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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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:
and in construction:
Sounds like it wasn’t legal there.
But the 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.
Yep, and tow motors.
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.
It’s trencher, it’s specifically mentioned in WA labor law as forbidden.
Basically, a high powered chain saw, except its blades are larger for digging.