Child Labor

Ok, here I go again on one of my loonie ideas...

If I decided (as the Property Manager) to "pay" some neighborhood kids to weed our rock areas, is that a problem?

The areas I'm thinking - child labor laws, workers comp, insurance liability, etc.

BUT...how is this different than if I (as the Owner of a unit), pay the kid next door to weed the rock areas in the front of my house. Or pay the kid next door to shovel my sidewalk? I'm NOT considering child labor for snow removal...just pulling some weeds.

Our landscaper sprays weeds in the rock areas...there's no way we could afford him to hand pull weeds. But, I just HATE spraying for weed control. It leaves dead stuff behind that makes the rocks look messy.

Tracie,

I think your idea has merit! Instead of paying the children in money, rather have a pizza party for them afterwards or treat to an ice cream sundae, etc. I think that would be more fun. You could give the group a name -- The XYZ Weed and Feed Team. Maybe even have T-shirts made up. The kids could even use membership in the group to count toward scout badges or community service activities required for scholarships, etc. There would only be one drawback and it's a biggie -- liability. Perhaps that issue could somehow be worked out with the parents. Check with an attorney on this! And, in answer to your question, the big difference is that the HOA is a corp! Most people wouldn't think about suing their neighbor if their child got hurt pulling weeds for them; but not so if the child was pulling weeds for a corp. (a business that has ins and money!!!).