Every year an estimated 200,000 youth are injured on the job, and more than 100 are killed, says Linda F. Golodner, president of the National Consumer League.
To help parents and teens understand some of the hazards of work, the league has teamed with the U.S. Department of Labor to identify the five worst jobs for teens."The jobs on this list should be a red flag," says Golodner. "Any employment has the potential to be a great job or a dangerous one. But these five jobs in particular have proven to be dangerous or lacking in protection of the law."
1. Delivery and other driving.
Federal law prohibits driving as an occupation for minors under age 18 for good reason. According to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, motor vehicle crashes were the single largest cause of occupational deaths of 16- and 17-year-old workers during the 1980s and remain a leading cause of death in this decade.
From 1992-95, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 145 teen driving deaths. Looking at highway incidents alone, 1,193 minors sustained injuries involving days away from work in 1994, says the BLS.
2. Working alone with cash.
Homicide was the leading cause of death among sales workers, retail and personal services and food preparation occupations among workers aged 19 or younger from 1992-95. Assault and violent acts resulted in 157 fatalities during that period, reports NIOSH.
In 1995, 1,460 young workers (19 years old and younger) encountered assaults and violent acts in the workplace. Although working with others does not preclude the incidence of crime, a teenager working alone with money in the cash register is easy prey.
3. Traveling youth crews.
Children as young as 10 years old are recruited to sell candy, magazine subscriptions and other consumer items in neighborhoods or on street corners - unaccompanied and unsupervised by adults. Many travel after dark and under dangerous conditions. The job often requires travel invans to strange neighborhoods in distant cities and even across state lines.
Such "on-the-street" work is dangerous due to increased risk of motor vehicle injury (as a pedestrian and passenger) and vulnerability to assault or abductions.
And traveling youth crew jobs often do not adequately compensate youth for their work. The promise of a trip or an outing often replaces a paycheck. Cases of physical and verbal abuses have been documented.
4. Under-the-table wage jobs.
By accepting cash instead of a paycheck, youth are cashing in their protections on the job. The employer is violating the law by not withholding tax or required insurance protections such as worker's compensation. Under-the-table workers are on their own if injured. There's also no guarantee the youth will ever be paid for work or paid the minimum wage. An employer who cuts corners is not an employer to count on for a safe workplace.
5. Construction.
Construction is dangerous and is prohibited under federal law for those who are under 16. Roofing, excavation and demolition are prohibited for workers under age 18.
From 1992 through 1995, there were 93 fatalities among workers 19 years and younger from falls, electrocutions, motor-vehicle encounters/accidents, suffocation and being struck by falling objects. In 1994, there were 7.043 injuries requiring time away from work for construction-site workers 19 years and younger.
Falls are not just a construction industry danger. Minors are not restricted from working on heights, except roofing, in any industry or employment. Painting, cleaning gutters, installing windows and cleaning chimneys are examples of work with heights that is not prohibited for teens. According to the BLS, falls accounted for 16,246 injuries and illnesses in 1994 among young workers between the ages of 16 and 19.