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Categories: Policy; Health

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE

Board on Children, Youth, and Families

Committee on the Health and Safety Implications of Child Labor

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Congressional Briefing

Tuesday, February 23, 1999 - 10:00 a.m.

1129 Longworth House Office Building

on

Protecting Youth at Work

by

David H. Wegman, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and Chair, Committee on the Health and Safety Implications of Child Labor, Board on Children, Youth, and Families, National Research Council and Institute of Medicine

Protecting Youth at Work, a recently released report by the Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine, examines what is known about the extent of work by children and adolescents in the United States and the effects of that work on their physical and emotional health and social functioning. The study found that the vast majority of high school students work while attending school. Students younger than 18 who work long hours--generally defined as more than 20 hours per week--are less likely to advance as far in school as other students, and are more likely to use illegal drugs, partake in other deviant behavior, and get insufficient sleep and exercise. The report calls for limits on the number of hours that all children under the age of 18 are allowed to work during the school year. Youngsters have a high rate of injury on the job, with injuries being particularly severe in agriculture. The report recommends that protections from hazardous work for those under 18 be extended to farm labor, including family-owned farms.

This briefing was for Members of Congress and Congressional Staff only.