Safety LawsThe National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that 160,000 American children suffer occupational injuries every year—and 54,800 of these injuries are serious enough to warrant emergency room treatment.
Employers who violate the child labor provisions of the FLSA are subject to a civil money penalty of up to $11,000 for each employee who was the subject of a violation. These penalties may be increased up to $50,000 for each violation that caused the death or serious injury of an employee who is a minor, and may be doubled to $100,000 if the violation was determined to be willful or repeated. Reviewing worksites for possible student safety issues is a primary responsibility for anyone setting up a WBL experience!! |
OSHA
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Congress created OSHA in 1970 to assure safe and healthful conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education and compliance assistance. Under the OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers. For more information, visit OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov.
As new workers, adolescents are likely to be inexperienced and unfamiliar with many of the tasks required of them. Yet despite teen workers’ high injury rates on the job, safety at work is usually one of the last things they worry about. Many of teens’ most positive traits—energy, enthusiasm, and a need for increased challenge and responsibility—can cause them to take on tasks they are not prepared to do safely. They may also be reluctant to ask questions or make demands on their employers. (from Youth at Work Talking Safety Curriculum, pp. Young workers get injured or sick on the job for many reasons, including:
"Kids don’t ask questions because there is an implicit trust -- “Why would someone ask me to do something dangerous” -- Rich Tulikangas, WBL Coordinator Class, Castleton University |
Roles and Responsibilities
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The educator setting up the WBL learning experience is responsible for:
The employer is responsible for:
The student work-supervisor is responsible for:
The student is responsible for::
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Hazardous OccupationsExemptions from OSHA
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Eighteen is the minimum age for employment in non-agricultural occupations declared hazardous by the Secretary of Labor. The rules prohibiting minors from working in hazardous occupations (HO) apply either on an industry basis, or on an occupational basis no matter what industry the job is in. Parents employing their own children are subject to these same rules.
The following occupations are listed by OSHA as hazardous occupations for teen workers. General exemptions apply to all of these occupations, while limited apprentice/student-learner exemptions apply to those occupations marked with an *. The exemptions also may be different for students aged 14, 15, 16 and 17. HO 1. Manufacturing or storing explosives HO 2. Driving a motor vehicle or work as an outside helper on motor vehicles HO 3. Coal mining HO 4. Occupations in forest fire fighting, forest fire prevention, timber tract, forestry service, and occupations in logging and sawmilling operations HO 5*. Power-driven woodworking machines HO 6. Exposure to radioactive substances and ionizing radiation HO 7. Power-driven hoisting apparatus HO 8*. Power-driven metal-forming, punching and shearing machines HO 9. Mining, other than coal HO 10. Power-driven meat-processing machines, slaughtering and meat packing plants HO 11. Power-driven bakery machines HO 12*. Balers, compactors, and power-driven paper-products machines HO 13. Manufacturing of brick, tile and related products HO 14*. Power-driven circular saws, band saws, guillotine shears, chain saws, reciprocating saws, wood chippers, and abrasive cutting discs HO 15. Wrecking, demolition, and ship-breaking operations HO 16*. Roofing operations and work performed on or about a roof HO 17*. Trenching and excavation operations * The regulations provide a limited exemption from HOs 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 17 for apprentices and student-learners who are at least 16 years of age and enrolled in approved programs. most jobs in the manufacture of brick, tile and similar products. Exemptions from OSHA rules include:
Exemptions from Certain HOs for Apprentices and Student-Learners Hazardous Occupations Orders Nos. 5, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 17 contain exemptions for 16- and 17-year-old apprentices and student-learners provided they are employed under the following conditions: Apprentices:
Exemptions for apprentices or student learners shall require a written agreement containing the name of the student-learner, and shall be signed by the employer and the school coordinator or principal. Copies of each agreement shall be kept on file by both the school and the employer. This exemption for the employment of student-learners may be revoked in any individual situation where it is found that reasonable precautions have not been observed for the safety of minors employed thereunder.
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