The problems of health and safety at work are mounting for teenagers as more of the work, not only in the summer, but throughout the school year. Not all employers provide proper safety training. Most Young workers get little guidance or training on the workplace hazards they might face. Sometimes, the boss provides a brief orientation and leaves it to the other young workers to “fill in” the new guy. Too often, there is no orientation at all, and young workers become victims to their own sense of invincibility.

Here are the stories of three teens:

• 18-year-old Sylvia caught her hand in an electric cabbage shredder at a fast food restaurant. Her hand is permanently disfigured and she'll never have full use of it again.
• 17-year-old Joe lost his life while working as a construction helper. An electric shock killed him when he climbed a metal ladder to hand an electric drill to another worker.
• 16-year-old Donna was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint at a sandwich shop. She was working alone after 11 p.m.

Too many young people are getting hurt at work. Across the USA, 18 to 24-year-olds are at least 50% more likely to be injured in the workplace than more experienced workers. Behind the statistics are harrowing stories, of young people having to live with the consequences of accidents and damaged health for the rest of their lives, or dying when they had so much of their lives ahead of them.