Young worker safety and health
[4] The highest number of teen worker fatalities occur in agricultural work and the retail trades, according to recent data.
[6] Because of their biologic, social, and economic characteristics, young workers have unique and substantial risks for work-related injuries and illnesses.
Besides retail and agriculture, other areas of high risk for work-related injuries include construction and work activities involving motor vehicles and mobile machinery.
Child labor was utilized to varying extents through most of history, but entered public dispute with the beginning of universal schooling, with changes in working conditions during industrialization, and with the emergence of the concepts of workers' and children's rights.
For example, children who worked on tobacco farms experienced a number of negative health effects including nausea, heat exhaustion, and burning eyes.
[14] In 1998, more than half of all work-related nonfatal injuries to young workers occurred in retail trades, more than 60% of which were eating and drinking establishments.
[16] In addition, certain types of machinery prohibited for use by young workers under current child labor laws are commonly found in retail establishments—including food slicers, paper balers, forklifts, dough and batter mixers, and bread cutting machines.
Employers are responsible for becoming familiar with standards applicable to their establishments and for ensuring a safe working environment.
The U.S. Public Health Service has a Healthy People 2020 objective to reduce emergency department injury rates among young workers, ages 15 through 19, to 4.9 injuries/100 full-time equivalents by 2020.
[18] The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plays a lead role in efforts to reduce injuries and illnesses among working youth by conducting and supporting science to guide prevention efforts, disseminating findings, and working with others in collaborative outreach.
[19][20] A workplace may be fully compliant with OSHA regulations and yet may place young workers at risk of injury or illness if applicable federal and state child labor laws are not followed.
Child labor provisions of the FLSA are designed to protect the educational opportunities of minors and prohibit their employment in jobs that pose safety or health risks.
