A national labor advocacy group has criticized new Labor Department regulations that place young workers at risk of serious injuries. "At best, the new regulations fall short of the mark, and at worst they reinforce bad laws," said Darlene Adkins, coordinator of the Washington-based Child Labor Coalition.  "The end result is more youth engaging in risky business in the workplace."

Effective Feb. 15, the new regulations allow fast food restaurants and other retail establishments to employ 14- and 15-year-olds to operate deep fryers and grills and to clean grills and empty hot oil from deep fryers that have cooled to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  Since 1961, this cooking activity was prohibited for young workers.

According to NIOSH, half of all burn injuries occur in fast food restaurants, and nearly 50 percent of all burn injuries are caused by hot grease.

Another regulatory change allows 16- and 17-year-olds to load paper balers and compactors that meet specified safety standards. Since 1954, youth under the age of 18 have been prohibited from any contact with these machines. The new regulation is based on the Compactor and Baler Act, enacted in 1996, which the Child Labor Coalition opposed.

AFT executive vice president Antonia Cortese serves as co-chair, along with National Consumers League president Linda Golodner, of the coalition.

The new regulations are the first since the May 2002 release of a landmark report detailing dozens of deficiencies in the nation's child labor laws. The report, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Recommendations to the U.S. Department of Labor for Changes to Hazardous Orders, recommended more than 40 changes in child labor laws to better protect America's employed youth from dangerous jobs and equipment.

In the years since the report's release, the U.S. Labor Department's sole response was to issue a handful of new regulations in December 2004. During this period of inaction, the Child Labor Coalition estimates that more than 600,000 working youth have been injured in the United States.

Meanwhile, young workers still work at dangerous elevated heights, in construction, on tractors, in pesticide handling, and in exposure to lead and silica.  These hazards and more are recognized in the NIOSH report but have yet to be addressed by the Labor Department. [CLC press release, Helen Toth]

February 16, 2005