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Media Releases
Job Health and Safety Tips for Teens with Disabilities
Columbia, Mo. (July 12, 2006) As millions of teens work summer jobs, a term called "workplace injury" is probably the last thing on their minds. However, according to U.S. Department of Labor, in 2004, more than 38,000 American teens were injured on the job, and for another 134 those injuries were fatal.
"Summer jobs open to teenagers usually involve intensive or repetitive physical exertion, such as typing, busing the tables, or landscaping," says Diana Baldwin, occupational therapist at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "Lack of experience and eagerness to succeed could put teens at risk of many workplace injuries, especially sprains and strains."
There is even more risk for teens living with disabilities like juvenile arthritis (JA), a condition affecting 285,000 American children. "Joint pain, easy fatigue and limited physical function make young workers with JA particularly vulnerable to workplace hazards," Baldwin says.
Parents should encourage their child's interest in getting a job but also address the following points.
Prepare to talk about the condition.
Teens might be hesitant to tell the employer they have a medical problem, for fear they might be considered less qualified and treated differently. However, if teens anticipate a supporting working environment, it's best to be open about their conditions, limitations and special needs upfront. Otherwise, people might misinterpret their performance and think they are not doing their share.
Seek job accommodations.
Once the special needs are understood, teens should work with the employer to determine a mutually agreeable accommodation to be successful on the job. Baldwin says "many of the solutions that would provide accommodation are the same that enable a teen to work more safely and decrease risks of injuries, especially strains and sprains."
Solutions and potential hazards are discussed at the following websites:
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/teenworkers/index.html
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/occhealth/wsws.html
Teens should research carefully all the changes that could be made to make the work place safe and productive, keeping the cost in mind too. Suggestions however should be "readily achievable" and without "undue hardship" on the employer, says the Americans with Disabilities Act. For example:
A tall chair or a foot rail at the cash register to help lessen pain and fatigue
A flexible work schedule allowing teens to pace themselves and get treatment;
A cart or a dolly to help move loads from place to place;
For a job at the drive-through window, teens should learn to turn the body instead of twisting when leaning through the window or walk the food out to the customer instead of overreaching from the window.
Lessons in good lifting techniques, eg. lift with the legs and not the back
Ergonomic grips (large, non-slip, pistol-like handles) on tools
Know legal rights against discrimination.
It's also useful to do some homework about teens' legal rights. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the federal law that protects the rights of persons with disabilities. In particular, Title I of the ADA provides safeguards against discrimination in the workplace. If you believe a teen's rights under Title I of the ADA have been violated by either failing to receive or losing a job, or that reasonable accommodations were refused by the employer, you should contact the nearest Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office. For more information regarding ADA, visit http://www.jahelp.org/ada/
The Missouri Arthritis Research Rehabilitation and Training Center (MARRTC) was established in 1971 at the University of Missouri-Columbia Arthritis Center. MARRTC is funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133B031120) and is the only federally funded arthritis rehabilitation research and training center in the country.
As part of the MU Health Communication Research Center (HCRC), MARRTC's mission is to become a national leader in the areas of disability management and communication, improve the quality of life and promote independent living among people who have arthritis and arthritic conditions. MARRTC's core message is "Disability is everyone's issue."
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