to do with the policing of performers' bodies, and the censorship of adult films. It's an outrage and a tremendous waste of taxpayer dollars.”
According to an XBIZ source, Deen recently moved production to Las Vegas.
