لم تُترجم بعدُ النصوص الكاملة لهذه الصفحة، لذلك تظهر بالإنجليزية أدناه. أما الملخص والعناوين ومعلومات السلامة أعلاه فهي مترجمة.
A 16-year-old in Fresno burns her forearm on a fryer during a Saturday shift at a burger place. Her manager hands her a bandage and says she can finish the shift. She wonders who pays if the burn needs a doctor, and whether she is in trouble for being careless. The short answer: in most jobs, a system called workers' compensation (a state insurance program that pays for work injuries) is built for exactly this, and being young does not put you outside it.
Who runs it and what it pays
Workers' compensation is mostly state law. The U.S. Department of Labor says that people hurt while working for a private company or a state or local government should contact their state workers' compensation board. The federal program covers only a few groups, such as federal employees and coal miners.
The federal Labor Department lists the kinds of benefits these programs provide: wage replacement (part of the pay you lose while you cannot work), medical treatment, and vocational rehabilitation (help getting back to work). Each state sets its own amounts and forms, so the numbers for the teen in Fresno are different from the numbers for a teen in Ohio.
Fault usually does not decide it
In New York Central Railroad Co. v. White (1917), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a state may require employers to pay for workplace injuries without regard to fault, meaning without first proving who was careless. That case is why modern workers' compensation works the way it does.
So a burn from a moment of rushing is not a reason to stay quiet. The law the Court upheld in that case did have narrow exceptions, such as an injury someone caused on purpose or one caused only by being drunk on duty. Everyday accidents are what the system was designed to cover.
What to do after an injury
Get medical care first. Then tell your supervisor in writing, even a short text or email, with the date, the time, and what happened. Keep a copy. Tell a parent or another trusted adult the same day. Most state systems start with the employer's report, and your written note makes that report hard to skip.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA, the federal job-safety agency) says workers have the right to report an injury and get copies of their medical records. It is illegal for an employer to fire or punish you for using your OSHA rights, and OSHA says a retaliation complaint must be filed within 30 days. OSHA's number is 1-800-321-6742.
We could not confirm one national rule on what happens when the injured teen was working illegally, for example in a job too dangerous for their age. States handle that differently. Your state workers' compensation board can tell you which forms to file and what deadlines apply.
تذكّر هذا
- Workers' compensation is run by your state; the federal Labor Department sends private-sector workers to their state board.
- It can pay for medical treatment, part of lost wages, and help returning to work.
- New York Central Railroad Co. v. White (1917) let states make employers pay for job injuries without proving fault.
- Report the injury in writing and keep a copy; an OSHA retaliation complaint has a 30-day deadline.
المصادر
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