James Deen’s Porn Company Faces Hefty Fine for Health Violations

James Deen is back in the news for yet another not-so-good reason after his porn production company was slapped with an almost $78,000 series of fines for multiple health and safety violations.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) received a complaint about James Deen Productions, also known as Third Rock Enterprises, last December, and began investigating the production company owned by Deen. The violations that were discovered by Cal/OSHA include not mandating that performers wear condoms. The use of condoms in pornography is required by Los Angeles County law. According to the head of the agency, Juliann Sum:

Cal/OSHA requires condom use in adult films to protect workers from exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Third Rock Enterprises failed to protect employees from illness and injury while on set.

The production company also violated laws by not providing vaccines or medical examinations to performers who were potentially exposed to diseases, including Hepatitis B. All said and done, the company racked up nine violations, four of which were determined to be so dangerous that “death or serious harm” could have resulted. The fines associated with all those violations combined total $77,875.

Deen responded to the news of the agency’s decision; according to a press release sent to ATTN:

At no point was any adult performer exposed to any disease while working for James Deen Productions. At no time did any performer contract any illness or suffer any injury while working for James Deen Productions. […] I am not ok with the government dictating what people are allowed to watch in the privacy of their homes. This is a case of an outside organization pushing their personal desires and agenda on the viewers of adult entertainment. Just because the AIDS Healthcare Foundation decides they are not comfortable with certain sexual acts does not mean is should be deemed illegal.

James Deen has been under a lot of criticism over the last few months. In December, he was accused of sexual assault by nine different female adult performers, including his high-profile ex-girlfriend Stoya. After the allegations surfaced, a few different porn companies dropped Deen as a performer.

A law that requires the use of condoms by porn performers in Los Angeles County, known as “Measure B”, was certainly controversial when it passed in 2012–although in this case, Deen was cited under existing Cal/OSHA regulations. However Measure B led to concerns of an exodus of porn companies from Los Angeles when it was first passed. Deen was opposed to that law from the beginning–seems like he’s about to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to regulations in porn.

Editor’s Note: The last paragraph has been updated to more clearly reflect the language of the Cal/OSHA regulations.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.