CHATSWORTH, Calif. - A Cal-OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) representative visited the set of a shoot for Naughty America last week. Dusty, a company spokesperson told AVN.com that the OSHA visit was just a formality for the federal agency.
“Basically, OSHA showed up, they were very professional, we stopped production to work with them, and then they left on good terms. There’s really nothing more to say about it … I don’t want to dilute or exaggerate the issue more than that.”
OSHA’s mission is to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses and deaths by issuing and enforcing (via penalties) certain standards for workplace safety and health.
“I know there was speculation that [OSHA] showed up and shut everything down, and that’s not true at all,” an industry spokesperson said. He added that the production company was not fined.
AIM Health Care founder Dr. Sharon Mitchell told AVN that while she's been unable to verify why the agency visited the Naughty America set, "I can tell you typically these things are prompted by an employee or former talent member that could call and say that they felt they were in unsafe working conditions. They usually just don't pick out of a trick bag and say, 'OK, we're gonna do this one today.' They typically would have a reason for coming, or they would be prompted to come to a specific location."
Dr. Mitchell went on to explain that what OSHA commonly would be looking for is proof of compensatory insurance, or of an injury and illness prevention plan. "This is something that goes along with Section Title 8 of the California Safety Code," she said. "It's to make sure that people aren't at massive risk for any types of infection.
"There really is no clear standard for the adult entertainment industry in that Section 8," she continued. "I mean, technically, if someone wanted to push it, you could have people having sex in moon suits; you could really take this to the nth degree when you're talking about what we [call] 'universal precautions' — that's when we draw blood, we have to have the goggles and the gloves and closed-toed shoes and things like that. I think it's really in everyone's interest to make sure they have [insurance and a safety plan] in place as an adult entertainment company."
