From an Industry Insider
After carefully reading the Treasure Island Media decision
It is from the appellate court saying that porn stars are employees and affirms that OSHA has jurisdiction over them; furthermore it established a 6 month statue of limitations from the date of production for OSHA to go prosecute an adult producer for failing to use barrier protection. OSHA does not and will not have to go on set prosecute someone.
This could be bad news, doubly so for Companies no longer pulling permits for their shoots in LA County….(see anyone you know Jakodema?)
9 Responses
Cal OSHA Does Not have to Go on Set To Fine You – Reader Mail http://t.co/PMHUxyQWle
lol well the 6 months is unconstitutional becuase the statue of limitations for infecting someone with a std is far greater than that believe its 20 yrs. and that is not the norm for every other industry practice in the us and would be labeld as discriminatory. not that i want to help the porn industry in any way but the last thing these poor girls need is discriminatory laws in place preventing them from seeking proper retribution for other criminal actions.
Im no attorney by any stretch but the statute for the criminal offense probably has no real bearing on the OSHA limitations because with OSHA that wouldnt be a criminal offense. Im sure someone here can probably explain it better than I can but I think an OSHA fine is more of a regulatory than a criminal thing,
Im no attorney by any stretch but the statute for the criminal offense probably has no real bearing on the OSHA limitations because with OSHA that wouldnt be a criminal offense. Im sure someone here can probably explain it better than I can but I think an OSHA fine is more of a regulatory than a criminal thing, http://wp.me/p7v9m-2nW#comment-17407
they are hand in hand corse they do dont need to e an attorney to know that just a company with a liablity policy and a decent insurance rep.
Mike: You are correct. OSHA does not have criminal jurisdiction. It takes civil actions. This is similar to the FDA (they can fine you, but they alone can’t put you in jail) or the Federal Trade Commission (again, they can fine you – and fine you a lot – but they don’t bring criminal actions). Only the district attorney at the local level or AG at the state or federal level can bring a criminal action. That’s not to say that OSHA – or the FTC or FDA – can’t refer a matter to criminal investigators. So, OSHA isn’t fining porn talent for not wearing a condom, any more than OSHA would fine a construction worker for not wearing a hard hat. The responsibility is on the employer, not the employee. Failing to get a filming permit in order to fly under the radar is not just wrong, its stupid, because it shows an effort to avoid regulatory requirements. It demonstrates intent. Regulatory agencies really don’t like it when you willfully try to get around regulations.
To the up to six months, here’s why this is bad news for porn, and it goes to something I’ve written dozens of times. The evidence that a producer has violated the regulations in porn is right there on the screen for everyone to see. You put an unsheathed penis in your production, and you’ve just shown the world, including Cal-OSHA, that you’re thumbing your nose at their regulations.
Now, production studios are supposed to maintain a record of their shoots. Half the time, that record number is at the beginning of the scene.
So, does Cal-OSHA – or County of LA – have to invest millions in dick detectives to visit sets? They do not. They need to spend $29.99 a month for a subscription to Brazzers.com. Heck, spend $118, and they can get a 1 year subscription. Once a morning, all you need is someone to look at Brazzers 3 new posts of the day to tell if there’s a condom. Heck, the easy to navigate jump to the action buttons will get them there in less than a minute per video. At 3 violations a day, Brazzers could probably pay a year’s salary of an inspector in a month, and that’s just one site of one production company. This is not rocket science if OSHA or LA County is serious.
Expect the six months ruling to be further defined along the way. Without having read it I can’t say if this refers to date of incident, date of incident discovery, date of report to employer or many other ways they could interpret the six months; some companies have “shift reports” to report “no incidents” as an incentive for employees to ensure they report anything that happens at the time or risk losing out on employer provided benefits as a bonus to offering compliance records to disprove frivolous complaints.
The ideal of known producers not pulling permits to avoid regulatory compliance is tantamount to a toddler who believes he really is all gone when he plays hide and seek.
Instead of protecting and insulating with a permit etc they set themselves up for harsher and potentially retaliatory penalties that may far outweigh any short term gains. By willfully avoiding this simple matter they expose themselves to unlimited liability for any injury that occurs on set even if they have insurance. This isn’t just about condoms for OPIM it applies to bodily injury from any cause. It also applies to using the permit to prove content ownership. Who knows maybe they are so used to piracy they don’t care?
It’s really starting to sound like IRS audit, in a sense. The IRS doesn’t have enough agents to audit every tax return. They randomly audit returns, follow-up on any reported tax fraud, look for certain “telltale” signs of fraudulent returns or inflated/under inflated figures, BUT if they catch you they can fine and penalize you more than enough to do it again… oh, and criminal charges as well.
I guess then it becomes a matter of how much risk you’re willing to take… what kinds of risk, the financial consequences, the legal and/or criminal consequences, etc. It’s like that for every industry, I suppose?
I still don’t understand how you go underground to shoot and then publicly market your underground product? It’s like illegal drug dealers buying commercial time on TV? Uh, could it get any easier to catch them?
^to never do it again.
Can’t type today either. .. shit.