OFFICEOFTHEA=ORNEY GENERALOFTEXAS AUSTIN

Honoreble John D. Reed, Comissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics Aulltln, Terse Dear Sir: Opinion l?o. O-3980 Be: Are etenographers, bookkeepmrs, eta., to be inaludeb in the term wlaborers*, In conetruing hrtlale 5.22la, V. A. C. S.?



### request Wehave glren aarfdul. oonel4eratlon to your **opinion**



### ofresent date Iu whlah you seek our aonstruetioa en4 determination of the meaning of the word *laborer* a8 wed in the Texas -grant Agenay Lew.

This 1egIrlatlon wae enaate4 In Its prerrent form bythe paeeage of Chapter 96 of the @enera Lawsof the 10&y-firat Leglelature at Its Beaond Called Sesaion In It became effeative in due aourae tollewing Ita 

### reaelpi In the offloe ot the Searetary of &ate tithout the elgueture of the **Oovernor,** an4 Is printed offfalally at’ page SO3oi the General Lewsof Texae, 4Ut Legisrlature, Seaon an4 Third Called Seaaione, 1989. In Vernon*8 Aunotatea Civil Statutes, It Ia clamslfIe4 as Artlole 5SSla.

In order to under&end your question properly we4ecrmit expedient to aopy herein Seation 1 OSthe Aat, oontelnlng the derinitlon of the term “emigrant agent*t

w8eoion 1. Thetem *edgrant agent * ar use4 in this kt means every pereon, Sirm corporation or aesociatlon o? persona engage& In the business of hiring, enticing, or solialtInk laborers in this State to be employed beyond the limita of this State an4 is also meant to include every pereon, firm, partnerstip, corporation or aesoolatlon of pereons raa~atalniug an oiiice to hire entfoe, or 801IaIt laborers to be employed p-on& the limit6 ofHonorable John D. Reed, Comisoioner, Page 2

tblie State; ah4 is also meant tc inalude every person who, ae an independent aontraotor or otherwlae than aa anagent oi a duly licensed tunigrant agant procurea, or undertakea to proaure, 

### orasolet in procuring laborers for an anigmnt &Tent; nnd every cnigrant agent shall be termed an4 held to be 4oi2g busineao as such in eaah 

### en4every Countywherein he, in per&on, or through an qent, l?irce, entices or tvollcite eny laborer to 

### beexplqed beyond the lL?Iitx of t!le3t.ste.- T.&re are alerec sectiona OSthe legielati.on, but

. wewill include no other portion@ of it hers exaept the emergenay aleuse, sloaa you are no doubt familiar with all f of its termi an4 provislous. Thebat regulates an4 >rovldee tor supervision of en&grant agents aa above. Uetineti, but.111 no part of sameis the word elaborer” defined, an4 you wish to knowwhether Wetenographera, bookkeepers, ato.’ are to be conelder *laborersW within its terms.

Kehere quote the emergency olauee, .empheelzing aertain Dortlcnrr thereof, In our effort to aecertain the

- leglrrlatlve fntent:

*The i’aat that the gtate of Texas haa Caineto be reao.~gnlee4as a fwitrti rield ror the aatlvitles of Rnigrant Agents and the

reaeoneble regulation of eai4 buainase, areatee an aaargency and en imperative public necessity that the cotititutioml rule requulrlng billa to,,be reed on three several days be suspend94, an4 the cameie hereby euspen4e4, an4 that this Act becoxe arrectlve rrom andafter ita passajar and it is sc enacted.” (Underscoring oura.7Honorable Johu D. &ma, 

### hnd88loner, Page 9

Theeznergeneyalause of a bill paseed by the Iagislatuse isaybe looked to for 

### aidin a8aertalulug the 'legislative **intent** regaeldless of whether the law becomea lme4lately effeatlve. 286 59Tax, Jur. 2=, 1 121, and oases ofted under riots 18, espeaially Interstate yorwarding CO. '9. Vineyard, (Clv. App.) 5 3; **W.** (2U) 947, reveras 121 Tex. 289, B98. W. (2d) 405, where the cmergenay olause ai a bill was he14 clearly to showthe purpose of the Leglslature~ Xa39 Texas Jurlsprudense 194, 1lq3, et seq., it15 

### said:

"Iu hanaosy with prlnoiples haretofore stated, the words of a statute are acoorded the nminlng that aompqrte with the leglsla-' tire intention, othsrwlee **stited,** 'the rule is that statutory ~rds are to be interpreted aacordlw.to the sense in whioh thsy vere evidently used by the L5g151atuxer Thuswhen neaessary to fulfill the legl8litlve intent, the meaning of wonis maybe 

