Page 5 - LARM LIfe Summer 2020

Protecting Your Youngest Workers

It’s summer and many municipalities and
governmental agencies hire teenagers to do
everything from mowing to trimming trees
to picking up trash. It’s a win/win situation for
the towns who are able to acquaint young
citizens about the operations of a
government entity. It also helps to give area
t
teens a eens a way to earn some money without
having to travel far from home.

Tracy Juranek, LARM Customer Service
Specialist, cautions municipalities to be
careful as to what jobs are given to these
young workers. There are some jobs that a
14, 15, 16 or 17-year-old should not be doing
including: driving a motor vehicle, using
power-driven equipment, excavating and
w
woorking on roofs.
“Use your best judgement when assigning
duties to your young workers as they
shouldn’t be doing jobs that require skills
that are too difficult or dangerous for a Pictured above is a Neligh employee mowing
teenager,” Juranek said. in a city park. Below is some of the
landscaping that workers in Randolph are
responsible for. The background photo is of
Jobs that most 14 and 15-year-olds could do a teenage worker in the Norfolk area.
would be: office and clerical work; clean up
work, kitchen work and cleaning vehicles.

Teenagers should also not be doing any job
that requires climbing a ladder or working
from a scaffold.

“All 14 and 15-year-olds are prohibited from
“
operating power-driven lawn mowers. All 16
and 17-year-olds can operate a power driven
lawn mower but can not transport the
mower from job site to job site if it requires
the operation of a motor vehicle,” Juranek
said.

More information about employing youth
M
can be found at the Nebraska Department of
Labor website at www.dol.nebraska.gov.
Search for “employing youth” in the search
bar.

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