Keeping teens safe at work

Keeping teens safe while working should be the highest priority of their employers — just as it is for their parents. They may look mature, but they often have had very little experience with the world of work.

• Employers need to be very diligent to teach them safe work practices.
• Parents and teachers need to tell them they have a right to a safe workplace and a right to refuse to do work assignments that they feel insecure or unsafe about.
• They need to learn that it's OK to ask questions of their supervisors.

Youth Job Safety Resources

All kinds of materials to help employers, parents and teens learn about how to stay safe while working.

Restaurant Outreach Program

Nearly 50 percent of teens work in retail settings, primarily in restaurants. The most common workplace injuries involve slips and falls, strains and sprains, cuts and burns.

For more detail, see Washington Administrative Code:
Non-agricultural Employment of Minors (WAC 296-125)