### l xtemled beyond or reetrl5ted within~thel~ raatural lmpert. But, a5 wehave 5665 ( ( OJ),~the legl5latlve intention 15 primarily 

### r0m in 

### thelanguage of the statuts **and**thersrote the vords employed **are** 0rdLarlly giveu their **plain-mean** lng 'without regard to the dlstlnction usually mm46between the aonstruatlon of penal. &ws and laws upon other subjeatr,* unless the aat alearly shows that they 

### were use4 in so1116 other sense.

. . . WIudeteminiugthe maaning of'a word en@oyed in d.statute, the inquiry is 'mt as to Its abetraek mean%ngbut ai $0 the sense in whioh,lt is used. It is 

### properand momstimes necessary to aonsult a dictionary to asqertqln the meaning to be attached to 8' **wx4.** An4it maybe profitable, as thmulng light upon a proper construotlon to be &ren~ a statutory ~rovlsion, to note the aacepted legal 4erinftJon of a word ussd thsreln. But one word mayoften be use4 to szpress dlfferant ldeas, an4 it will not ordioarlly **do** to adopt Em3tricti434 or 5,38clfla 

### aeiiniti0a espe0lally whore the meanfng OSthe w0rd inqua&ion Is is YaMant as the onneetlonu In nihioh it maybs rmploysd. $ we in every oatm the tiiaular moaning llepatWl# upon, an4must o determiwa by, the eonr text an4 rrubjeot matter, and ths avl&mnt latent1on. of the LeglI4lature," Applflng the above pcinoiplas of the la, 18find the folloulng definition **OS**tha **nor&wlaborerR in**  **Webeer*@** IYew Interaational Diotionaxy; and odltiona "Onewholaboral ap~lf. t OMbho doe8 phyrrloallabor8 on. nho workaht a toiUnna oooupatloag e8p*.a peraonwho **dose**work that FequfrgJ 

### 6trMgth rather than &ill, as distln@&hedfromartlsana and f-the rofeasIonal olaarGP7Biiipharle in diete- onary.1

fiaedt In the lCIIW authority, the **word***bookkoeperw 18 de-

"Onewhokeepa soooUatSl OWwhO80 bueiaesm 

### or~rofeerlon 1s bookkeepm -@LapmsiB our*) 

### AmI,steao6raphm "Oaewhoi8 @tilled in #tonogra#ty; 'awriter 

### OS

l horf&aM : 0rtan, OM appi~y~(~ to dostenografrhlo vfork.W (~i# ouir.] 'Ipsrind manydeoisiona of rarioifi appellate aourtr throughout ‘theoountry whersln there 1~ Qiro~elon of tha psanlag OSthe *roti *laboreP in interpreting atatuter **gfv** ing a lien to laborers; **in** aot# exmptlng the wage6 09 laborer8 from grrnlshmsnt; an&In legirrlatlon elvlng prefarinoe to employclse of an Insolvent oorporatlon, Wehate 0 lorod a

### good4 numberOSthsae east18in an effort to gain 1 JPghttQ anablr w t@ arrive at a aorreet rolution of the problem of tha mean- ot the term In the lnatant 6ituatlon.

X&the case OSWlli n Y+SanAntonio 6:Ourf Shore Ry. Co,, (Tex. Civ. App,Y44 8, Pl. 928, the oouxt had bofow it a provision of tha Code of 1095 pxOtldlng that all Ineahanlae, $aborera and operatlvetP whopsrforwd labor, or worked wlth tools, tepmo or otherwlere, In the oonetruo-Honorable tohn D. Reed, ~ammi66ioner, Pa@ S

tlon, operation or re*alr of an$ railroad, or equipmint of a reil.roed, and to whomwag~awere.due for auohwork, or ior the work of tCml6~or team6 thu6 smplogad, or iOr work otherwleo perform& 6hOuld hare a lien **upon**6uoh rciUroad tlllenfor. Beldr **A**bookkeeper andauditor, in the employ of the oo~ation ofnqmnywhloh built a railroad wo not entitled to a lien themon 

### for the ummt due him for hi6 6ervl0e8~ In the oour6e of the oplnlon it was noted that the bookkeeper andaudUior did not clati to oomqunder the drB&&ation Vm0h66l6~ or *operatlvs', and the deokion is aqunrily upon the queltlon of whether euoh apa-son ua6 a QIborer* wlthia the spirit andmeaning of the itatuts. In this base, the 

### court ~BaM a bookkeopa andallditor wa8not to begoo~lilsmd a ?laborer*. In the Fwlwal oam of %ited 8tatl6 v. 'Jhlon hak of Canala, (Cir. Ot,..App. I?. Y.) 868 Y'i 91, 8.A. t. 8. 1430, the 

