Fountain Hills businessowner Carolyn Redendo has come out victorious, winning a case and appeal following claims from the Industrial Commission of Arizona that she had violated laws pertaining to minors entering a restaurant kitchen.

The restaurant in question is Sofrita, located in downtown Fountain Hills. Back in 2018, an anonymous tip to the Industrial Commission led to an investigation from the organization concerning the hiring and work conditions of individuals under the age of 16. The original complaint claimed Redendo had local youth working longer hours than allowed and without breaks.

When the Industrial Commission followed up on the claims, they requested business records and sent an investigator to look into the matter. In the end, the commission primarily focused on teenage workers entering the Sofrita kitchen to drop off dishes after busing tables. The commission claimed employees that young could not enter the kitchen under any circumstances, slapping Redendo with an $800 fine and an additional $200 fine for, in their opinion, taking too long to turn over requested documents. These fines came in 2020, nearly two years after the original complaint.

Rather than accept the fine, Redendo decided to fight and appealed the decision made by the Industrial Commission.

Redendo’s attorney, Douglas Schumacher, took the case pro bono and won, with a judge ruling last year that the commission had misread the statute backing its fines.

The commission decided to appeal the decision and lost a second time. This final ruling was passed down Thursday, June 16. This decision was made by a three-judge panel, which ruled that the law states teenagers under the age of 16 may not cook or bake in a restaurant kitchen, but nothing in the wording suggests those teens cannot enter the kitchen to drop off dishes.

In the end, the workplace safety citations were thrown out, along with the combined $1,000 in fines.

According to Redendo, she fought the fines because she never felt she was in the wrong, but she did not expect the process would roll out over the course of four years.

“I knew, wholeheartedly, that I was not in the wrong, and paying the fine would be admitting that the accusations were correct,” Redendo said.

She thought she would be able to represent herself to fight the original accusations, but quickly learned she would need a lawyer. Redendo said she was grateful to Schumacher, who represented her in the initial case and the appeal free of charge.

“It was a relief,” she said. “It’s been a long process, but we’re good to go now.”

Redendo admitted that she never expected to get so much press out of the situation, but her story has gone on to be picked up both in state and through various outlets across the country.

“It’s been four years and I’ve never really discussed it with many people,” Redendo said. “Now I’ve been doing interviews in other states, which is kind of funny. But I guess it really does touch on many issues. I thought it was a minute issue. I never realized it would be this big.”