Young Workers and Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Teenage and young adult workers make up a significant percentage of the nation’s workforce. Yet, many of them are unaware of the benefits they are entitled to as a result of their employment. Most young workers, for example, are eligible for Kentucky workers’ compensation benefits if they suffer a workplace accident or illness. Despite being eligible, young workers often fail to file a claim for benefits after suffering an injury or work-related illness.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were approximately 4.5 million workers between the ages of 16 and 19 employed in 2013. Many of these young workers work part-time jobs during the school year and full-time during the summer months. Young workers are frequently sought after by employers because they tend to work cheap and have few expectations other than a regular paycheck. Young people in general tend to minimize risks and operate on the assumption that they are immortal. Knowing this, the federal government heavily regulates teenage employment to prevent serious injuries. Both federal and state laws regulate the number of hours a teenager can work, the type of work a teenager may engage in, and when a teenage worker may work. For example, workers under the age of 18 working in an amusement park are prohibited from operating a long list of power driven equipment.

Despite all these regulations, however, young workers are frequently injured in workplace accidents. In fact, every nine minutes a teen gets hurt on the job, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA. In a single year (2012) more than 170,000 young workers were injured and 361 were killed throughout the United States in a workplace accident. On average, that means 465 young workers were injured and one was killed every day.

Teenage workers are often unprepared to handle a dangerous situation at work. With little life experience and even less work experience, teen workers are at a higher risk for a workplace injury. According to OSHA, teen workers often lack the training necessary to avoid workplace accidents, specifically injuries caused by workplace violence.  Although the U.S. Department of Labor is working hard to educate both workers and employers about the need to provide additional training to young workers to decrease injuries, young workers remain at risk of suffering a serious, even fatal, workplace injury or illness.

What many young workers do not realize is that they are typically entitled to the same benefits as their older counterparts if they are injured on the job. Workers’ compensation benefits are not limited to full-time employees nor are you required to work for an employer for a lengthy period of time before being eligible for benefits. In Kentucky, almost all employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance even if they only employ a single, part-time employee. Moreover, your workers’ compensation coverage starts the day you start working.

As a general rule, if you are injured while in the scope of employment, you are entitled to both medical benefits and wage replacement benefits through the Kentucky workers’ compensation system.

If you are a young worker who has been injured on the job, or are the parent of one, contact a Kentucky workers’ compensation attorney right away to find out what benefits may be available.