At Issue & In Focus

Massachusetts teens speak up about ‘Safe Jobs for Youth’ – Pass it on!

This April and May have been packed with events around making workplaces safer for Massachusetts teens.

• DPH’s Teens at Work project released it’s annual surveillance report on work-related injuries to teens;
• Our community partner, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety & Health (MassCOSH), held its annual three-day LEAPS academy to help build leadership skills in youth around workplace health and safety;
• This year marks the 5-year anniversary of child labor reform in Massachusetts.
• And, the Massachusetts Governor proclaimed May 2012 to be Young Worker Safety Month, an important reminder that everyone has a role to play in keeping our youth safe on the job. 

But most exciting, the Massachusetts Youth Employment & Safety Team (YES Team), which includes AGO, and MassCOSH once again teamed together to sponsor the second annual Safe Jobs for Youth Poster Contest. We called on teens from across the state to design posters that stress the importance of safety on the job for young people. 

In addition to being blown away by the amount of creativity and talent here in the Commonwealth, we always learn so much from hearing (and seeing) what teens have to say about this important issue. So we were thrilled to receive 120 contest entries. From those, we took 12 finalist posters on the road to another 70 youth across the state and asked them to help us judge the winners. Judging groups included the JAG Network in Milford, the Brockton Mayor’s Youth Council, LEAD in Holyoke, Design & Visual Communications at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, STARs at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, and the MassCOSH Teens Lead at Work (TL@W) Peer Leaders in Boston. An extra special thanks to these groups for participating!

The contest winners were announced at an awards ceremony on April 26, during MassCOSH’s LEAPS academy. We were honored to have State Senator Patricia Jehlen, sponsor to the 2007 Massachusetts child labor reform, join us as the keynote speaker and present the contest winners with their awards.

Photo by MassCOSH: Winners, TL@W organizers and State Senator Jehlen showcase three of the winning posters.

So please, take a moment to see what Massachusetts teens have to say about “Safe Jobs for Youth”:

• Check out the winning posters online;
• Keep your eyes out for the winning poster on MBTA and PVTA public transportation.

And then, especially with the summer jobs season nearly here, help us to spread the word about keeping MA teens safe on the job. As you can see, it’s definitely something to speak out about!

Empowering Teens to Say YES to Health

The  Attorney General’s Office Project YES grantees have had a busy year. Employing teens to run health and wellness programs across the Commonwealth, the sixteen grantees have had a very successful first half of 2010. So far, over 4,700 children and adults have received health and fitness education and have participated in the activities being run by the 161 employed teens, and the positive effect of the programs continues to be felt community wide.

The program staff at the Caring Health Center in Springfield determined that “the youth needed to first get out in the community and learn to engage with community members in order to identify their health needs. They developed a pilot research project, which was a short community health assessment.  They assisted in the design of a survey, which included demographic questions and some health measures. After finalizing the survey, the youth went out and administered the survey to a random sample of the Springfield community.”

The Haverhill Community Violence Prevention Coalition hosted Respect-Protect-Connect, a community wide event led by the Project YES youth. The event included a March for Peace and fitness activities that introduced the community at large to both Zumba and Yoga. 

The grantees are also noticing the program’s impact on the teen workers. At UTEC, “One of our teen members was coming for case management and education services.  He and his family relied heavily on food pantry items and hot meals from (UTEC’s) Fresh Roots (program).  He began attending UTEC every day to take advantage of the available food, and during this month, he applied for a job with Fresh Roots and began training as a chef.”

The Attorney General’s Office continues to find creative ways to both protect and defend the well-being of the citizen’s of the Commonwealth. For more information on other AGO grant programs, visit the AGO website.

Summer Jobs for Youth

Today, Attorney General Coakley announced that the AGO will be awarding an additional $100,000 of health care settlement funds to provide summer jobs for Massachusetts teens this summer. The announcement was made during an event at the Catholic Charities Teen Center at St. Peter’s on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester as part of the Attorney General’s Project YES program. The funding will go towards supplementing up to 64 summer jobs in addition to the 165 teens currently employed as part of the  Project YES grant program.  Appearing on Fox 25 Morning News, this morning, she also urged local businesses and employers to consider hiring teens this summer.

