Contractor brought kid to our house - WWYD?

[Anonymous]

One time would be fine. Additional days I would ask about it. There could be an emergency and people have to work, including construction workers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not your issue. It's the responsibility of the contractor to ensure the safety of everyone brought on site and also the team lead's responsibility to ensure that his/her crew is not distracted.

If you were not in the house while they worked, would it matter to you if you knew that the contractor had brought a kid to your house the day before?

Just because you are the customer, you don't get to tell them how to do their jobs or manage their staff.

That’s nuts. It is your house. And you are the customer. You have the final word on this.

[Anonymous]

One off? OK

Habit? No

[Anonymous]

I would assume there was a child care issue that couldn't be solved. And be thankful that the contractor still showed up.

Childcare is a bleed on the economy.

[Anonymous]

Our pool broke once in winter. The pool guy had to come out on emergency call on a weekend. My mom notices his two kids sitting in his truck reading with the heater on. She invited them in to watch tv with us. It was a good lesson.

[Anonymous]

You people are really too much. There is nothing wrong with the contractor bringing his kid. Here’s a tip—leave the house and get out from under the contractor’s nose.

[Anonymous]

I would hate to have a contractor walk off my job because I complained about something like this. You never know how long it would push back your project and how long it would take to get a new crew.

Personally it would not bother me. I think it’s great for kids to have role models.

[Anonymous]

My dad was a contractor and I went to his job site every evening after school because my mom was a nurse working evening shift. My job was to clean up/run the shop vac/remove debris, shingles, whatever. It doesn’t seem to have done me any harm.

Relax. Working class families have many challenges you don’t.

[Anonymous]

Let it go. Construction workers don't have sick pay. If they don't show up they don't get paid.

I had an electrician bring his daughter on a Saturday.
She played and read books while Dad worked.

[Anonymous]

This happened to me once, and I was a little uncomfortable with it, but I understood that maybe there was an emergency and let it go.

But then the contractor asked if the kid could stay with me for a few minutes while he ran to Home Depot. I was an idiot and agreed -- he was gone for HOURS (I still don't know where he went -- it couldn't have been just to Home Depot!) and I was there with this kid I didn't know. The contractor was a sub for our main contractor, so I didn't even have a direct phone number or anything...I was like, is he ever coming back? It was super uncomfortable.

So, to answer the question in the subject line, what I did was let it go and offer free hours-long babysitting. I was a young, pushover of a moron, so I don't recommend that. I think you can let the kids' presence slide if it's an occasional thing, but don't let the contractor leave for "Home Depot" without taking his kid with him!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our pool broke once in winter. The pool guy had to come out on emergency call on a weekend. My mom notices his two kids sitting in his truck reading with the heater on. She invited them in to watch tv with us. It was a good lesson.

Not a good lesson for the kids.

[Anonymous]

There's a difference between letting the kid hang out at the house with the other non-workers, and having him "help" on a job site where he could injure himself and others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d be concerned if the kid got injured on your property.

which would clearly be covered under the Reno company's insurance

What? No. A 9-10 year old is not a legal employee of the company and is not covered by insurance covering the business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not your issue. It's the responsibility of the contractor to ensure the safety of everyone brought on site and also the team lead's responsibility to ensure that his/her crew is not distracted.

If you were not in the house while they worked, would it matter to you if you knew that the contractor had brought a kid to your house the day before?

Just because you are the customer, you don't get to tell them how to do their jobs or manage their staff.

You can forbid violations of child labor laws and you can demand that all workers are covered by workers compensation insurance.

Do not let a child near a construction site. Too much liability for the homeowner.

Are you for real? Bring your child to work day is not a violation of child labor laws. Taking a child to work and showing them what is going on and letting them do some very basic child-appropriate functions is not child labor.

The child is not covered by worker's compensation nor does he need to be. If he gets injured while on the job site, his father (remember, the construction foreman/supervisor?) has personal insurance that will cover the child. The accident happened when the child was in the care of his father and his father is responsible for bringing the child onto his work site. So, their personal insurance covers this. Just like if I bring my child to the office and he gets hurt while with me, my personal insurance is covering the injury and medical treatment. Unless the child was there in an official capacity and brought on by the company holding the contract, neither the contractor, nor the customer (in this case, OP) is responsible.

The father who brought the child is responsible for the child's well-being and insurance. And there is no liability to the customer unless the customer did something that was clearly negligent. In this case, any danger to the child is his father's responsibility.

Even if that were true, the father’s insurance would then go after OP’s homeowner’s insurance.

You people really need to stop advising people incorrectly.

[Anonymous]

I would definitely let this slide at least one day.

We’ve all been there. Help or get out of the way. They have insurance.