Keeping Boston Teens Safe through Summer Work

According to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, officials have recently teamed up with the Youth Violence Prevention Funder Learning Collaborative, as well as the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, to discuss the benefits of summer jobs for our younger workers. This is the final release on the Mayor’s Summer Jobs Program.
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The City of Boston reports that this is the 21st year of the program and this year has brought more than 10,000 teens into the local workforce. This program has been used as a national model to help to inspire struggling cities to find summer jobs for their teens.

Our Boston workers’ compensation lawyers understand that there has been stacks of evidence that proves that summertime work positions for teens creates an improvement in their behavior — particularly pertaining to violence and the exposure to it. The most survey was conducted among students who used the Mayor’s program for summertime jobs and students who didn’t. On the more than 20 negative behaviors that were assessed, those who worked within the program through the summer received net improvements in nearly 15 significant areas. Those who weren’t involved in the program only saw improvements in one area.

Previous studies conclude that summertime employment also creates positive results in getting better grades, learning new skills on the job, resilience, confidence boosting and other important factors that are key in a teens life and their transition to a safe and successful adulthood.

Urban teenagers who participate in the Summer Jobs Initiative are able to create positive work habits that last a lifetime. They are often motivated to pursue their education with newfound career goals, which, in many cases, lead to a permanent position with the same company or field of work.

If you’re a teen, don’t forget to apply with the Hopeline to become eligible for these positions.

Remember, there are many jobs that are looking for these young workers. According to Forbes, some of the most common and popular summer jobs for teens include golf caddy, retail sales, food service, internships, life guard, nanny, housekeeping, landscaping and even tutoring.

But all job positions come with risks for an accident. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, a surprising number of teen injuries occurred in the workplace. In response, the MDPH Occupational Health Surveillance Program (OHSP) conducted a more thorough analysis of these data and found that close to 15 percent of the injuries (with known location of injury) among 14- to 17-year-olds occurred at work.

From 2003 to 2011, there were close to 350 workers under the age of 18 who died while on the job in the United States. Thousands more teen workers were involved in workplace accidents that resulted in serious and severe injuries.

If you are injured on the job in Massachusetts, call Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your workers’ compensation claim– (617) 777-7777.

More Blog Entries:

Is Your Workplace Prepared for Tornadoes?, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Blog, July 10, 2013

Protecting Employees from Lightning Deaths, Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Blog, July 7, 2013

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