Teens @ Work

What Working Teens --and their Parents--Should Know About Health and Safety on the Job

Could I Get Hurt or Sick on the Job?   What are My Rights on the Job? What hazards should I watch for? Is it okay to do any kind of work? Should I be working this long or this late? What if I need help? 

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Especially for parents and other adults:  Talk to your children about unions  What is known about work by teens and how it affects their physical and emotional health and social functioning? How can schools get involved in community-based approaches to preventing young worker injuries? How about school to work? Travelling youth crews--special dangers

Can Teen Jobs Be Dangerous?

Students will soon be leaving classrooms for summer or permanent employment. Although working is a sign of a healthy, productive life, it is not without hazards. Many young workers die or are seriously injured each year at work.

For example, a 17-year-old lifeguard died on May 30, 2000, in Pennsylvania, after falling into a nearly empty swimming pool. The incident occurred on her first day of seasonal work as she worked with a crew to prepare the pool for the summer season. In another recent case, a 15-year-old Utah youth working part-time in a grocery store had his right arm amputated when it became caught in a meat grinder he was reassembling.

These were not isolated incidents. In 1999, 72 youths under age 18 died from work-related injuries. In 1998, 77,000 youths sustained injuries serious enough to require treatment in an emergency room. Since only one-third of all work-related injuries are seen in emergency rooms, NIOSH estimates that nearly 200,000 adolescents suffer work-related injuries annually. Research suggests that inexperience, inadequate training, and the failure of adults to prevent youths from performing dangerous jobs are factors associated with these injuries.

Traveling youth crews, which go door-door selling magazines or other products, are legal in most areas, but there are many dangers in this kind of work. The Interstate Labor Standards Association has issued a special report on youth traveling crews.

What Are My Rights on the Job?

By law, your employer must provide:

A safe and healthful workplace.

Safety and health training, in many situations, including providing information on chemicals that could be harmful to your health.

For many jobs, payment for medical care if you get hurt or sick because of your job. You may also be entitled to lost wages.

 A minimum wage of not less than $4.25 may be paid to employees under the age of 20 for their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with any employer as long as their work does not displace other workers. After 90 consecutive days of employment, or when the worker reaches age 20 (whichever comes first), the worker must receive the minimum wage of $5.15 per hour.

Some states have a higher minimum wages which may be higher than the Federal wage, but not Kansas, and lower wages may be allowed when workers receive tips from customers.

You also have a right to:

Report safety problems to OSHA.

Work without racial or sexual harassment.

Refuse to work if the job is immediately dangerous to your life or health.

Join or organize a union.

Is It OK to Do Any Kind of Work?

NO! There are laws that protect teens from doing dangerous work.

No worker under 18 may:

Drive a motor vehicle as a regular part of the job or operate a forklift at any time.

Operate many types of powered equipment like a circular saw, box crusher, meat slicer, or bakery machine.

Work in wrecking, demolition, excavation, or roofing.

Work in mining, logging, or a sawmill.

Work in meat-packing or slaughtering.

Work where there is exposure to radiation.

Work where explosives are manufactured or stored.

Also, no one 14 or 15 years old may:

Bake or cook on the job (except at a serving counter).

Operate power-driven machinery, except certain types which pose little hazard such as those used in offices.

Work on a ladder or scaffold.

Work in warehouses.

Work in construction, building, or manufacturing.

Load or unload a truck, railroad car, or conveyor.

Should I Be Working This Long or This Late

       Youths 18 or older may perform any job, whether hazardous or not, for unlimited hours, in accordance with minimum wage and overtime requirements.

      Youths 16 and 17 years old may perform any nonhazardous job, for unlimited hours.

      Youths 14 and 15 years old may work outside school hours in various nonmanufacturing, nonmining, nonhazardous jobs up to

• 3 hours on a school day
• 18 hours in a school week
• 8 hours on a non-school day
• 40 hours on a non-school week
  Also, work must be performed between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m.

What If I Need Help?

Talk to your boss about the problem.

Talk to your parents or teachers.

For a Hazard Alert on preventing injuries and deaths of adolescent workers or for information on specific workplace hazards, contact NIOSH at 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) and ask for Report #95-125 or visit the NIOSH website

For more information on working safe, visit the Department of Labor website (www.dol.gov) or the Youth Rules website (www.youthrules.dol.gov ) or call toll free 1 866 4US WAGE (1 866 487 9243). The Kansas direct number is 1 913 551 5724.

If necessary contact one of these government agencies.

• OSHA -- to make a health or safety complaint. 800-356-4674
• WAGE and HOUR - to make a complaint about underpaid wages, uncompensated hours worked, or illegal work by minors under 18. Call toll free 1 866 487 9243 or the direct Kansas number 1 913 551 5724. Information also available at www.dol.gov
• .Equal Employment Opportunities Commission -- to make a complaint about sexual harassment or discrimination.
•  Kansas Department of Human Resources, Office of Employment Standards 785-296-4062
• (see Wage & Hour) www.youthrules.dol.gov

 

You have a right to speak up!

It is illegal for your employer to fire or punish you for reporting a workplace problem.