The family of a 17- year old employee of Automotive & Truck Services, Inc., who died while unhooking a vehicle he had towed to an impound lot, cannot sue the company for violating child labour laws as per the ruling of an appeals court in Wisconsin.
Joshua Reif was asked to drive a tow truck by is company in violation of state laws that barred him from doing so because he was not 18 yet. Reif, who was in Brookfield because of an apprentice program was made to operate vehicles illegally along with other minors by the company, which an investigation by the Department of Workforce Development revealed, had committed 1,434 violations of child labour. As a result regulators fined the company $12,000 in penalty wages.
The Waukesha boy's parents along with his estate agents sued Automotive and its insurance company for damages related to his death. A Waukesha County judge dismissed the case however, stating that state law only allowed compensation through the workers' compensation program. Under state law, the compensation program is for employees injured in work accidents to seek recourse from their employers.
The estate's lawyers plan on appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
To read more about the case click here.
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