Don’t hire youths to operate forklifts

With the beginning of summer comes this important reminder to employers: don’t hire youths to operate forklifts!

OSHA regulations and the Fair Labor Standards Act are consistent in their forklift operator restrictions, including 29 CFR 570 of the FLSA, which specifically prohibits employees under 18 years of age from operating forklifts in non-agricultural employment.

Two recent forklift fatalities involving operators under 18 in Georgia and Massachusetts prompted OSHA to release this important message: “Given the significant number of young workers employed, especially during the summer months, OSHA believes that it is important to remind all employers of the regulations that prohibit workers under 18 from operating specified hazardous machines and equipment, including forklift trucks.”

Kaylex Co., Newnan, GA, was fined by the U.S. Labor Department after a 15-year-old forklift operator died from a forklift overturn in 2003. Avoid fines and keep youth safe by prohibiting them from operating your forklifts!