Young Worker Safety

Young workers can be an asset to the workforce – enthusiastic, hard working, and eager to learn.  However, young people are at higher risk of work-related injuries and illnesses.

Across the country, the number of young workers injured on the job is alarming — every six minutes a teenager suffers an injury serious enough to require emergency room treatment. Every year 200 thousand young workers are injured on the job, and seventy teens die from their injuries. Many of these deaths and injuries are preventable.

As teens search for summer jobs, it is a good time to highlight the importance of preventing teen workplace injuries and raise awareness about child labor and workplace health and safety issues. State Fund believes information and education leads to a safer workplace, and offers tips for youth, colleagues, parents, and anyone else who knows a young worker.

It is important to be aware of what job and working hours restrictions the California Labor Code mandates for teenagers.

An important step to prevent injuries is to recognize workplace dangers. Common job-related injuries among teens include:

• slips, trips and falls
• strains and sprains
• chemical exposure
• burns and cuts
• hearing loss
• motor vehicle crashes
• electrocution
• machinery malfunctions

It is also important to be aware of dangers and focused on safety while working jobs that pose a higher risk for young people:

• Handling cash late at night in retail stores or fast food operations, especially when alone.
• Working around hot oil or grease in restaurants.
• Driving remains one of the leading causes of job injury and death among 16 & 17 year old workers, even though federal law prohibits driving as an occupation for those under 18.
• Working at heights in construction jobs.
• Selling candy and other consumer goods door-to-door and on the street, which poses increased risk of motor vehicle injury and vulnerability to assaults and abductions.

Employers are required to provide a safe workplace, but young workers also share in the responsibility for safety. As an industry leader in safety, State Fund offers several resources on young worker safety, including a Guide for Working Teens, also available in Spanish.

Additional resource: Young Worker Summer Job Safety