### word*labmoP aiturbd in the oontraot 

### .labor povi610~ 

### or Innigratlon Aotr wa6M6iited t6 m6utml labororo, and neither a bookkoe P in a bank nor a 

### oterk. la a etoem6hip ofiioa wan66n6lrered wfthln the prohibition o? anact 

### 0rCongrsao making it a

### mlsdsswanorforany 

### parson to pror y the traneportatlon 

### ofoontraot 

### labor6r6 migrating nto the **United** 8tato6+

At~oording to the 1omYork ua6e of 4+Ohrui fq A. 8. Baker Co*, 6lBI. **T. 8.**  **784. 80**  **l&so. 45,**  

### a **booklwper** -(I not a *laboroP within an aot 

### p~seiyrlng tha wger ti laborero~oi lnoolvsnt oorporatloar.,. f~

And'ln Louirlp~, a bookkeeper for a 6ta~s milli, was not suoh a wlaborer* in tha ayas of that.rtata a aourt in the aase of Doddf* HOrOn, 12%80~ BS, 584 a6would entitle hintto a lien on the proiluot Ofthe maiil **for** wage6.

fillnois ha6

### beolded that a **boolck66p6r** 16 **naithsr** a leborsr 

### nora servant,in view of anaOEto protebt em- **_**

.. ploy668 and Uborere la their olalm for n*ger and the aOt concerning voluntary a66ignmentA relating to ptal4Wed olalm6 for wage~6~ Signor v* Wbbb, 44 111. Appe SSSr

Anamployae o? a oontraotor, whokegt the book8 uf his 

### employer,

euperlntscde8 a part of the aark, aadw66 foreman of a 

### squadof laborars.,-sanaot be 6aid a6 amatter of law, to be suoh a *ilaborer” ,a1would be entitled to 6 lien for his 

### work5s&or&a. 8@sthe oa6e of niok vr. 

### m3

Ronorable John p. Reed, Caimi661oner, P6g.e6

XO~;sEr;;.co.)lE7 C&x.787, 58 8. ?L l@@l, at p. 10015.

In ubnshingtor., the court lc the cam oi Cavanaa& v. Art %mlwere &h?c. CO., 124 Waash.Z45, El.4P. 155 Cei~IeeE

e booli?ieepor e prior lien on the voparty o? ais 154, employer, holding he **1~66** not a el.aborer*;i ,that the term '%bor" as wed I;; the labor lien atetute a? that stato waa lctended to be contlued to its uore cuuuon and restrlotod ssaniz~, es manual 

### etdrolseo?'a,tollsome nature, exe'* tion o? ruscular torca 

### produolng~arlnoas.

In 

### additionto the federal ease of United &ate6 **Y. Union**  **6a;zk of**  

### C?utU!a, **BUprU,** *IOfind that the Circuit $OIUt OfSouth Caroll~ in l#i.btt~&Onv. **WappOO** IfillS,. 86 F. 192, at p. 198, held a bookkeeper o? a **mlnjn~ aompaay**  not to be a *laborer* within the title o? the statute, the oaptlon reading *An aot to provide for laborer's llens.~

t%Xile~StEtei**h8h OiWiSS**  OOiltnt kJeW ?eXWey, Con6ollCatsd coal Co. v. Keyetona Chemloal co,, 54% X.,xq, 309, 55A. 157; armYoxk BrownvrFeno8 Co?; ,5LHun, 161, 5l?. Y. 6. 95; 

### Georgia,fanmr Y. Chlsholm, 77 Qa. 506.

Thegreat weltit of authority seema to be oon

### cltd;iva

tbt a~bookkeeper i6 Bat to be ~O~id~~d **a6 BOQ**  lng n-ithinthe ole6sl?lcatlon of's *laborerwr fn additlan to the l'ems oaae a? hEilliganye Ry. CO., rupra uhlle the follonirg do 

### notln~olvs a bookkseper, Beet R&q Co. v. ,I.- 

### Witheras,

75Tbsii

94,lb? 8.t. 976$ **St.LOtii6~8.W. By.**  **00.** 

### &410, l!ez.-

26 8. w. ma; Dunnv* H~wkine, 'fox. cfv. App., **:.f** Q w.+dj 983; Bell Oil ItReflriingCo. Y* PrloO, Tax. OF : clv.wipp., 251~8. w. 55Qr

With referenoe to %teno#@ayher6, Weh6V8 6QCGrC~d dili.~ctly to Zind-Oaier pWSiIl5 **UpOh** the dt!I~Sifi8atiOnt0 whlah they properly belong. The only deaielons ~6 hare bean able to find in any jurl6dlotion are the &3or& 08666 o? Cohenv. Aldrich, deolded in 1908 by the f!ourta? Appala of %orC:ie .5Cm.App. 286 6S 8. 3%.1015, f0ll6wing Abnhama v. Anhm-son, 80 Ga. 540, 5 8. E. 778, 12A& St. Rep. E.74. 

