New employees experience a disproportionately high rate of work-related accidents, injuries, and
illnesses. All too often, a lack of education, training, and experience on how to perform the job safely are
major contributing factors. According to the Maine Department of Labor, workers who have been with
their particular employer for less than one year accounted for fully one third of disabling occupational
injury or illness “first reports” (FROI’s) in 2005.4 Workers who had been with their employer for two
years or less were almost 46 percent of these injuries and illnesses. In contrast, workers who had been with
their employer for 10 to 14 years constituted 5.7 percent of first reports, those with 15-19 years comprised
7.4 percent, and those who had worked for their employer for 20 years or more accounted for only 6.4
percent.
5 (See Table One).