Porn Valley- I had an interesting half morning. I had a quick chat with the new owner of Penthouse Marc Bell. And I can tell you that Bell is as far removed from Bob Guccione as a pagan from The Pope. I also talked to Brazilian bombshell Sofia Sandobar about how she almost broke Mac Turner’s dick. But the chat that kicked off the day was mine with David Pies. Pies is the chief litigator for Cal-OSHA and probably for want of a better way of describing it, will be the new porn Czar. At least as far as this industry is concerned.
And the fact that I’m even talking to Pies is the 100% certainty that OSHA is now stepping in. In our phone chat, Pies strikes me as a very congenial man. For the time being he’s gathering background on the industry and how it operates, particularly the relationship of the performers to the porn companies. Are they employees or are they contractors? Pies and I both agree it’s a little of both depending on the circumstances of the time and day.
“That raises a very intersting issue,” says I. “And it’s been debated both ways with equal merit.”
“I think sometimes depending on what they’re asked to do and how they do it, they could be one time an employee,” Pies thinks. “Another time there might be more discretion as to what they’re going to do and so forth that might make them a contractor. But from what I can tell this has more of the characteristics of an employer-employee type of relationship.
“Especially with the women,” Pies continues. “A contractor when he shows up, he makes his own hours, decides what he’s going to do and how he’s going to do it. And as long as he gets the job done that’s all the person cares about.”
Pies says before anything else falls into place, Cal-OSHA is looking at TT Boy’s company. “That’s why we’re involved because some of the performers have contracted HIV- theoretically- in the process of making their particular production. Whether they did or not, I don’t know the answer to that.”
Pies says there’s a staff that has already been talking to the principals involved. “They’ve talked to Miss Arroyo. They’ve talked to Lara Roxx; Jessica Dee- they’ve met with her. And they’ve talked to Darren James, or his attorney, anyway.” Pies says once the appeals process is complete, he’ll be handling the appeal for OSHA. “To show that they’re employees and because of that they need to be provided protection and they can’t lose that right.”
Citations have been issued as we all know. “They were issued the citations and they have appealed them,” says Pies. “Basically there will be a hearing before an administrative law judge and jury to determine whether there was a violation of standards by that particular employer. One of the defenses will be that the standard doesn’t apply because there’s no employer-employee relationship. Another defense will probably be some sort of First Amendment right. But I don’t think that applies to a health and safety issue. It might fly in the concept of freedom of expression, but if an employee is asked to do something that affects their health, I don’t see how that comes under the protection of freedom of expression. But that will probably be something that will be litigated also.”
According to Pies, it’s now a matter of the Appeals Board setting a date for the hearing. But Pies doesn’t expect anything conclusive to happen before April. “Sometimes it takes from six to eight months from the time we issue a citation,” he says.