Rotschy LLC, a Vancouver-based construction company, is facing additional fines for child labor law violations after an investigation stemming from a construction site injury where a 16-year-old La Center boy lost his legs last summer.
The teenage boy was using a walk-behind trencher when he was dragged underneath the blade, causing him to lose both legs. The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) safety and health inspection assessed the company a $156,259 fine for letting workers operate equipment without training or experience.
“The young worker was participating in a work-based learning program that allows students to earn credit and gain experience working outside the classroom,” L&I stated in a previous news release. “Washington’s youth employment laws identify prohibited duties for workers under 18 years old. Rotschy had a student-learner exemption permitting minors to do some work that is otherwise prohibited, but use of the walk-behind trencher was not part of the exemption.”
According to an update, L&I issued Rotschy an additional $51,800 in fines for violations of laws designed to protect minor workers.
“There are some jobs that state law says minor workers just can’t do, for their own safety,” said Bryan Templeton, L&I’s Employment Standards Program manager, in a news release. “But the law can only prevent tragic injuries like this when they’re followed. Rotschy knew the rules but still put seven different teenage workers in harm’s way nearly three dozen times.”
L&I investigators found that Rotschy allowed the minors to operate earth-moving machines or heavy equipment or work so close to the machines that they could be injured by them on 35 different occasions, the release stated.
They also denied 11 minor workers meal breaks they are due under law 45 times. Rotschy also worked eight young workers for more hours than state law allows during a school day over 150 times. On one occasion, Rotschy started a teen’s work day before 5 a.m.
These new citations are on top of L&I citing the company for a “willful serious” workplace safety and health violation in December for the incident involving the La Center teen.
L&I also issued an order of immediate restraint suspending Rotschy’s student-learner exemption, according to the release. L&I issued the latest citation on Feb. 22, and the company paid it on March 12. Rotschy has already appealed the safety and health citations.
