Jesus that machine he was using looks like it would take off way more that just legs if it lurched.
A bigger question I have is who the fuck has a 16 year old working construction??? I’m fairly certain there’s no way any of that kind of work falls into “legal for a minor to operate” especially considering minors aren’t even allowed to operate cardboard compactors at retail stores.
This is gross negligence by the boss, and it’s very very common in smaller construction companies and crews. Allowing a minor to operate heavy machinery is
dumbillegal to start with, but the kid learned unsafe behavior from his coworkers, who likely never had any proper safety training themselves. Garbage in, garbage out. (Walk behind trenchers are shite anyway, pay the extra $50 to rent a ride-on trencher)There is a place for teenagers on a construction site, but it’s not in high risk areas or work. So much can be learned about work ethic, practical skills, and the challenging realities of construction without risking life and limb.
I grew up in a construction household. My dad was a small time contractor. Custom homes, spec builds, one at a time, bank financed, that sort of thing. I go into that detail to say we weren’t rich, not even middle-class until I was almost graduated from high school (secondary school). Also this isn’t an endorsement for how I was raised, just my lived experience.
I learned to run a skid-steer at 13. I was cutting lumber for the framers by the time I was 15. In many ways the skills I learned as a child set me up for success as an adult. But I also learned so many unsafe practices and endangered myself from a young age because of that casual familiarly with dangerous work and locations. The entirety of my twenties was spent unlearning bad habits and practices. I’m still working at it now.
The only time teenagers should be working on construction sites is if the company has a very strong safety culture, which means they won’t put kids in high risk situations. Parents should absolutely be checking these things before allowing their kids to work
Rotschy, which routinely hired teenage workers amid recent labor shortages, violated the law when supervisors assigned tasks known to be dangerous and prohibited for minors to perform.
L&I later issued significant fines against Rotschy for the incident, but has for years approved special “variances” for the company to hire minors despite its history of serious safety violations.
For their part, Derrik and his parents say they do not hold Rotschy responsible. It was a fluke, an unlucky break — not the company being neglectful, they said.
“I don’t think Rotschy failed my son in any way,” Derrik’s dad said. “All these events culminated into this accident.”
I hope they were paid very, very handsomely to say that.
Oh Rotschy. L&I isn’t the only regulatory agency penalizing them. I would not set foot in a building their crews constructed.
You have no idea how much corporate bootlickers love to bootlick. Even at the expense of their own kids.
I guarantee you this guy is an avid Newsmax watcher.
In fact, I’m suspicious of both of his parents:
“I told Mom not to get angry … upset,” he interrupted, then paused. “What did I say?”
and
“I cut my legs off. Then, of course, she yells at me.”
I got the same vibe. From the kid’s expectations and reactions, to the parents’ own words on the incident:
“I don’t think Rotschy [the company] failed my son in any way,” Derrik’s dad said. “All these events culminated into this accident.”
The kid is on defense from the moment he tells his mom that something bad happened to him, then his dad absolves the company of any wrong-doing. Healthy, loving, supportive families don’t react like that. If his parents aren’t chugging the kool-aid, I’d be astounded.
Okay, so who the fuck thinks it’s cool to let kids use machinery capable of ripping up rocks and dirt with relatively little effort?
Show of hands. No one?
Somebody belongs in jail over this.
It looks in the same category as equipment like lawnmowers. That is, kids shouldn’t be operating them, especially not without close supervision and thorough safety training.
Tbh, sounds like child labor to me even if it was “legal”. Like school credit for hours on a construction job wtf? Like I thought maybe he was some how doing a metal working/machinist class and somehow got fucked up by a lathe or something, but Jesus fucking Christ, what are you gonna learn doing construction work?
I got school credit working at McDonalds. You learn all sorts of stuff, like how to show up on time (something I was shocked I would have to later teach people as a manager) and I personally learned the phrase “you got time to lean, you got time to clean” (which I use to this day to irritate my children). Obviously, no child should be put into a dangerous job, but you do lean some things by actually experiencing the work environment. And construction is a legit, respectable job/career that (if done right/safely) a teen could learn a lot from.
Which subject did “show up on time” give you credit towards?
Keeping employed?
Is that a school subject in America?
… exactly the right lessons for those in power.
Jesus fucking Christ, what are you gonna learn doing construction work?
Wheelchair-based sports apparently.
I couldn’t even read the whole thing, it made me too sick!
I don’t know American regulation, but there is absolutely no way that would be a legal workplace here.
Handling such machinery requires a certificate. Even a simple forklift does.Sounds like it wasn’t legal there either.
But the line is place that’s going to illegally let a 16 year old use a ditch witch probably isn’t too concerned with proper safety training either.
wanna know what’s really getting to me?
There’s a very high chance he wasn’t even being paid a proper wage (it’s required that they’re paid minimum wage. But I doubt very much that they paid higher than that.) And, there’s a non-zero chance that somebody at the school or schoolboard was taking kickbacks for the cheap labor.
in any case, looking at their Child Labor Laws would expressly forbid this.
Specifically in non-agro:
- Operating forklifts or other heavy equipment such as earthmovers, tractors, backhoes, etc.
- Loading, operating, or unloading of paper/cardboard balers or compactors
- Jobs where respiratory protection or hearing protection is required
and in construction:
- Wrecking, demolition, trenching, or excavating
Yep, and tow motors.