Attorney General Coakley toured the teen center and then met with youth from the seven Boston area Project YES sites. She was joined for the announcement by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Tiziana Dearing, President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Greater Boston.   The Attorney General will be participating in similar events in Worcester, Springfield, New Bedford and Lowell over the next several weeks.

Project YES was originally inspired by Governor Patrick's  Urban Violence Subcommittee and a shortage in summer employment opportunties in some of Massachusetts' most at risk communities. Recognizing both the need for increased youth employment in Massachusetts and acknowledging the benefits to health and wellness (in people of all ages) that is associated with increased physical activity,  the Attorney General’s Office launched the current grant program this past January. 

To see a list of programs receiving Project Yes grants, go to our website.

Summer Jobs=Community Safety

One of the city of Boston’s leaders in urban violence prevention, Robert Lewis, Jr. has been quoted saying “The best way to stop a bullet is to give a kid a job.”  As a former prosecutor, and as the 2008 co-chair of  Governor Patrick’s Urban Violence Task Force, Attorney General Coakley knows that. 

The Task Force addressed rising crime numbers throughout the state and  focused much of its efforts on addressing the need for programming and jobs for at-risk teens in Massachusetts’ urban communities. Recognizing the connection between employment and public safety, in the summer of 2008, the AGO launched Project YES, a comprehensive initiative focused on increasing the rate of youth employment in Massachusetts.

As we look ahead to 2010 and beyond, providing jobs for kids is a proven method to keep the crime numbers on a downward slide. In December 2009, Project YES awarded $1.5 million in two year grants to non-profits and municipalities to provide employment opportunities for at-risk teens.  

While the temperatures today are frigid, we should start thinking now about the coming months and the reality that the rise in urban crime rates traditionally tends to coincide with warmer weather and school breaks. As we approach the summer months, teens throughout Massachusetts will be looking for summer jobs and Project YES will be working with communities to ensure that there is one available for everyone who wants one.

What is your community doing to ensure a job for every teen that wants one this summer?

For more information on youth employment initiatives in your community, contact your local Workforce Investment Board.

AGO Awards Grants for Health & Wellness Focused Youth Employment

The Office of the Attorney General awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants aimed at promoting health and wellness among some of Massachusetts’ most at-risk communities. Called Project YES, the program will create jobs for low-income teens that promote increased physical activity, sixteen programs in twelve different Massachusetts cities and towns received up to $100, 000 over a two year period. Funding for the program comes from money received in a  series of settlements obtained by the Attorney General’s Office against pharmaceutical companies Merck Vioxx, Eli Lilly, and Pfizer.  For more information on the Project YES grantees or other AGO grant programs, visit the AGO website.

AGO Announces Community and Youth Development Grants

Yesterday, the AGO launched three new grant opportunities totaling $4 million that will support jobs for youth at risk, provide support to reclaim abandoned property and will work with families at risk for losing their homes to foreclosure. The funding for the grants stems from several settlements that were obtained by the Attorney General’s Office as a result of recent enforcement actions against pharmaceutical giants Merck Vioxx, Eli Lilly and Pfizer and against Fremont Investment & Loan. All grant programs have an expected start date of January 4, 2010.

$1.5 million will go to support Project YES, a youth employment program derived from the AG’s work as co-chair of the Governor's Task Force Anti-Crime Council's Subcommittee on Urban Violence. The Project YES: Employment, Health and Wellness program will provide low-income youth with jobs that have specific physical activity components.

An additional $1.5 million for Abandoned Property Rehabilitation grants stems from the Attorney General’s settlement against Fremont Investment & Loan Corporation. This funding will assist Massachusetts community development organizations and non-profit housing groups to rehabilitate abandoned properties and create more safe and affordable housing.   

Finally, $1million will towards the Financial Literacy Education Grant Program. This funding also stems for the AG’s settlement with Fremont Investment & Loan Corporation and will support consumer and community programs in providing direct consumer outreach, education and related services to help homeowners recognize and avoid predatory lending practices and avoid mortgage foreclosure. Funding will also support borrower protection services, including legal representation by qualified legal services organizations, of individuals who are at risk to losing their homes due to fraud, misrepresentation or other unfair, deceptive or predatory lending practices.

For more information on these programs check out the Attorney General’s website.

Teen Workers: What Can I Do?

Part three of a three part series on youth workers

As the country honors Labor Day, teenagers all across Massachusetts are employed in a variety of capacities.  While working, or before starting your first job, it is important to know what laws protect you as an employee. 

