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PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2015
39
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration provides
the following guidance. More information can be found at
www.osha.gov/youngworkers.
D
o you employ young workers? Young workers
are those new to the workforce, even up to
age 24. Young workers can be an asset to your
workforce, but it may be their first job or the
first time they are operating equipment.
Many young workers are also temporary workers. Host
employers must treat temporary workers as they treat exist-
ing workers, especially including adequate training to young
temporary workers. Temporary staffing agencies and host
employers share control over the employee and are therefore
jointly responsible for the temp employee’s safety and health.
You can prevent or reduce workplace injuries and make
work safer for all workers, including youth. First-line supervi-
sors have the greatest opportunity to protect young workers
and influence their work habits. Stress safety!
Employer responsibilities for young workers:
• Understand and comply with the relevant federal and state
child labor laws. For example, these laws prohibit youth
from working certain hours and from performing danger-
ous/hazardous work.
• Ensure that young workers receive training to recognize
hazards and are competent in safe work practices. Training
should be in a language and vocabulary that workers can
understand and should include prevention of fires, acci-
dents, and violent situations and what to do if injured.
• Implement a mentoring or buddy system for new young
workers. Have an adult or experienced young worker
answer questions and help the new young worker learn the
ropes of a new job.
• Encourage young workers to ask questions about tasks or
procedures that are unclear or not understood. Tell them
whom to ask.
• Ensure that equipment operated by young workers is
both legal and safe for them to use. Employers should
label equipment that young workers are not allowed to
operate.
T
he U.S. Department of
Labor’s Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
(OSHA) announced in July
a 60-day temporary enforcement policy
of its Confined Spaces in Construction
standard, which becomes effective Au-
gust 3, 2015. The agency is postponing
full enforcement of the new standard to
October 2, 2015, in response to requests
for additional time to train and acquire
the equipment necessary to comply with
the new standard.
During this 60-day temporary enforce-
ment period, OSHA will not issue cita-
tions to employers who make good faith
efforts to comply with the new standard.
Employers must be in compliance with
either the training requirements of the
new standard or the previous standard.
Employers who fail to train their employ-
ees consistent with either of these two
standards will be cited.
Factors that indicate employers are
making good faith efforts to comply
include scheduling training for employ-
ees as required by the new standard,
ordering the equipment necessary to
comply with the new standard, and tak-
ing alternative measures to educate and
protect employees from confined space
hazards.
OSHA issued the Confined Spaces in
Construction final rule on May 4. The
rule provides construction workers with
protections similar to those manufactur-
ing and general industry workers have,
with some differences tailored to the
construction industry. These include
requirements to ensure that multiple
employers share vital safety information
and to continuously monitor hazards—a
safety option made possible by techno-
logical advances after the manufacturing
and general industry standards were
created.
Safety News
OSHA Issues Temporary Enforcement Policy
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Keeping Young Workers Safe