### ItsCdhenixumhm be&ncited in the 0880 of La@eP X?g. Co. Y. Prey tkCo., 10 &I. Apph755, 738. E. 1074, without commentotherwlset and in the Waehington oaae of stats v. ROWJWII,en Wash. 530; Ml P. 349, the ea.88~66 sited ao authority that a ateno&raphar and bookkeeper was

### 5994 -

IiOnOrableJohn D. heed, COE&B~~IO~W~~, Page 7

a *norkeP within the mekdng of the employment agenop statuta of tht.t state.

In the Cohenoase, supra, it was held that a utenographer to the assistant manager of a aorporation, whoreceived lettera by diotation and transcribed the II-, 

### preserved

office records, addressed ana milea letters, end performed ~;enerally the duties of aznanuensfs In ths~ office, whose salary was payable sami-znonthly, andwhose term of service wtisnot 

### fixed, me a *laborePwhosenag00 were exempt from garnishment. In the Cohen ease, howsvsr, the lourt nmdeIt clear that the hol&Ingwae adhered to solely out of respeot to the preosdsnt of Abrahams

### Y. Andorson, supra, as note this language:

*lf wewere authorized to l xsrolss a 

### free Intellectual judgment as to the matter, lnstead of being bound by the preoedonts ‘~6 would ‘not hesltato to hold that Al&lob was .not a mtinuallaborer. It Is our~~psnonal view that AbraharasY.

### Anderson was lnsorreotly 

### a00ia6d.Wearo bound by the preoedents, and the Abrahaemaase olearly a.,ontrols this one.* fn the oourse 

### orthe opInIon~we 

### rindthe iollewing languaget

That a stenogmpher Is skilled and trained aannot affeot the nature of the 

### work he does, although It does affeot it8 character. After aoquiring the trade, ths teat Is the nettoa or aarrying tbilo~, 

### Itia 

### airsiatit to aonesive of anything nore thoroughly raanual than the rork of a stenographer. EeoeIQIng the sounds from the lips of another, he regiietara 

### whathe hears 

### tina reproauoes what he reaelves. Heexeroises no Indspenaenoe of thought, no Initiative, no aIsorotIon. The test of his efiiofenoy Is his absolute aooeptence.of wbat Is given him and Its return unchanged. If hie einployer indulges In the pastime of nmrdefing the TLIng*sFnglIBh, he mst beaome a *partIaeps 

### Orimini8,' andjoin In.the assaaelnation; 90 pronounaedly are the physiaal raoultiss Involved In stenography that them OOBMIS

a time whenthe hand refuses to work, although the aental faoulties nay be **, ’**  **ii .q** 

**”**Honorable John D. Reed, Comml.asIoner, Page 8

entirely clear. It Is preeminently manual labor, work of the hand." Asstaled above, we have foun; no other oases In anyjurisdlotlon _mssing upon the question of whether a stenographer Is a *leborern. Apparently our Texas oourts have naver been called upon to writs uponthe point.

Adverting to the emergenay olauss of the Texas gaigrant Agetmy~taw, ana espeolally that languagr no 

### have undersoored above, weare impelled to 

### eseroiae "a free intellectual judgment" with respeot to the at&us of adonographer in Texas, with due deferonoe to the WpreoedentsW of the great state of Georgia. Weare unwIllling to say, aa applied to our Terns stenographers, that a "large per asntage of the Indlvlauale

. . . are uneducated and not fully oognizant of their rights or of business methods In protaotlng and eecurlng their rlghts~"

A capable Texas stenographer (Andwhonil1 8ay the vast majority of themare not capable?) devotes muoh tIl:s and speoial etudy to the attainment of the art.. Profloieno oomes from tedious hours of steady praotloe, amlid dtJly by experlenoe. When, perohanoe, one Is*uaable to pursue the aalling with reasonable ~regularity apreview andadditional study is essential to regain ths efrloient status essential to a proper dlsposltlon of tho dutffea. In the early days of our sduoatlonal system the youth 'IFIS

apprentloed to e master 

### Orartesan In 

### orderto learn a trade. Themethod ofapprentloeshlp maintains to this day, partioularly In those 

### orartt3 aadt=aOs oarriea on by those whomwe commonlyrefer to as laborers.

Rut no stenographer learns the.roisnoe of shorthand through the apprentloeship method. Themethod employed In teaahlng and learning shorthand is precisely that of formal sohoolliig. Theprocedure Involved Is muchthe sanm as that praatIa@Pwith the yolungeduoand, who Is taught first to form letters Into words, and then to awpoae anb read sentences. Manyand uarioua 

