Young Workers & Workplace Safety

Workplace safety is the most important lesson a young worker can learn at his or her first job. By educating young workers about the importance of on-the-job safety, we can build a better future for all of us.

About 70 teens die in the U.S. each year from work-related accidents. Another 77,000 or so suffer injuries severe enough that they go to a hospital emergency room. Because only one-third of work-related injuries are seen in emergency departments, it is likely that nearly 230,000 teens suffer work-related injuries each year.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the top causes for young worker fatalities include motor vehicle accidents, machine-related accidents, electrocutions, and falls. The DOL also reports an increase in other young worker fatality causes, such as: unsafe equipment, stressful work conditions, inadequate safety training, inadequate supervision, and dangerous work that is either illegal or inappropriate for young workers.

Other sites with excellent information about young workers and workplace safety include:

• Teen Workers at www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers
• CareerSafe at www.careersafeonline.com, and
• Young Worker Safety & Health at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/youth.

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