What a tragedy. Having said that, suing an employer for your teenage son’s fatal error in judgment appears to be a popular diversion for parents. They don’t want to believe they didn’t get the message across to their son so they try to shift the blame. This hotel is in a very conservative, rural area of PA. It is not a “night spot” with a lounge and a band. The real issuse here is where did the kid get the liquor? The article admits that cannot be determined so the only thing the plaintiffs can do is point a finger at the employer. Not many employers provide free alcohol to a 16 year old kid.
Working a double shift isn’t the real issue either. Teenagers can do without sleep for long periods of time. If the parents were so concerned about the amount of time he worked, why didn’t they bother to call the hotel and speak with the manager? Why did they allow the boy to be out until 3:00am? There’s more to this story than meets the eye.
These parents are way out of line. It must be tragic to lose your child, so I can cut them some slack…but where’s their legal advice coming from ?
IF a minor shouldn’t be working double shifts, shouldn’t the parents have intervened before he worked the shift ??
As for his “unfettered” access to alcohol….as a waiter he probably had “unfettered” access to cash too. Would it be the hotel’s fault if he stole that too ?
He was a 17 year old with bad judgement…that’s almost a redundancy. It’s also a tragedy….but that doesn’t mean someone is liable.
It is a real sad thing – but how many of us are only still here because of plain ol’luck? A huge number of teens do this very same thing – if he didn’t get it from his employer it would have been someone else – maybe even his parents.
Are you sure working 16 hours straight is legit? just asking…it might be worth looking up though. Beause the law has stipulations on how long people can work, even folks like you and I, without a break, etc…but if he managed to get drunk before clocking out…well then wouldn’t he be at fault for drinking on company time?
You could make a case that if he had an accident because he was tired after a long shift, MAYBE the hotel had some liability for working him too long if that’s what the labor laws are there….but I would think a jury would have to apportion blame between being tired, which might be the hotel’s fault…and being drunk which is the kid’s fault…..but since parents are responsible for the actions of their children…..its their fault.
I also worked at a hotel during high school and college, and how we (the hotel and myself) got around some of the rules for my hours was that I worked for 2 departments–desk and restaurant. I could exceed 8 hours in a day when split into 2 separate departmental time cards. That said though, my parents were quick to keep an eye on my overall times put in, as well as hours of the day I worked.
As for the availability of liquor–sure, many of us knew where it was located, and even how to access it, whether locked up or not. Fortunately, no one at the time injured themselves (either from hours worked or alcohol) but at that time–the late 70s—our parent generally would not have looked to blame the hotel.
This is such a tragedy that is getting all too common. I feel for the parents as I mayself have two daughters (18 & 24)
and shudder to think that this could be one of them, HOWEVER, this is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. Responsibility….I see that the Hotel Group was fined in August, 2006 for violating child labor laws. I don’t know about Penn., but in Calif., minors cannot work than so many hours per day…double shifts? That’s simply ludicrous. Anyone from PENN know the laws? I can see the hotel for being responsible for the child labor issue, but the drinking issue is another story.
No matter what you tell your kids, how well they are brought up, etc….it still boils down to their OWN responsibility.
That teen knew exactly what he was doing.
They say that by age 4,5 or 6, a child knows right from wrong. Wow….16 hour shift, drinking, going home at 3AM…not a good mixture. I can’t say “blame the parents” – they are only to blame for the minor child’s WILLFUL misconduct. How do we know it’s not willful? I am sure most 17 year olds tell themselves “it’ll never happen to me”. I agree…that there is more to this story….what a shame…
Perhaps the hotel should charge the kid with theft.
As far as sympathy for the parents, I have none. To sue for money, especially under these circumstances, is disgusting. I may be angry and want to cast blame, but I would be at the labor board, not filing suit at an attorney’s office. This is another “cha ching,” on the kid’s life. Shame on Mom and Dad.
