The workplace-safety enforcement agency has asked the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute Vancouver-based Rotschy Inc. after state officials concluded the company had broken youth labor laws, resulting in the permanent disability of a minor, according to a letter dated March 7, 2025.
Bryan Templeton, L&I’s employment standards program manager, wrote in the letter that Rotschy had a history of youth labor violations and workplace injuries. He also alleged the company had allowed the teen worker to operate dangerous, prohibited machinery without supervision at the time he suffered his injuries.
“No one should ever have something like this happen to them at work,” Templeton said in a statement to Cascade PBS. “It’s especially tragic when it involves a teenager performing duties well outside of what is allowed by law. Employers bear the ultimate responsibility for keeping their workers safe — regardless of age.”
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The teen worker, participating in a school work program, had been digging a trench for a new fence using a type of machine the law prohibits minors from ever using. When he stopped to check his progress, the ground gave way, dragging his legs underneath the still-running machine. Medics airlifted him to a Portland hospital where he underwent emergency surgery.
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