Throughout Los Angeles, many young people get summer jobs in landscaping to make money over school vacation. Unfortunately, this type of work can often be dangerous and can lead to student accidents that have a permanent impact on the young person’s future. When a young person is harmed or killed on the job, an experienced attorney at California Law Associates can help the teen and his family take legal action. 
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, between 60 and 70 teenagers die each year as a direct result of job-related injuries and another 250,00 young workers suffer work-related illnesses or injuries. To try to prevent these deaths, OSHA has launched a Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign. This campaign is planned to span multiple years and will focus on industries, such as the landscaping industry, where many young people work during their summers off from high school and college.
OSHA Tips to Avoid Landscape Injuries Among Students
Landscape employers hiring young workers for the summer need to remember that labor laws prohibit workers under the age of 18 from operating any type of power-driven hoisting equipment or power driven saws. This includes forklifts, circular saws, band saws and guillotine shears, among other types of landscaping equipment. Young employees under the age of 18 are also prohibited from being an outside helper on a motor vehicle or from driving a motor vehicle on-the-job.
When workers are hired who are age 14 or age 15, labor laws also preclude the use of lawn mowers, weed cutters and lawn trimmers.
In addition to ensuring that young workers avoid using this dangerous equipment, employers should also follow some basic safety tips so that the young workers are not harmed. OSHA tips include:
- Making sure that no teen worker uses any landscaping equipment without proper training in advance of performing work.
- Requiring the use of earmuffs or ear plugs in high noise work areas.
- Requiring the use of safety goggles or glasses when there is the potential for exposure to flying particles.
- Ensuring that teen employees wear appropriate protective gear including gloves.
- Ensuring that young workers always wear the right shoes and the right clothing for the job.
- Prohibiting teen workers from riding in the cargo area of pickup trucks.
- Always requiring the use of safeguarding devices and guards on machinery.
- Establishing the rule that maintenance on equipment should be performed only if it is properly shut down and if it is de-energized through the use of lockouts or tagouts.
It is the responsibility of employers to follow OSHA guidelines as well as to follow labor laws to avoid injury. When a young person is hurt on-the-job, he or she can make a workers’ compensation claim to have medical bills covered. Disability benefits may be available through workers’ compensation but payouts are generally based on average wages and a young teen who is hurt during a summer job may have a limited work background. An experienced attorney should be consulted to help young workers who get hurt on the job to obtain the monetary damages that they need.
Contact California Law Associates at 714-542-3377 or visit http://www.attorney4u.us to get in touch with lawyers in Santa Ana who can help with your case.
