Many young people are injured during the summer months when kids are on break from high school and college. When student accidents happen on-the-job, the Law Offices of Richard Flexner can help young people and their family members to protect their rights and ensure the resources are there for a full recovery. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has the important job of helping to keep workers safe, including young people working summer jobs. The agency has launched a multi-year Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign to help reduce the risk of teenage accidents at work. The campaign will be providing tips for young people and for employers within some of the industries where teens are most likely to work. This includes the landscape industry.

Keeping Teen Landscape Workers Safe

Other than restaurant work, landscaping is one of the most common fields where young people get summer jobs. Unfortunately, the landscaping industry can be very dangerous.

Child labor laws limit the jobs that young workers can do within the landscape industry. For example, workers under the age of 18 are prohibited from operating power-driven hoisting equipment including fork lifts. Underage workers are not allowed to use circular or band saws, nor are they permitted to use guillotine shears. Finally, they are forbidden from either driving a motor vehicle or from acting as an outside helper on a motor vehicle.

For younger teens age 14 and 15, there is also a prohibition against using weed cutters, lawn mowers and lawn trimmers on-the-job.

Employers can hire teens to do other non-restricted jobs but should ensure that proper safety precautions are taken to reduce the chances of the young person getting hurt. Tips to avoid workplace injuries include:

• Providing proper training to teen workers before any type of machinery is used.
• Providing ear-protection to reduce the risk of hearing loss. This includes ear muffs or plugs to be worn in high-noise zones.
• Reducing the risk of eye injury by providing and requiring the use of safety goggles in areas where flying particles could be present.
• Establishing a dress code to require teen workers wear appropriate clothing that is unlikely to be caught in machines and that provides adequate protection. This includes appropriate shoes.
• Providing and ensuring the use of gloves and other personal protective equipment necessary for a task.
• Establishing a rule that no employees should ride in cargo areas of pickup trucks.
• Ensuring that all machines have guards and safeguard devices and that the protective equipment is utilized.
• Requiring that equipment and machines be shut down and de-energized before the equipment is serviced.

Each year, between 60 and 70 teenagers die from injuries on-the-job and another 250,000 young workers are injured at work. It is imperative that employers who hire teenagers to understand the dangers that young people face and to help do everything possible to keep them safe.

A teen who gets hurt at work should be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits including payment for medical treatment costs as well as lost wages or disability benefits. Making a workers’ comp claim can be complicated with teen employees, especially if they are seasonal or part-time. An experienced attorney can help.

Help is available for accidents victims in Willmington, NC. Contact the Law Offices of Richard Flexner at 800-FLEXNER or visit http://www.getflexner.com to schedule a free consultation.