### arethe signs and symbols used and aommltted to memory, before ultimate attainment of a praatloal and ueable system of shorthand,Honorable John D. Reed, Gomissioner, Page 9

Typewriting and shorthand are formally recognized m;ie;;s In the curriouluin of the vast majority of our high

. Thesubject matter of the modern school ourriaulumIs divided oh.lefly into two fields, the skill subjeots and the humanities, or the practical arts and the fine arts. Theskill subjeats or practloal arts are rmnlfeatly oomposed of those studies whloh have prinarlly a vooatlonal aspsot. Rut the faat that the word “art” has become In eduoational temittOlOgy a MOOgniSed part of ana8eOOiatiYe allianoe rith those learnings and skills whIohwe term basloally "praotloiU*, is highly indloatlve of a line of demroatlon whIoh must distinguish the subjeots demarlbed as WpraatIoal arts" 

### fromthe "fine arts" on the 

### onehand,@& from wholly mechanloal or manual pursuits on the other.

In our eduoatlonal systam wehave trade sohools In whIeh mechanics andmanual training are taught In various fonw. There are oomerotal sohools, ox business oollsges, 

### wherebookkeeping and steography oonstitute the oentral o&s of the ourrloulum. Andthere are manyTexas high sohools whbra aubjeots from both the moohanioal and the oommeroIa1 fields are tau@t by the sameformal laboratory method as the aolenoes. These faats might tahd, at first glanoe, to oomport with and lend oredsme to the reasoning of the Georgia jurist, whenhe says, with the particular Intent of oomprlng the 

### workof well reOOgnIzed laboring trades with that of the stenographer:

=. i

. It is urged that stenography is an *art*, a skillful employment, the reeult of epeoial study and training, and that profiaienoy in It is the result of steady praotlae an4 exporlenoe. ProfloIenoy oomes to the bricklayer ani Eaipenter and blaoksmith from steady praotioe and experlenoe, and, they specially study and train

. . . Speolal study and trainim andsteady praotioe an-dexperienoe do not of themselves make @art'." In another part of the Georgia opinion it is said.1

n the true distinotlon iBt Does mental*l;b& or manual labor predomInatelW AndIn this oonneatlon webelieve Is to be found the error in the learned jurist's reasoning. Heignores the literary requisites required by stenography, elements whollyHonorable John D. Reed, Co~eeloner, page 10

lacki= In bricklaying, aorpentering and blaaksnithlng. Thejudge olaims this la of no acoount; since If the employer Rlndulges In the practice of murdering the Zing’s EnglIeh, he (the stenographer) muet baoome a ‘partlceps arimlnls 1, andjoin In the assassIgatIon.w But it must be 

### rememberedthat If the employer dictates the word uaInltw, It Is the stenograi>her*s job to knowthat an apo#trophe must be plaoed between the letters “nwand *tw. AndIt is a well knownfact that manyexecutives do not take the time or bother to diotate all of their letters, but merely Issue lnstruotione, leaving the aatual oomposition of the letters to the Inteilsotual acumenof ths etezogsapher. It Is in this literary requleita that ‘art” enters, in addition to manual eklll.

The line of aamaroatlon between labor and stenoFraphy oaours, webelieve, precisely at the point where the stenographer mustbring into play, in addition to the required skills of placing signs and symbols on paper and traneariblng their meaalng by the use of a typewriter; L a knowlsd.ge of the oorreot use of letters; grammar, rhetorlo, spelling and literary oanposltlon. Eaoh of th6ss aajunots Is Inherently a phase of literature, the baslo subjeot of the humanities. Anysubjeot, the mastery of whIoh req4res to amajor degree knowledge of these ei5sentIally literary teahnlques, cannot be classed as exolusively a manual performanc:e, as the 3eorgia jurlet contends. Byhis ownreasoning onae the duties performed aro rsmoved 

### froman eseentIaily manual routine, then the one whoperforms thwn Is not $9 be crlasead a8 a laborer.

SpeoIfIcally answering your question, weare of the opinion that neither a bookkeeper nor a stenografier, as such,, oomeswIthln the meaning of the term *laborerw as ueed In the Texas EnIgrant Agency Law.Yours very truly

BenJamin Woodall

Assistant