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Safety may be overlooked in teen jobs
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
WASHINGTON -- Brad Hurtig's first day on the job was his last.
A few hours into the night shift at an Ohio metal-stamping company last month, the 17-year-old football star got his hands caught in a power press and both had to be amputated. He was one of more than 500 teenagers who are injured at work every day on average.
Adam Carey had worked at a country club north of Boston for barely a month when the golf cart he was driving slammed into a wooden deck, crushing his chest.
At 16, too young to be driving even a golf cart under Massachusetts law, Carey was one of 73 teens killed on the job in 2000 -- about one every five days.
It's summertime, and millions of teens hope to make money toiling at the mall, a restaurant or some other place with a "Help Wanted" sign.
The Labor Department says about 4 million 15- to 17-year-olds earn paychecks during summer vacation. Eight in 10 teens will work at some point during high school.
Some employers don't do all they could to keep teens safe. And many young people are unprepared, too focused on getting paid to grasp that they could be hurt or killed.
"We're finding that they're not entering the workplace with an understanding of the law that's there to protect them," said Darlene Adkins, who runs the National Consumers League's Child Labor Coalition. The advocacy group sees the most danger in:
Federal and state laws on child workplace safety can be confusing. And what teenager even thinks about reading them?
Before starting as a supermarket cashier, Jeff Williams, 16, of Gibbstown, N.J., said he was trained to handle spills, falls and broken items.
Asked what he knew about the labor laws, Williams said, "We have signs posted all over the place, but I don't think anyone reads them."
On the Web:
Department of Labor's youth site: www.youthrules.dol.gov
National Consumers League's Five Worst Teen Jobs: nclnet.org/childlabor
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