The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-04-20
OUNIFORM LAWS
ON COMPENSATION
Many Workers Are Not Given Any
Protection by Various State
Statutes.
BENEFITS PAID VARY WIDELY
Uncle Sans Bureaus Of Labor Sta
tlstlcs Shows Tendency to Broaden
Scope Of the Acts Now
In Force.


Scope Of the Acts Now
In Force.
In the rapid spread Of workmen's
compensation legislation in this Loun-
try the fact is often overlooked that
many of the laws adopted are far less
comprehensive than their mere titles
would indicate. Because 80 states and
territories, with some 75 per cent of
the employed population, have adopt
ed such laws 1t is frequently assumed
that similar proportion Of the wage
workers Of the country are now fully
and properly insured against the loss
and suffering of industrial accidents.
That this is not true is emphasized In
a bulletin issued by Uncle Sans bu-
reau of labor statistics entitled work
mems Compensation in the United
States and Foreign Countries"
The bulletin presents detailed COM
parisOn of the principal features OF the
various state compensation laws. The
comparison brings out most striking
differences, particularly as regards the
proportion Of workers covered and the
scale of compensation benefits. NO
state compensation act covers all EN-
ployees. In the first place, most OF
the acts are elective. Employers who
do not accept are penalized, but in
spite of this there are always a num-
ber who refuse to elect. In the second
place, all of the acts purposely exclude
certain classes of employees. Thus,
agricultural workers, domestic serv-
ants and casual employees are almost
everywhere excluded. Also there is
an important group Of acts which ap-
ply only to a list of employments de-
clared to be especially hazardous, al
though in practice they may be no
more hazardous than others not in
cluded. Again, a considerable num-
ber of acts apply only to employers
having not less than certain number
of employees, the minimum being in
one case as high as eleven.
Benefits Are Restricted.
The result Of these limitations and
exclusions is to restrict the benefits
Of compensation very often to only
rather small fraction of the total
number of workers. The bulletin makes
a rough estimate of the proportion COW
cred in each state, the estimate being
based on the assumption that election
has been made by all employers af-
fected in states having elective laws.
In only two instances, New Jersey and
Hawaii, do the acts include at best
as many as 80 per cent of the total
workers and only seven states cover
so per cent or over. One covers less
than 20 per cent'and nine less than 80
per cent.
Similarly striking are the differences
between the several acts as regards
the benefits paid in case of injury. A
few extreme instances are cited. In
the case Of a fatal injury occurring in
the state of Oregon, the widow and
children may receive a total as much
as $13, 3,4S0, whereas in Vermont the
maximum would be $3.50, and under
the Oklahoma act no benefits at all |
are paid in case of death. For loss |
of hand, the Alaska act may pay as
much as $3.50, while the maximum
for the same injury in Colorado is but
$3.50. Again, in Oregan and Porto
Rico cash benefits are paid for inju-
ries of no matter how brief duration,
whereas in Colorado no cash benefits
are paid for disabilities of less than
three weeks. Further, Washington
and Wyoming, at one extreme, make
no provision for medical service, this
expense falling entirely on the worker,
wheras, at the other extreme, sew
eral states, as Connecticut, Massachu-
setts and California, may pay for all
necessary medical and hospital service,
without limit as to time or amount.
Tendency to Broaden Acts.
The words accident" and "injury"
have different meanings in different
places. Generally speaking, the prac-
tice has been to limit compensation to
accidental injuries in the strict sense.
There is a tendency, however, to |
broaden the term so as to take the |
more subtle injury of occupational dis
ease, such as lead poisoning, wood
alcohol blindness and anthrax. Mas
sachusetts is the only state in which |
this has been regularly done and ap-
proved of both by the administering |
board and the courts. But the Cali
fornia act was recently amended so as
to include occupational diseases, and |
In certain other states the commissions |
have so interpreted the law only to
be Overruled by the courts.
At the beginning Of 1917 there were
S5 compensation laws in effect in the
United States, including those of Ha-
waii, Alaska and Porto Rico, but not
including the new federal act Of 1916,
which was not yet in operation, due to
delay in the appointment and conirma-
ton of the commission. OF the IL
noncompensation states, 10 are in a
single group of Southern and South
Central states-Virginia, North Caro-
lima, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,
Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Ar
kansas and Missouri. The other seven
are the two Dakotas; the three noun
tain states of Idaho, Utah and New
Mexico; Delaware and the District of
Columbia. In several Of these, investi-
eating commissions are now at work.
FREE P0IlI TRY FROM VERMIN |