Both Evasive Angles and TTB Productions were issued the same set of four citations each, resulting in $30,560 in fines for each company. The citations were issued Wednesday.
The reason the same set of citations were issued to both companies, according to California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) spokesperson Dean Fryer, is that Cal/OSHA was unable to determine which of the two companies was the “exposed employer,” the employer responsible for the scenes that led to three individuals being exposed to HIV on or around March 23, 2004. “They both work very closely together. We could not distinguish who the exposing employer was, who the actual employer was at the time the exposure occurred,” Fryer said.
“We understand that both companies are owned by the same person, and their operations pretty much go hand in hand with the two companies. So we issued the citation packet to both companies.”
Each company was fined $25,000 for violating regulations that require employers to protect employees from blood-borne pathogens. Specifically, Evasive Angles and TTB Productions were fined for not ensuring the protection of three employees who were exposed to HIV, a blood-borne pathogen, on or around March 23. In short, Cal/OSHA regulations place the responsibility for ensuring the safety of adult talent on production companies – not on the performers themselves.
Technically, they could even require goggles to be worn to protect performers eyes from semen.
Another justification for the $25,000 citation, the maximum possible amount for what is considered a “serious” violation, was the employer’s alleged failure to provide appropriate follow-up medical care.
The citation notes a third reason for the fine: the employer’s alleged failure to provide appropriate safety training for employees during working hours. AIM provides a “Porn 101” tape that offers a frank discussion of the dangers of working in adult, but performers generally see the video before they start their careers – on their own time.
A second citation, for $5000, was issued to each company for failing to report the work-related illness. After Evasive Angles and TTB Productions were informed that performers had been diagnosed HIV-positive, they failed to immediately report the cases to the state.
“Immediately” is defined as “as soon as possible, but no later than eight hours after the employer knows or with diligent inquiry would have known” of the illness.
A citation with a penalty of $375 was issued to both companies for not maintaining records of work-related injuries, illnesses or fatalities. For the adult industry, that would seemingly indicate that production companies are required to keep logs of when a performer is exposed to any STD – something that seems impossible.
Each company was also issued a citation for $185 for not having an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) as required by law. An IIPP is a written plan that employers are required to develop, maintain and implement that details procedures for assuring a safe working environment for employees. The plan, which must be put into practice, must establish protocols for ensuring a safe working environment.
AIM had circulated an industry-wide memo offering to assist production companies in developing IIPP plans last October. “We said that IIPP plans would be required within a year or a year-and-a-half, and offered to help them put them together,” Dr. Sharon Mitchell, AIM’s executive director, told AVN.com. “I didn’t get one call.”
