Empowering Teen Workers

Teen workers have workplace rights but are not always aware of them. To gather ideas on how best to share information with teens about their rights and workplace protections, the U.S. Department of Labor is hosting a national online dialogue from April 19–30. Information gathered during the national online dialogue will then be used to develop and disseminate better tools and resources. Consider the following statistics, which illustrate why this issue is so important.

56% of injuries to workers 15-17 years old in the leisure and hospitality industry required at least one day away from work, according to 2018 data. Most of these injuries occurred among workers in the accommodation and food services subsector.

1. Verify ages of young employees

2. Ensure management team is trained on the child labor requirements of the FLSA

3. Clearly tell minor employees what tasks they can't perform and how long they can work each day

4. Train new workers on job hazards and safety precautions

Additional Resources