Contents

Introduction
Facts about Young Worker Safety and Health
Steps in Coordinating a Young Worker Project
Forming Partnerships with Schools
Developing Teen Peer Education Programs
Involving Parents
Linking with Job Training Programs
Including Healthcare Providers
Working With Employers
Reaching the Broader Community
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C

Linking with Job Training Programs

Why job training programs should be partners

Many young people find their first jobs through job placement and training programs. These programs place teens in jobs ranging from outdoor clean-up and construction to office work. Programs that pay the trainees' wages are the "employer of record" and have the responsibility to protect their teen workers. Typically, the sponsoring agency provides training on job tasks and may also include other job-readiness skills, such as proper dress and communication. Although historically these orientation programs include limited information about workplace safety and health, they provide an excellent venue for reaching young workers.

Reaching out to job training programs

Identify the job training programs in your community.

Talk with representatives from your local schools, mayor's office, office of education, or other training programs. Contact your local private industry council to find out who in your community receives Federal youth employment and training funding.

Find out what they need.

Meet with directors of programs or with the local administrators of Federal job training funding to find out what safety and health training they already provide, what additional materials they might need, and where and how job trainers are trained. If the job training agency is the "employer of record," remind staff that safety and health interventions can help lower injury rates, thus reducing workers' compensation costs and avoiding expenses associated with lost work time.

"In the last two years, we have really focused on our health and safety program. As a result, we haven't had any serious injuries this year, and our workers' comp costs have been reduced by 25%."

—Michele Clark-Clough
Executive Director
The Youth Employment Partnership, Inc.
Oakland, CA

Provide materials and training to job placement staff.

The training should include information and resources about child labor laws, safety and health training requirements, and strategies for protecting young workers on the job. Reassure staff that they do not need to become safety and health experts. Emphasize the importance of using common sense when discussing how to address safety and health problems.

Assist job placement staff in integrating safety and health into their programs.

Offer a training curriculum or other resources that will enable job placement staff to provide information on safety and health, rights and responsibilities, job hazards and child labor laws to participating teens (e.g. during orientation sessions).

Ensure that participating employers provide adequate training and supervision. Train staff to recognize "red flags" that may indicate an employer who is not concerned about safety and health, such as a supervisor who is unable to describe hazards or the safety training program. Questions to ask participating employers include the following:

• Who will carry out onsite supervision of employees?
• Is the supervisor familiar with child labor law requirements?
• What hours will employees work?
• What tasks will employees do?
• Will employee training include hands-on safety and health awareness?
• To whom do employees report safety and health hazards?

Summer youth workers get health and safety training

We worked with the Oakland Private Industry Council and other community-based programs that implement summer job programs to develop a 30-minute orientation to health and safety issues, which includes UCLA-LOSH's video Your Work: Keepin' It Safe, and a question and answer session about the fact sheet Are You a Working Teen? All 3,000 students who apply for Oakland's Summer Youth Employment and Training Programs participate in the orientation, and the applicants who end up working in the program receive additional health and safety training.

—Diane Bush

Job training agencies become resources for employers

New Ways Workers, a job placement program in Oakland, has developed a checklist of key training and compliance issues to review with participating employers. With our encouragement, they added a health and safety component to the checklist, and now distribute U.C. Berkeley-LOHP's Facts for Employers—Safer Jobs for Teens. Often, employers who do not hire large numbers of teens are unaware of child labor laws, so New Ways Workers serves as an information resource to employers.

—Diane Bush

Involving Parents

Including Healthcare Providers