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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