The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-03-06
PROTECTS SINGLE WORKMEN
Provisions of the Bill Will Not be APP
plicable for Man Earning Large Sal
aries-Act to Cover Many Employee
in Factories of the State.

ASSemDlyman holmes mas lHJIouuVCu
a bill which if passed will be the mi
tial step in this state toward the es-
Enlistment Of state accident and
sick benefit insurance.
The bill presented by Mr.. Holmes is
all that it is hoped to obtain on this
subject from this Legislature and it
applies solely to the issuance by the
state Of policies of insurance cover
ing sickness from vocational diseases.
Both the employer and the employe
arc to contribute toward the premiums
for the insurance and like the wage
compensation act, the inducement IS
made to the employer to take the pro
lection by the penalty which is laid
upon him in case of an employee be-
coming incapacitated if he does not.
The bill provides that any employe
coming within the limits Of the act
whose employer is not protected by
the act shall have right OF recovery
from the employer for all losses of
wages, attention hospital bills, and
all other Incidents Of a sickness to-
gether with damages with the burden
of proof upon the employer to show
that the disease was not contracted in
his plant and that he is therefore not
liable. In case of death, also, recoy-
cry to the amount of $4,000 is to be
allowed the heirs Of the person for
whose death the employer is claimed
to be responsible, with the proviso that
any payments made during the illness
of the person through whose death the
recovery of damages is sought, may be
applied to reduce the damages.
The insurance is to cover employees
working with white lead OF lead com
pounds or employed in work where
diseases are likely to be contracted
from fibrous, metallic, or tobacco dust,
or from arsenic, carbonic-monoxide,
carbonic- bioxide, mercury, acids, ex4
treme heat or cold, sudden changes in
temperature, or from germs from rags.
Only single employees with no Deepen
dents earning less than 5000 year
are to be subject to the protection of
the act and no person is to be subject
to the protection of the act who earns
over 5000 a year. Persons earning
$500 year must have two persons
dependent upon them to have the pro-
lection of the act and persons earning
5000 year must have four persons
dependent upon them.
Employers coming under the act are
to be allowed to deduct ono per cent
of the wages of employees liable to the
protection of the act from their wages
to be paid into the insurance fund and
for each person thus insured the en-
ployer is to pay sum equal to one
half of one per cent of their wage.
In ease of sickness the employee pro-
tected by the insurance is to receive
65 pei cent of his wages during the
period of his sickness, provided that
the period of payment shall not ex-
tend over twenty-siX consecutive weeks
or more than thirty-nine weeks in any
single year. The rates for the insur-
ance may be increased or decreased at
the will Of the industrial commission
which is to administer the act, but the
proportion to be paid by the employer
of the premium cannot be increased to
an amount over so per cent of the
sum paid by the employee
The act is to go into effect Sept /
Of this year and in ease of it being
necessary to care for the patient in
hospital full wages are to be paid
the patient and 30 per cent of the
wages are to be contributed to the
state. The state payment is only to
be when hospital care is necessary for
the reason that 1T is not believed that
the act would be constitutional if a
payment for any other purpose was
made by the state.
The Industrial commission is given
entire charge of the administration Of
the fund and $4,000 is appropriated
as an initial appropriation toward the
fund. If this sum proves insufficient
to meet the state obligation a loan
from the general fund is authorized
to meet an. obligations the state may
incur under the law The appoint
ment Of physicians to examine appli
cants 1or the protection of the funo
is provided for under the law, the
appointees to be selected by the in
dustrial commission