Student workers are nearly twice as likely as adults to be injured on the job, bad news for the more than 4 million students who entered the workforce as seasonal workers this summer.
Just 54 percent of businesses surveyed by Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America, a workers' compensation insurer based in Lansing, Mich., planned to provide any safety training for their student workers. Yet, these same businesses say that workplace safety is a high priority. The survey included more than 600 small- to mid-sized businesses in Michigan.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), some 70 teenagers die each year from work-related injuries and nearly 70,000 are injured severely enough to go to the emergency room.
In an effort to decrease these injuries, Accident Fund developed “WorkSafe Students,” a free student workplace program for use in high schools and businesses to help students and employers understand child labor laws and potential workplace dangers.