Safety Management

Paying Special Attention to Summer Help

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are urging employers to give special consideration to protecting teenage workers on their summer jobs. Every summer, approximately 4,000 Ohio teenagers are injured on the job.

The agencies emphasize:

• Providing proper supervision and detailed instruction.
• Being aware of a younger employee's physical limitations.
• Having summer employees participate in training programs.
• Having summer employees inform their supervisors when doing a task for the first time.
• Encouraging young adults to ask questions and report hazards to supervisors.
• Complying with government regulations about age restrictions for certain types of work.

No one under 18 may operate a forklift, use many types of powered equipment, or work in roofing, mining or meatpacking. No one under 16 may bake or cook on the job, work on a ladder or scaffold, or work in warehouses, construction, building or manufacturing.