Young Workers Program in California
California teens join the workforce every year in the form of summer jobs and part-time employment. These teens usually are uninformed of the dangers they may be exposing themselves to at their places of work or even their rights as employees.
Employee Rights
To ensure teens joining the labor force in California are well informed of their rights, two organizations are concerned with providing education and resources to these young workers, the California Department of Industrial Relations, and California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation. DIR and CHSWC ensure young workers are aware of their rights as teens, about workplace health and safety and how to stay safe from work-related hazards.
As new entrants into the workforce, teens need to be informed on how they can adhere to safe work practices to avoid loss of wage and work time. With education on safety practices, teen workers would also be less likely to become permanently disabled as a result of an accident at work. Disability would result in their future career goals being altered. As a young workers’ program initiative, the commitment of DIR and CHSWC is in ensuring teens work in the safest environments that do not subject them to unnecessary dangers.
Employee Resources
To further help teens work safely, another division of DIR, Cal/OSHA, provides teens with information concerning health and safety requirements at the workplace. The organization assesses work situations and offers advice or recommendations on what to be done to prevent work-related accidents from occurring.
The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, another arm of DIR, also offers information concerning employment rights. DLSE enforces California Labor Code on child labor. Child labor laws in California require that young workers of high school age have work permits. The law further requires that the work permits be obtained by coordination with their respective schools. DLSE also investigates cases where teens are reported to be engaged in unsafe and unlawful work conditions.
Employee Protection
To ensure proper work conditions, and that young workers are protected from unsafe and illegal work environments, DIR and CHSWC liaise with government agencies and key organizations in the state of California that represent parents, employers, and educators. Together with these organizations, DIR conducts and sponsor educational fairs, contests, and workshops aimed at encouraging youths to involve themselves in learning about workplace health and safety.
Ensuring teens remain safe at the workplace starts with educating and encouraging them to seek for information on workplace safety requirements. The youth need to be aware of the many channels of information available and take advantage of the many educational resources that are geared towards ensuring they’re safe at work. Educating teens on work safety rules also allows them to observe safe work practices as well as know their rights as teen workers.
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