The complaint, filed with Nevada's Occupational Health and Safety Administration, alleges that a June production may have exposed adult film actors employed by Kink to bloodborne pathogens because condoms were not used on set. The complaint states that Kink "allowed, and upon information and belief may have encouraged, employees to engage in activities in Las Vegas that are highly likely to spread bloodborne pathogens and OPIM [other potentially infectious materials] in the workplace."
The Nevada complaint is the most recent complaint brought against Kink by AHF. A 2013 complaint filed by AHF with Cal/OSHA led to a $78,710 fine for Kink. Karen Tynan, a lawyer for Kink, said the company is in the process of appealing this fine before the California Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board.
In a statement, AHF president Michael Weinstein blasted Kink owner Peter Acworth for potentially endangering workers. "Under the guise of his various Kink and Kink.com, adult film businesses and brands, owner Peter Acworth thinks he and his companies can simply ignore the Federal OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard with regard to required condom use in his adult film productions shot in Nevada," Weinstein said in a statement. "Are workers in Nevada any less entitled to protection from harm than those in California?"
Acworth responded, saying that AHF's most recent complaint against his company is baseless. "It wasn't filed by anyone at the actual workplace, but by Michael Weinstein to bolster his current political campaign. Current federal regulations make no mention of condoms, and uses standards that were developed in the 1990s for hospital labs, not porn sets," Acworth said.
Tynan said Kink would defend itself against the OSHA complaint. "We have a terrific exposure control plan and rely on the industry's testing protocols" to protect workers from sexually transmitted diseases and bloodborne pathogens, Tynan said.
