The following is a list of curricula, factsheets and LOHP produced resources for youth in the workplace. For more information on teen worker health and safety, see www.youngworkers.org. This site has factsheets, other resources, and links for teens, employers, parents, educators, and others. Much of this material can be downloaded and printed.
Youth @ work: Talking Safety
This curriculum is designed to help job training programs and work experience educators teach teens about health and safety on the job. Both workplace hazards and labor laws (with an emphasis on California) are covered.
Includes six units with 13 different activities, many designed for youth with cognitive disabilities. Each unit has learning objectives, teaching instructions, overheads, and student handouts.
The curriculum includes a 10-minute videotape, "Teens: The Hazards We Face in the Workplace."
In a 3-ring binder, with 10-minute video.
186 pages, 2008, $40.00
LOHP and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) have produced custom versions of Youth @ Work: Talking Safety for each state in the U.S. Each state version has specific information about the state's child labor laws, minimum wage, regulatory and resource agencies, etc. The state versions are available on the NIOSH website at www.cdc.gov/niosh/talkingsafety.
Teens Speak out for safety on the job
Since 2005, over 150 enthusiastic young people from throughout California have attended one of our Young Worker Leadership Academies (YWLAs) on workplace health and safety. The YWLA is a fun, activity-packed, all-expense-paid leadership training for teens. It prepares teams of teens to go back to their communities and create an education, policy, or media project that promotes workplace safety for young people. Because the YWLA can serve as a model for similar efforts, we have prepared this new booklet, Teens Speak Out for Safety on the Job, to explain how the YWLA works. It describes, step by step, how we plan and carry out the YWLA and what lessons we have learned.
For more information on the Young Worker Leadership Academies, click here.
Teens, Work, and Safety—A Curriculum for High School Students
Designed by and for teachers, this curriculum presents the basics of workplace health and safety to young people in a lively and interesting way. It can be used in academic high school classes as well as in vocational and work experience programs.
Three teaching units, each 3-5 hours in length, are for use in high school English, Science, and U.S. Government classes. There is also a General Unit for use in any class. Each unit contains learning objectives, lesson plans, detailed teacher's instructions, overheads, and student handouts.
Units cover both specific job hazards and labor laws. Interactive activities encourage student participation. There is also an introductory video, "Your Work-Keepin' It Safe" (from UCLA's Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program).
In a 3-ring binder, with 12-minute video and overhead transparencies.
350 pages, 1998, $40.00
Teens Working in Agriculture—An ESL Curriculum for High School Students
This curriculum is designed for use in high school English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in rural communities. The nine lessons (and accompanying short video) present information on farm health and safety and workplace rights, while building English language skills. Activities are interactive, such as role plays, games, and interviews and also include reading and writing activities.
In a 3-ring binder, with 5-minute video and overhead transparencies.
120 pages, 2010 edition.
FACTSHEET: Are You a Working Teen?
Working Teen? This newly updated factsheet provides important, easy-to-read information for teens and their parents on workplace rights and responsibilities, job hazards, prohibited work, and legal work hours for teens in California. Includes information on workers' compensation benefits for teens with job injuries. Sources of further information and help are listed.
Available in English or Spanish
4 pages, 2008, 50 cents each
Download this factsheet in English or Spanish (pdf)
FACTSHEET: Facts for Employers—Safer Jobs for Teens
This factsheet provides information on workplace health and safety for employers who hire teens. It includes a compliance checklist of key labor and Cal/OSHA regulations to help employers provide safe and legal work for youth.
Available in English or Spanish edition
6 pages, 2008, 50 cents each
Download this factsheet in English or Spanish (pdf)
FACTSHEET: Are You a Teen Working in Agriculture?
Spanish Agriculture Factsheet CoverThis factsheet covers much of the same information as Are You a Working Teen? above, but focuses on teens who do agricultural work in California. Agriculture is one of our most hazardous industries, but has limited child labor and safety regulations.
Includes a separate factsheet on workers' compensation benefits for teens with job injuries.
Available in English or Spanish
6 pages total, 2001, 50 cents each
Download this factsheet in English or Spanish (pdf)
Young Agricultural Workers Research Report
Click below to see LOHP's research report on young agricultural workers in California, prepared for the California Wellness Foundation and the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 1997. The report analyzes employment trends and injury data.
Young Agricultural Workers in California (PDF) (1997)
Young Workers Research Reports
The California Partnership for Young Worker Health and Safety, with which LOHP is affiliated, has released a new set of recommendations, "Keeping California's Youth Safe on the Job." This statewide task force includes representatives from 25 different agencies and organizations that play a role in educating or protecting working teens. Recommendations were developed and revised based on input from Partnership members, as well from participants in a day-long public forum held in March 2004, "Young Workers at Risk: Planning for Action." The 33 recommendations highlight policy changes, educational strategies, and enforcement efforts that would improve the protection of young workers in California. Click below to download a copy of the recommendations.
Keeping California's Youth Safe on the Job (PDF) (2004)
Click below to see a pioneering 1994 report on teens in the workplace by LOHP's Robin Baker and Diane Bush. The report advocates increased efforts to present workplace health and safety information in secondary schools, and gave rise to LOHP's Young Workers Project and curricula.
Young Workers at Risk: Health and Safety Education and the Schools (PDF) (1994)
