My name is Jenine DiConti. I have repeatedly asked the father of our child over the past 5 years to please not bring our daughter Madison (5 yrs old) to his landscaping job-sites (commercial/residential). There is heavy equipment (skid loaders, tractors, sharp tools chemicals and holes/ditches unfenced. She does not wear any safety gear or proper protective clothing. Keep in mind he is a owner/OPERATOR on the job-sites and comes home each day after putting in 10 hour days. I am tired of being met with resistance and so I have decided to take a proactive approach to this dilemma and ask for specific steps he can take to reduce risk and protect Madison. She is bored, she spends time in the truck or outside "helping Daddy". I personally have seen my daughter running around and playing on the job-sites, "helping" unknown laborers (some who are plucked right off of a street corner (many are illegal immigrants with little to no prior experience and incapable of even communicating to Madison in English in effort to ask her to "get out of their way". She gets under foot. I have seen him yelling at the men to "get out of the way" while operating earth moving equipment vehicles. To be honest with you even on the smaller jobs I worry about the mowers, sharp garden tools, electrical and gasoline cutters blowers, saws and trimmers. HE has even asked Madison to help daddy carry these tools from point a to point b. He disregards my suggestions that he at least stand over and supervise or instruct her on the proper way to carry the items. Since Madison is not an official employee OSHA does not cover this area of concern. Is there any recourse I can take to bring Randall into compliance so he must at least make sure she is in protective clothing or has a child care person accompany him to these jobs? Can I file a complaint? We are not strapped financially and so there is no reason for him not to leave her with a qualified daycare provider or even with me. He insists on bringing her with him as opposed to childcare services. Madison is being exposed to pesticides, extreme heat and even cold or rainy conditions. Each property is a new and unfamiliar turf with it's own set of risks. If workers are required to wear personal protective equipment like goggles, gloves, hearing protection, masks, hard hats and sturdy footwear isn't it doubly important that our child be protected? For the record, he already backed into his 2 year old son twenty years ago with a trailer and the boy had to get stitches in his head. I am a concerned mother is all and i just want to be able to prevent an injury or death to my child.
Posted by jeninediconti