Governor Rell Declares Young Worker Safety Week

HARTFORD — Governor M. Jodi Rell has issued a proclamation declaring this week, May 13–19, as Young Worker Safety Week in the State of Connecticut.

“Employment in today’s workforce is an important, beneficial, and productive life experience for Connecticut’s young people” said Governor Rell. “State agencies play a vital role in collaborating with employers, educators, and parents to protect those young people at work.”

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, more than 50 teens under the age of 18 die from work-related injuries every year in the United States. The work-related fatality rate for 18- and 19-year-old teens is even higher, generally twice that of workers less than 18.

More than 144,000 Connecticut teens less than 18-years-old work outside of school each year. Of those, approximately 2,000 are injured at work each year. It is estimated that only one-third of those teens injured at work seek medical treatment.

Young workers are much more susceptible to work-related injuries than adults for many reasons, including developmental factors and lack of training and experience.

“Many hazards exist in the workplace that can cause harm to young workers,” stated J. Robert Galvin, MD, MPH, Commissioner of the Department of Public Health. “It is the goal of the Department of Public Health to provide a resource to ensure a healthy and safe workplace for all Connecticut workers, especially our young people.”

Representatives from public health and labor agencies in Connecticut and several other states, federal agencies, and the National Young Worker Safety Resource Center, met this week in Farmington for a two-day young worker health and safety conference. The purpose of this conference was to align stakeholders from across the country looking to collaborate on strategies for promoting young worker safety awareness, and improving the health and safety of youth at work.

The participants learned about successful initiatives for protecting young workers and about workplace hazards. Their goal was to increase collaboration and more effectively share resources among state and federal agencies, as well as others with an interest in young worker safety and health, on an ongoing basis.