Young Worker Fatalities and Violations of Labor and Safety Regulations: Moving Toward a Solution

Details

• Personal Author:
  Rauscher KJ ; Runyan C
• Description:
  Background and Purpose: In recent years, enforcement of US labor regulations has been on the decline, child labor violations number in the hundreds of thousands annually, and little progress has been made in reducing the rates of young worker fatalities. Evidence shows that non-fatal injuries can occur when youth are illegally employed yet little research has looked at the relationship between fatal injuries and labor and safety violations. This study aimed to help close this knowledge gap by conducting a population level examination of the extent to which fatalities among workers under age 18 in North Carolina involved child labor violations and violations of the US Occupational Safety and Health Act. It also examined the enforcement activities in the state relative to these young workers deaths to determine if and where gaps exits, and to make recommendations for improvement. Methods: This is a mixed methods study using analysis of primary source data and qualitative findings from focus groups. Using the records of the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical examiner, cases were identified for inclusion among decedents aged 10-17 years who were fatally injured while working in a civilian setting between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2008. Information from these case files were used to identify child labor violations. To characterize these fatalities and determine the extent to which they involved violations, we analyzed case data using descriptive statistics, and used tests of significance to determine differences among groups by demographic and employment characteristics. Investigation reports from the US and NC Departments of Labor were used to determine whether these cases were investigated, if child labor violations and/or Occupational Safety and Health Act violations were found, and what if any penalties were imposed on employers. Enforcement activities were analyzed descriptively and were supplemented by results from a focus group conducted with agency representatives to identify gaps and ways to improve enforcement to better protect young workers. Results: We identified 31 work-related deaths among youth ages 11-17. All but three of the fatally injured workers were male and most were white. Over two-thirds were age 16 -17. Construction and Agriculture had the greatest number of deaths. Twenty percent of decedents were working for their parents. Vehicles and guns were responsible for the majority of deaths. Seventeen percent of the fatalities occurred after dark. Just over half involved one or more child labor violation. Of the 31 fatalities, nine were investigated by the US or NC DOL; among which four investigations identified child labor violations. Eleven cases were investigated by NC OSHA and all involved violations. Fines ranged between $200 and $12,000 across agencies. Focus group data revealed that gaps in investigations of young workers fatalities may result from complicated definitional, jurisdictional, and financial issues as well as a lack of resources within the agencies needed to fully carry out their enforcement mandates. During the study, investigators were asked to testify before the North Carolina state legislature and present the findings of this study. The legislature was considering bills to increase penalties for child labor violations and fines for OSHA violations that involve workers under the age of 18. Our testimony, in which we presented study findings, was among the inputs into the process which led the legislature to pass new laws protecting workers under age 18. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Child Labor Construction Industry Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Child Labor Children Construction Workers Fatalities Legislation Regulations Young Workers
• Series:
  Grant Final Reports
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Final Grant Report
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OEP - Office of Extramural Programs
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-24
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20060315
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2021-100179
• Citation:
  Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, R03-OH-009437, 2012 Apr; :1-24
• Contact Point Address:
  Kimberly J. Rauscher, MA, ScD, West Virginia University Injury Control Research Center P.O. Box 91510 Morgantown, WV 26506
• Email:
  krauscher@hsc.wvu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Wholesale and Retail Trade
• Performing Organization:
  West Virginia University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20080901
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• End Date:
  20120131
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6379da6e21775c3d9462ff92dd91ce399f26a677016c146dc90a58e1399c925df7ed80dfbe6482a199e060f58a36c8b23a8d5cb71426561ab0ce53d849bd34f6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/218995/cdc_218995_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 296.37 KB ]