On September 21, 2004, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced its Youth@Work Initiative to promote equal employment opportunity for our nation's next generation of workers. This innovative national outreach and education campaign is designed to educate young workers about their workplace rights and responsibilities.
EEOC's Youth@Work Initiative has three main components:
http://youth.eeoc.gov is dedicated to educating young workers about their equal employment opportunity rights and responsibilities. The web site explains the different types of job discrimination that young workers may encounter and suggests strategies they can use to prevent, and, if necessary, respond to such discrimination. The site includes an interactive tool called "Challenge Yourself!" that provides an opportunity for young workers to test their knowledge by analyzing sample job discrimination scenarios. The site, created with the assistance of EEOC student interns, also includes examples of recent EEOC cases involving workplace harassment of young workers.
EEOC Commissioners and field office staff will host free outreach events for high school students, youth organizations, and small businesses who employ young workers. These events, which include information about the laws enforced by EEOC, and the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, are aimed at assisting young workers as they enter and navigate the professional world and encouraging employers to proactively address discrimination issues confronting young workers.
If you are interested in having EEOC speak to your high school or organization, please email us at Youth.AtWork@eeoc.gov or contact the outreach coordinator for the EEOC office in your area.
EEOC plans on hosting a series of forums and roundtable discussions with business leaders, human resource groups, industry trade associations, and others to further explore the workplace trends and challenges affecting young workers.
Our Youth@Work partners will play a vital role in increasing public awareness about the federal anti-discrimination laws. Whether it is putting a Youth@Work link on their website, publishing articles on Youth@Work in their newsletters, discussing the Youth@Work Initiative with their members or employees, or participating in Youth@Work events throughout the country, our partners will help promote a fair and inclusive workplace for America's young workers.
If your business or organization would like to partner with the EEOC on this initiative, please email your organization's name, address, telephone number, and email address to Youth.AtWork@eeoc.gov. An EEOC representative will contact you with more information about how you can work with the EEOC to expand the potential for equal opportunities to our nation's youth.
To learn more about Youth@Work, visit our web site at http://youth.eeoc.gov.
This page was last modified on October 6, 2005.