Young workers are returning to the workforce this summer.  Teenage workers are a large and indispensable part of America’s workforce.  Their youth and inexperience make them the most vulnerable classes of workers.

According to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), teenage workers have a higher rate of injury than their adult counterparts in similar jobs.  In 1998, 77,000 teens were treated for work-related injuries and illnesses in hospital emergency rooms.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows 2.8 million 16 and 17 year olds were employed in 2000.  According to the BLS, there was a total of 5,702 occupational fatalities in 2005.  Young workers (under 16 to age 19) accounted for 166 of those fatalities.  Hazardous environments put youths at risk of serious injuries.  Young workers have been killed on construction sites, during robberies, while working in retail establishments, and while working on farms.  Common non-fatal injuries include sprains and strains, burns, cuts, and bruises.

There are certain federally prohibited actions such as using dangerous equipment like slicers, box crushers, and paper balers, or serving or selling alcohol.  Check with the U.S. Department of Labor and your State Department of Labor for these restrictions plus any limitations on the number of hours or specific hours of the day or night that teens can work.  The following is information from the Fair Labor Standards Act regarding child labor:

“Child Labor: An employee must be at least 16 years old to work in most non-farm jobs and at least 18 to work in non-farm jobs declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. Youths 14 and 15 years old may work outside school hours in various non-manufacturing, non-mining, non-hazardous jobs under the following conditions:

No more than three hours on a school day or 18 hours in a school week; and eight hours on a non-school day or 40 hours in a non-school week.

Also, work may not begin before 7 a.m. or end after 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m. Different rules apply in agricultural employment.”

According to OSHA, “young workers, ages 14-24, are at risk of workplace injury because of their inexperience at work and their physical, cognitive, and emotional developmental characteristics.”  Being new to the job they may be hesitant to ask questions regarding safety and even fail to recognize workplace dangers.

Due to the number of teens who work in the construction industry during the summer months, OSHA and key construction industry stakeholders launched a national 2007 Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign to help keep teenagers safe and healthy on the job.  OSHA is striving to reduce work-related injuries among teenagers by teaching them on-the-job safety.  This campaign highlights the Department of Labor’s YouthRules! Initiative that is designed to bring teenagers, parents, educators, employers, government, unions and advocacy groups together to ensure youth have safe and rewarding work experiences.  OSHA’s Young Worker Initiative is an outreach program that addresses young worker’s safety and health.  Two Web sites you can visit to gain more information on these programs are www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers and www.youthrules.dol.gov.

So remember, when you hire teens to work in your laboratory, you must provide the same safety training that you provide to your regular employees.  Also, if you have a teen family member who will be working for someone else this summer, you can help ensure their safety by inquiring about the safety training that will be provided to the young worker.  Make teen workers aware of their employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace, which includes safety training.

Mary Borg is president of SafeLink, Inc. based in Georgia.