Child labor laws set very specific requirements for the type of work minors under the age of 16, and for all others under the age of 18 may be employed to do.

• Minors under the age of 16 may not cook, work in freezers or meat coolers, work as a public messenger, or perform any baking activities. 
• If you are under 18-years-old, you may not handle, sell, or serve alcoholic beverages, nor may you work in railway operations.

These are a small sampling of the many hazardous occupations prohibited to minors. For additional restriction, check out the Hazardous Jobs sections of the Attorney General’s website. For an exhaustive list, contact the Fair Labor Division of the Attorney General's Office at (617) 727-3465.

If you believe you are a victim of a child labor violation, you can file a complaint with the Attorney’s General Office. 

Teen Workers: When Can I Start?

Part two of a three part series on youth workers

As the country honors Labor Day, teenagers all across Massachusetts are employed in a variety of capacities.  While working, or before starting your first job, it is important to know what laws protect you as an employee. 

Generally speaking, you must be at least 14 years old to get a job. However, there are some exceptions to this law:

• To work on a farm not owned or operated by your parents, you must be at least 12 years old and have written consent of a parent or guardian until age 14.
• To deliver newspapers, you must be at least 9 years old and obtain a special badge and written consent of a parent or guardian.
• To engage in limited seasonal work, you must be at least 10 years old, and have special permissions from the federal Secretary of Labor until age 12.
• To sell certain articles in public places, you must be at least 12 years old.  However, selling door-to-door is prohibited until the age of 16.

Prior to starting a new job, anyone under the age of 18 must be issued an employment permit by the Superintendant of Schools in the city of town where the minor lives or attends school. Applications can be downloaded off of the AGO website.  For additional information about the youth employment laws that protect you as a worker, check out the AG’s Labor Lowdown website.

Teen Workers: How Many Hours?

This is the season for back to school and, for many teenagers across the state, for back to work.  In honor of Labor Day, we would like to take this opportunity to remind teenagers, their parents, and those that employ young people, of the specific laws which are in place to  protect workers ages 14-18. 

Child labor laws restrict the number of days and hours that minors can work. For example: 

• Teens under age 18 cannot work more than six days a week.  
• Teens ages 16-17 cannot work after 10:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m., with some exceptions: if the workplace stops serving customers at 10:00 p.m., 16-17 minors can work until 10:15 p.m.; and on non-school nights, they may work until 11:30 p.m. or until midnight if employed at a restaurant or racetrack. 
• Teens ages 16-17 cannot work longer than nine hours a day or more than 48 hours a week.

For a complete list of hour restrictions for employed minors, visit the Hour Restrictions section of the Attorney General’s website.

Governor Proclaims May "Safe Jobs for Youth Month"

Submitted by Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, Executive Director of MassCOSH (Massachusetts Coalition of Occupational Safety and Health)

With summer just around the corner and tens of thousands of young people entering the workforce in Massachusetts, Governor Patrick has proclaimed May as Safe Jobs for Youth Month to focus attention on preventing workplace injuries and deaths. The proclamation was announced at a youth leadership conference held several weeks ago. The three-day conference, called LEAPS (Leadership Education and Action to Promote Safety for young workers) was organized by youth leaders from MassCOSH's Teens Lead at Work program. There, students from across the Commonwealth came together to plan public awareness efforts for their communities to be showcased in May. The youth-led outreach will work to stem the tide of youth employment law violations, work-related injuries, and deaths.

Since 2000, eight teens in the Commonwealth have been killed at work, many doing jobs prohibited under the Child Labor Laws. Each year, an estimated 900 minors in the state are treated in emergency rooms for work-related injuries. While workers, in general, can be exposed to many hazards on the job that can result in injury, illness, or even death, young workers are at increased risk. They are sometimes asked to perform tasks for which they lack the size, strength or experience. As new workers, they are also often unfamiliar with workplace hazards, ways to avoid injuries, and their rights as workers.

Additional materials are available through the AGO, including a Guide for Working Teens and a youth employment website, LaborLowDown.com.  MassCOSH Teens Lead at Work contributed valuable input to LaborLowDown.com, which increases access to important information for young workers. Information for young workers, parents, employers and educators about keeping youth safe at work is also available on the MassCOSH website.