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What a tragedy. Having said that, suing an employer for your teenage son’s fatal error in judgment appears to be a popular diversion for parents. They don’t want to believe they didn’t get the message across to their son so they try to shift the blame. This hotel is in a very conservative, rural area of PA. It is not a “night spot” with a lounge and a band. The real issuse here is where did the kid get the liquor? The article admits that cannot be determined so the only thing the plaintiffs can do is point a finger at the employer. Not many employers provide free alcohol to a 16 year old kid.
Working a double shift isn’t the real issue either. Teenagers can do without sleep for long periods of time. If the parents were so concerned about the amount of time he worked, why didn’t they bother to call the hotel and speak with the manager? Why did they allow the boy to be out until 3:00am? There’s more to this story than meets the eye.
These parents are way out of line. It must be tragic to lose your child, so I can cut them some slack…but where’s their legal advice coming from ?
IF a minor shouldn’t be working double shifts, shouldn’t the parents have intervened before he worked the shift ??
As for his “unfettered” access to alcohol….as a waiter he probably had “unfettered” access to cash too. Would it be the hotel’s fault if he stole that too ?
He was a 17 year old with bad judgement…that’s almost a redundancy. It’s also a tragedy….but that doesn’t mean someone is liable.
Can parents sue themselves for negligence?
It is a real sad thing – but how many of us are only still here because of plain ol’luck? A huge number of teens do this very same thing – if he didn’t get it from his employer it would have been someone else – maybe even his parents.
Are you sure working 16 hours straight is legit? just asking…it might be worth looking up though. Beause the law has stipulations on how long people can work, even folks like you and I, without a break, etc…but if he managed to get drunk before clocking out…well then wouldn’t he be at fault for drinking on company time?
You could make a case that if he had an accident because he was tired after a long shift, MAYBE the hotel had some liability for working him too long if that’s what the labor laws are there….but I would think a jury would have to apportion blame between being tired, which might be the hotel’s fault…and being drunk which is the kid’s fault…..but since parents are responsible for the actions of their children…..its their fault.
I also worked at a hotel during high school and college, and how we (the hotel and myself) got around some of the rules for my hours was that I worked for 2 departments–desk and restaurant. I could exceed 8 hours in a day when split into 2 separate departmental time cards. That said though, my parents were quick to keep an eye on my overall times put in, as well as hours of the day I worked.
As for the availability of liquor–sure, many of us knew where it was located, and even how to access it, whether locked up or not. Fortunately, no one at the time injured themselves (either from hours worked or alcohol) but at that time–the late 70s—our parent generally would not have looked to blame the hotel.
This is such a tragedy that is getting all too common. I feel for the parents as I mayself have two daughters (18 & 24)
and shudder to think that this could be one of them, HOWEVER, this is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves. Responsibility….I see that the Hotel Group was fined in August, 2006 for violating child labor laws. I don’t know about Penn., but in Calif., minors cannot work than so many hours per day…double shifts? That’s simply ludicrous. Anyone from PENN know the laws? I can see the hotel for being responsible for the child labor issue, but the drinking issue is another story.
No matter what you tell your kids, how well they are brought up, etc….it still boils down to their OWN responsibility.
That teen knew exactly what he was doing.
They say that by age 4,5 or 6, a child knows right from wrong. Wow….16 hour shift, drinking, going home at 3AM…not a good mixture. I can’t say “blame the parents” – they are only to blame for the minor child’s WILLFUL misconduct. How do we know it’s not willful? I am sure most 17 year olds tell themselves “it’ll never happen to me”. I agree…that there is more to this story….what a shame…
Perhaps the hotel should charge the kid with theft.
As far as sympathy for the parents, I have none. To sue for money, especially under these circumstances, is disgusting. I may be angry and want to cast blame, but I would be at the labor board, not filing suit at an attorney’s office. This is another “cha ching,” on the kid’s life. Shame on Mom and Dad.
Here’s a link to PA Labor laws if anyone cares:
http://www.dli.state.pa.us/landi/lib/landi/laborlaw/pdf/llc-5.pdf
In summary, they say that a 17 year old can’t work more than 8 hours a day and can’t work after midnight on a school night, 1 am on the weekend.