Young worker safety covers the training, supervision, and legal job restrictions that protect employees under 18 from workplace hazards.
The set of practices, training requirements, and legal protections aimed at keeping workers under 18 safe on the job. In the U.S., the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) restricts the hours minors can work and prohibits them from certain hazardous occupations, while OSHA requirements apply to young workers the same as any other employee.
A grocery chain hiring 16-year-olds for summer jobs assigns them to stocking and checkout roles, provides hands-on safety training, and prohibits them from operating the forklift and powered meat slicer, both of which are restricted for minors.
Young workers often lack experience recognizing hazards, may be reluctant to ask questions or speak up about unsafe conditions, and are frequently placed in fast-paced jobs with limited supervision.
Federal Hazardous Occupations Orders bar workers under 18 from tasks such as operating forklifts and other power-driven hoisting equipment, using certain power-driven meat processing machines, roofing work, and excavation, with state laws sometimes adding further limits.
Effective training covers job-specific hazards, how to use required PPE, emergency procedures, how and to whom to report injuries or unsafe conditions, and a clear message that it is acceptable to ask questions or refuse unsafe tasks.
Part of SafetyIQ's EHS glossary: plain-English definitions of workplace health and safety terms.
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