Checklist: Prevent Working Teen Injuries

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employers can take the following simple steps to help prevent injuries to working teens ("Employer's Safety Checklist for Young Workers "and "Employer's Pocket Guide on Youth Employment, Youth Rules!"):

Understand and comply with child labor laws and occupational safety and health regulations that apply to your business. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) limits the hours that minors under 16 can work and prohibits employing minors under age 18 for certain hazardous occupations.

Stress safety, particularly among first-line supervisors who have the greatest opportunity to influence teens and their work habits. Make sure that adolescent workers are appropriately trained and supervised to prevent injuries and hazardous exposures.

Work with supervisors and experienced workers to develop an injury and illness prevention program and to help identify and solve safety and health problems. Many injuries can be prevented through simple work redesign.

Assess and eliminate hazards for adolescent workers. The FLSA prohibits assigning teens to tasks and tools that have accounted for a large number of injuries, such as driving a car or truck, operating tractors or other heavy equipment and using power tools.

Train adolescent workers to recognize hazards and use safe work practices. This is especially important because teens may have had little work experience, and new workers have a higher risk of injury.

In addition to these general guidelines, employers can take specific measures to help teens work safely. The U.S. Department of Labor recommends that employers take the following four steps to help prepare teens to work safely:

Double-check tasks

1.  Give them clear instructions and tell them what safety precautions to take.

2.  Ask them to repeat your instructions and give them an opportunity to ask questions.

3.  Show them how to perform the task.

4.  Watch them while they do it, correcting any mistakes.

5.  Ask if they have any additional questions.

Once young workers know what to do and have demonstrated that they can do the job right, check again later to be sure they are continuing to do the task correctly. Don't let them take short cuts with safety. Be sure that supervisors and co-workers set a good example by following all the appropriate rules.

Show them how to use safety equipment

The FLSA prohibits young workers from doing tasks identified as particularly hazardous, including operating heavy equipment, using meat slicing machines, working late at night and using certain power tools. This does not eliminate every hazard, however, and some teens may still need to wear protective equipment such as safety shoes, hard hats or gloves, depending on the nature of their work. Be sure that teens know when they need to wear protective gear, where to find it, how to use it, and how to care for it.

In other cases, teens may simply need to know about safety features of equipment or facilities. For example, they may need to be aware that they must keep exit doors free from clutter, assure that safety guards remain on machinery or assure that equipment is turned off or disconnected at the end of each shift.

Prepare teens for emergencies

Every worker needs to be ready to handle an emergency. Employers should prepare teens to escape a fire, handle potentially violent customers, deal with power outages or face any other risks that affect your business. Teens also need to know where to go if an injury occurs and they need first aid or medical care.

A strong safety and health program involving every worker at your business is your best defense against workplace injuries.