Teens given illegal tasks

Study: Child labor laws often broken

Many teenagers who work have used dangerous equipment on the job even though it is prohibited by federal child labor laws, according to a UNC-Chapel Hill study.

The study, released today, finds other problems, including teenagers who work long hours during the school week -- potentially interfering with their homework or sleep -- and teenagers who sometimes aren't supervised on the job by adults.

"In the same way we worry about sex, drugs, alcohol and driving, we should worry about [teenagers'] work life," said Carol Runyan, director of UNC's Injury Prevention Research Center and lead author of the report.

"That doesn't mean teenagers shouldn't work," Runyan said. "But we need to make sure they are working in jobs that are good for them."

The national study demonstrates that the states, which are responsible for enforcing federal child labor laws, aren't doing the job they should, Runyan said. In addition, parents need to make sure their kids are working in safe places, and physicians should ask about a child's experience as a routine part of an exam, she said.

The study -- based on a nationwide telephone survey of 866 workers ages 14 to 18 who had retail or service jobs -- found that nearly half of all students who worked in grocery stores or had food service jobs have performed at least one task that persons under age 18 are forbidden to do by federal law. Students who were 18 were interviewed about jobs they held before they reached that age.

The study, published in the March issue of Pediatrics, is thought to be the first national study to interview working teens about their exposure to job hazards. In addition to Runyan, four UNC researchers and one from N.C. State University collaborated on the report.

Among the tasks prohibited by child labor laws are using certain equipment -- power slicers and grinders, box crushers, balers and compactors and dough-mixing machines -- and selling or serving alcohol in establishments where alcohol is consumed, according to the study.

"One thing I want to be clear about is that the responsibility of applying the law lies with the companies," Runyan said. "It isn't the teenager's responsibility.

"My hunch is, in some cases, [employers] are flagrantly abusing the law. In other cases, they may not be aware of the law."

An N.C. Department of Labor spokesman, Juan Santos, said the state stepped up its outreach efforts a half-dozen years ago after recognizing that many employers weren't aware of child labor laws.

Law's limits ignored

Federal labor law also bars students under age 16 from working past 7 p.m. on school nights, yet 37 percent of students younger than 16 reported they have worked past 7 p.m. In addition, 16 percent of teens under age 16 reported working after 9 p.m. on school nights.

Erika Harris, 17, a junior at Enloe High School in Raleigh, discovered for herself last fall that working as late as 9 p.m. on school nights was detrimental to her grades.

Harris quit her after-school job in December. When she would get home from her job, Harris said, she was too tired to do her schoolwork. She tried to compensate by getting up extra early, but that didn't work out so well.

"You get some of it done, but not all of it," she said "That's where the struggle comes in."

When Josh Carwell was a 16-year-old student at Middle Creek High School in Apex, he used to work as many as 30 hours a week at a grocery store during the school year -- and as late as 11 p.m. on school nights.

Carwell, now 18 and a high school graduate, shook his head no and flashed a wide grin when asked if the late nights interfered with his schoolwork. "I never did it anyway," he said. "I was always getting in trouble."

Supervision lacking

The study found that 25.6 percent of the teenagers surveyed reported working without adult supervision for at least one day each week.

"I would argue a 15- or 16-year-old shouldn't be alone at 10 o'clock at night at a convenience store," Runyan said. "That would scare the heck out of me."