Labor laws and personal beliefs collide

[fortyfeetunder]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001974593_judedoty08.html

<<...Doty's fight has pitted him against the state, which says he violated child-labor laws by bringing his two eldest sons — Zach, now 15, and Stephen, 12 — to work at his construction business....

" Doty believes a strong work ethic is the most important education a child can receive, which is why he brought the boys to work. The state says he violated child-labor laws by allowing his sons to do jobs that are too dangerous for kids their age....
.
"L&I received several phone calls — some from Doty's co-workers — who were alarmed at the work Zach and Stephen were doing for their dad....

The boys, 13 and 11 at the time, were riding on the peak of a house as it moved down the street, callers reported, pushing up low-hanging traffic lights. They were flagging traffic at construction sites, driving bulldozers and backhoes, and they seldom — if ever — wore protective gear. Fueling fears for the boys' safety, a backhoe flipped with Zach inside.">>


Did anyone think this guy was a couple cans short of a six pack? When I read the part about the house moving incident, I went WHOA, WTF was he thinking? This ain't Bob the Builder, this is by-gosh real construction....

I read the 300+ posts on this topic in Freeperville, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of them thought this guy was totally out of line.

[Union Thug]

1. He is totally out of line.

I can't believe I agree with a freeptard, but this is BS. Why not pay a qualified, union construction worker to do the job? There are many that need the work. Instead, put your kid's live's at risk for some bullshit lesson in work ethics... F*ck him.

[progressivebydesign]

2. Kids benefit from working with Dad.. BUT..

this guy is an idiot. That type of job is suited to a very well trained adult. What a moran.

[geniph]

3. I'm all for kids learning to work

and at that age, there are plenty of other, more appropriate, tasks to which they can be put in a construction business. My husband's a carpentry contractor. When his sons were younger, they worked with him, but by no means did they do THAT kind of work. They were put to work with the magnet picking up nails on the jobsite, helping to clean up trash, do prep work before painting, that kind of stuff. He wouldn't put them to doing what those boys were doing NOW, and they're 18 and 21!