According to Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I).
Rodney Eugene Dietrich pleaded guilty to the criminal offense and was sentenced to 30 days of electronic home surveillance. In addition to the monitoring, L&I reports that it owes more than $40,000 in late payment, interest and penalties as well as $2,200 in wages and penalties for failing to pay an employee in 2013.
In 2016, Dietrich pleaded guilty to a tort version of the same offence, the department reported.
L&I argues that from November 2017 to May 2019, Dietrich had two employees and did not provide workers’ compensation insurance. One employee said he was paid cash for his work, while the other traded his work for auto parts and other items.
“Washington employers pay workers’ compensation premiums to ensure that workers and their families are taken care of if they are injured or killed on the job,” said Steve Reinmuth, assistant director of field services. and L&I Public Safety, in a statement. “Breaking the law and passing those costs on to other law-abiding employers is shameful.”
Different name, same scam
Since around 2004, Dietrich operated an auto shop at the same location and changed the name, corporate structure and license number three times. The changes all came after falling behind on workers’ compensation payments, according to L&I, which issued repeated notices and warnings. In 2014, the state revoked Dietrich’s workers’ compensation insurance on all three business entities, which meant he couldn’t hire employees.
Dietrich’s deceptive mannerisms were discovered by L&I employees who drove past the company, which is two miles from L&I’s field office and on a main thoroughfare, and noticed that he appeared to have employees. L&I launched an investigation and staked the company for 18 months.
Related:
