Learners aged 14+ preparing for teenage work, with adult learners using the same hazard-question and planning methods while distinguishing their own rules.
Course 74 · Work course 27
Build a Safe Youth Work Plan
Check proposed duties and hours, prepare training questions, and practice responding when a work request seems unsafe.
Before you start
Use Taylor’s fictional Washington bookstore case and supplied shifts.
See everything you’ll needWhat you’ll leave with
A plan for checking proposed duties and hours, asking about training, and speaking up about unsafe work.
Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.
Your project
Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.
Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.
- Get your materialsDownload the practice worksheetUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
- Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
- Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook
Know the route before you begin.
Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.
- Use Taylor’s fictional Washington bookstore case and supplied shifts.
- Prepare a simple task table and weekly calendar; no workplace visit or equipment is needed.
- Read current federal and state sources and mark all real-local requirements for rechecking.
Finish with proof you can use.
Build a work-preparation plan for Taylor's fictional job, then check how it must change when a duty or shift changes.
Save a project record in My ProofSee project checklist and review criteria
Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.
What to include
- State age, location, industry, school status, and official verification sources.
- Screen individual duties and exclude unresolved or restricted tasks.
- Audit daily, weekly, and time-of-day limits using the stated example.
- Prepare understandable-training, supervision, reporting, and emergency-information questions.
- Include safety scripts, trusted support routes, and a change-trigger review.
Review and revise
Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.
- Rule scope: age, state, industry, school status, and any unverified exceptions are explicit.
- Task screening: duties are reviewed individually and restricted or unclear tasks are not treated as authorized.
- Hours accuracy: daily, weekly, time-of-day, and state checks use correct arithmetic and the stated workweek.
- Safety planning: training questions, responsible support routes, and changed-condition checks are concrete and avoid hazardous practice.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas
The rules behind the steps.
Check the actual task
Job titles and brief duration do not determine safety or legality.
Apply all relevant limits
Daily, weekly, timing, and state conditions need separate checks.
Ask before the task changes
Training and clear supervision are part of responsible work systems.
What do these words mean?
Key words
Key terms worth knowing.
- Nonagricultural work
- Work outside agriculture, subject to its own youth-employment rule structure.
- School week
- A defined school-calendar condition used in applicable work-hour rules.
- Hazard
- A condition or activity that can cause harm.
- Work permit
- An authorization that may be required by a jurisdiction; the course does not issue one.
- Escalation route
- A planned path to responsible help when an issue remains unresolved.
Your route6 lessons.
6 lessons.
One useful project.
Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.
- 1Up next
Identify which youth rules need checking
Define age, location, industry, and school calendar before reviewing a work plan.
- 230 min
Screen duties before accepting a job title
Classify proposed duties as candidates to verify, prohibited under the example, or unresolved.
- 334 min
Audit hours against every relevant limit
Check daily, weekly, and time-of-day conditions using a fully specified example.
- 426 min
Ask for the information that makes work safer
Prepare concrete questions about training, supervision, hazards, and emergency procedures.
- 526 min
Practice a calm response to an unsafe request
Use a stop, explain, and seek-help script in fictional workplace situations.
- 632 min
Assemble a work plan with change triggers
Combine rule checks, duties, hours, training questions, and support routes.
Use the tools
See all tools Tools to help you practice.
Source transparency
Sources and further study.
Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.
eCFR — 29 CFR Part 570, child labor regulations
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read scope, permitted/prohibited nonagricultural tasks, section 570.35 hours, and higher-state-standard provisions. The page was current through 2026-09-08. Exceptions, agriculture, and specialized work are not reduced to one universal rule.
Access: The cited eCFR provision is publicly readable without an account. It is a current legal-reference resource, not an official legal edition or a personal eligibility determination.
Reuse: This specific eCFR — 29 CFR Part 570, child labor regulations resource supports the cited lessons. Life Starter’s scenarios, calculations, scripts, and questions are original; no source worksheet, logo, or endorsement is reused. Free reading is not a general reuse license.
Washington Labor & Industries — Youth hours of work
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Opened the current nonagricultural tables for ages 14–15 and 16–17, school weeks, and exceptions. Washington is a named example of state limits; learners must verify their own state, permits, and exceptions.
Access: Washington’s youth-work-hours guidance is public and free. It is used as a named state example; no permit application or personal information is required.
Reuse: This specific Washington Labor & Industries — Youth hours of work resource supports the cited lessons. Life Starter’s scenarios, calculations, scripts, and questions are original; no source worksheet, logo, or endorsement is reused. Free reading is not a general reuse license.
CDC NIOSH — Young worker safety and health
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read the page dated March 9, 2026, including employer training responsibilities, equipment legality, hazard communication, and worker reporting. This course does not reproduce the Talking Safety curriculum or provide hands-on safety certification.
Access: The dated CDC NIOSH safety page is public and free. Linked curricula or training are optional; this course does not require a workplace visit or hands-on activity.
Reuse: This specific CDC NIOSH — Young worker safety and health resource supports the cited lessons. Life Starter’s scenarios, calculations, scripts, and questions are original; no source worksheet, logo, or endorsement is reused. Free reading is not a general reuse license.
OpenStax, Rice University — Time planning and priorities
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10
Read scheduling and task-prioritization teaching. Used for original school/work capacity checks; it is not a child-labor legal source.
Access: This specific OpenStax chapter is freely readable in a browser without an account. All required exercises are supplied here; no enrollment, certificate purchase, or university affiliation is needed.
Reuse: Original Life Starter examples, questions, and lesson sequence are informed by this OpenStax chapter. No source exercises, illustrations, quizzes, or logos are reproduced; consult the source’s own license for separate reuse.
Ready when you are
Start lesson one Start with the first useful move.
You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.
Open collaboration ideaHelp keep this complete course free.
Potential collaboration: Suitable for schools, youth-employment programs, labor-education partners, and community organizations preparing young workers; no work permit, safety certification, or funding eligibility is implied.
Partner with LifeStarter