In 2009, 359 workers less than 24 years of age died from work-related injuries, including 27 deaths of youth less than 18 years of age. For the 10-year period 1998 to 2007, there were an annual average of 795,000 nonfatal injuries to young workers treated in U.S. hospital injury departments. Young workers are injured at higher rates than older workers in large part because of the prevalence of hazards in the industries they work in, but also due to their lack of experience, developmental issues, inadequate training and supervision, and lack of employer compliance with age-protective labor laws.

Young workers need to enter the workforce with a foundational understanding of workplace hazards, how to control those hazards, what their workplace rights are, and problem-solving skills to address issues that come up in the workplace. LOHP is currently funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to research, test and evaluate strategies for institutionalizing this kind of training within California’s educational system. The project focuses on use of an existing, evaluated educational tool, the Youth @ Work: Talking Safety curriculum, that has already been used in 19 states by over 4000 teachers, job training professionals, and employers, who in turn trained thousands of youth. This intervention research project targets organizational change.

The goals of this three-year project are to: 1) Assure that all high school aged youth within targeted districts of the state learn basic life skills taught in the curriculum about workplace safety and health before entering the workforce; 2) Assure broad distribution of the curriculum throughout the state using LOHP’s well-established stakeholder network and structure; and 3) identify innovative means of distribution and implementation throughout California.

In addition to this project, LOHP conducts a broad variety of projects with the overarching goal of educating and protecting young workers on the job. Materials, training and awareness campaigns target teachers, parents, employers and youth.