Scuba safety requirements would prevent workplace deaths, bill supporters say

Brady Aune was 20 years old when he drowned at work. Joe Anderson was 18.

Their parents say both deaths were 100% preventable.

Speaking to the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee Tuesday, an emotional David Anderson said a summer job with a company that clears lakes and ponds of aquatic plants sounded ideal to his son Joe, who loved the water. He would strap on masks and gear, head into the water and harvest weeds. May 24, 2024, was Joe’s third day on the job and his first using scuba gear. He had about 15 minutes of training.

The lake was a former quarry called a dirty lake, and the day was so overcast, the streetlights went on. Joe disappeared in what was supposed to be 6 or 8 feet of water but turned out to be 20 feet when they found him. A coworker tried to revive Joe but wasn’t CPR certified and called the fire department. Despite heroic efforts, he never regained consciousness and passed away a few days later.

“There isn't a minute or hour or day that I don't think about him,” David Anderson said.

David Anderson gives emotional testimony regarding the death of his son, Joseph, right photo, who died in a May 2024 workplace drowning. Also pictured is Anderson’s wife, Laurie, and Bill Aune, who lost his son, Brady, left photo, in a similar 2022 incident. (Photo by Michele Jokinen)

David and Laurie Anderson and William and Dina Aune recounted similar circumstances in their sons’ deaths: little or no training; inadequate equipment they didn’t know how to use; insufficient supervision while they were in the water; no dive buddy or tether; no one nearby who was CPR certified. And everyone assumed the job would be safe.

“We trusted the company, we trusted the industry, and we trusted the law,” Laurie Anderson said.

Holes in labor law allow those circumstances and needs to change, Brady and Joe’s parents said.   

To that end, Rep. Dave Baker (R-Willmar) sponsors HF1355, which seeks to address the gaps in occupational health and safety laws by implementing two critical safety measures.

Per an amendment approved by the committee, the legislation would be called the “Brady Aune and Joseph Anderson Safety Act.” Approved on a voice vote Tuesday, the bill is on its way to the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee.

First, the bill would require employees to have open-water scuba certification. Second, the bill would require the use of buoyancy control devices, which allow divers to surface quickly in an emergency. The devices cost a few hundred dollars.

Additionally, permits would be denied to companies that have received one or more OSHA citations involving scuba diving in the past two years.

Both families believe more deaths are inevitable without legislative action. They asked for urgency as businesses are gearing up for the season.

"We pray our beautiful boys will be the last ones taken," Dina Aune said.