BATON ROUGE, La. -- Every 30 seconds, an American teen worker is injured on the job. Furthermore, one teen dies from a workplace injury every five days. Since youth hiring increases significantly during the summer months, Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC) is reminding employers as well as teen workers about the importance of safety in the workplace.

The potential for workplace injuries, especially for teen workers, is a serious one. Nearly 200,000 teens in the United States are injured on the job every year and 100,000 of them require emergency room treatment. At least 70 teens die as a result of these workplace injuries. While Louisiana's rate of work-related fatalities for workers age 16 and older has decreased between 1995 and 2004, the average rate of 6.8 per 100,000 workers is still higher than the U.S. average rate of 4.5. Transportation accidents accounted for nearly half of all fatal work-related injuries in Louisiana. While employers are encouraged to provide proper training and safety measures, young workers are also encouraged to chose summer jobs wisely and do their part to adhere to workplace guidelines.

In 2006, National Consumers League (NCL) released findings on the Five Worst Teen Jobs, which are the most frequent causes of workplace injury or death among young workers.  Those jobs include, in order:

1. Agriculture: Agricultural workers aged 15-17 are four times more likely to incur fatal injuries than those in other workplaces.
2. Construction and work in heights: The most common types of fatal falls occur from working at heights of 6 feet and above, usually from rooftops, ladders, scaffolding or staging.
3. Outside helper: landscaping, groundskeeping and lawn service: While lawn mowing and clipping keeps teens on the ground, electrocution is common and so are injuries using chain saws and tractors.
4. Driver/operator of forklifts, tractors and ATVs: Injuries and resulting fatalities occur when minors are operating or riding as passengers, or nonoperators are working near such machines. Tractor-related accidents are the most prevalent cause of agricultural fatality in the U.S.
5. Traveling youth crews: Young people who are recruited to sell candy, magazines and other door-to-door items under dangerous conditions and without adult supervision may be more vulnerable to assaults and abductions by customers and strangers.

"Safety is not common sense for young workers," says Bruce Lambert, LWCC director of safety and loss prevention. "It takes commitment on the part of employers to ensure that young workers have the proper training and safeguards to keep them safe in the workplace. As leaders in youth hiring, industries such as fast-food, construction, amusement parks, retail and landscaping are encouraged to be especially vigilant."

According to LWCC, summer hires and other employees with less than one year of experience on the job account for nearly half of LWCC's policyholder workplace injury claims. "The inexperience of young workers may result in accidents that can cost them not only their summer, but also possibly their lives," says Lambert.

A list of tips, Summer Youth Safety, for safely employing young workers is available at www.lwcc.com and includes important information such as:

• Emphasize leadership from front-line supervisors on the hazards of work assignments and appropriate work practices to prevent injuries.  Supervisors have the greatest opportunity to influence new employees and their work habits. 
• Show young workers how to use safety equipment and explain why it is critical to the job. Make sure they know when to wear protective gear such as eye protection, hard hats and gloves; where to find it; how to use it; and how to care for it.  Have them demonstrate they understand the message.
• Recognize that what may be obvious or common sense to an experienced employee may not be so clear to a young worker tackling a project for the first time.  It is important to build that knowledge through hands-on training and on-the-job coaching by skilled staff.

In addition to employers, other influencers such as parents and coworkers can play a vital role in encouraging young workers to follow safety guidelines on the job.

For more information on safely employing young workers, as well as a variety of other helpful workplace safety topics, visit LWCC's Web site at www.lwcc.com.

"As the start of the summer hiring season fast approaches, we simply ask that employers remain watchful about safety in the workplace, so that everyone can have a safe and productive summer," says Lambert. "Let's not allow a young worker's summer dream job to become a real-life nightmare of pain."

About LWCC
LWCC (www.lwcc.com) is a private, nonprofit mutual insurance company.  It is the largest writer of workers' compensation insurance in Louisiana, covering about 22,000 policyholders. The company carries an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best and, for the fifth year in a row, was named one of the top 50 property and casualty insurance companies in the nation by Ward Group, the leading authority on insurance industry benchmarking.

Sources: 
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
National Consumers League
National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals