CHSWC Announces 2026 Young Worker Leadership Academy on February 12 - February 14

COMMISSION ON HEALTH AND SAFETY AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION

OAKLAND - The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) is pleased to announce the annual California Young Worker Leadership Academy will be held at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), February 12 through 14, 2026.

The Young Worker Leadership Academy (YWLA) is a three-day event that provides high school students with hands-on leadership training experience that focuses on workplace safety, rights, and responsibilities. The YWLA goals are to:

• Teach youth about workplace health and safety.
• Provide participating youth opportunities to develop specific action plans to promote young workers' health and safety in their communities, especially during Safe Jobs for Youth Month in May each year.
• Encourage alumni and youth mentors to participate in future academies and develop a statewide network of young health and safety promoters.
• Help youth promote both workplace health and safety and injury prevention.

The 2026 academy will include interactive workshops where participants will get to know each other, learn about workplace health and safety, and learn how to make positive changes in their communities.

The Young Worker Leadership Academy is jointly developed by the University of California, Berkeley's Labor Occupational Health Program (LOHP) and the University of California, Los Angeles' Labor Occupational Safety and Health (LOSH) program. The academy is part of the statewide Worker Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program (WOSHTEP), administered by CHSWC in the Department of Industrial Relations. This is the 22nd consecutive year the academy has hosted young workers in this leadership activity.

The 2026 academy received additional sponsorship from the James Irvine Foundation, State Fund, UCLA LOSH, and UC Berkeley LOHP.

CHSWC is charged with examining California's health and safety and workers' compensation systems and recommending administrative or legislative modifications to improve their operation. The commission was established to conduct a continuing examination of the workers' compensation system and of the state's activities to prevent industrial injuries and occupational illnesses and to examine those programs in other states.

Information about Young Worker Leadership Academy, WOSHTEP, and CHSWC is available online. Information may also be obtained by writing to the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation by email to [email protected].