Denver labor bulletin., 1918-09-14

their families against the hazards OF
sickness as workmen's compensation
now safeguards them when injured,
has continued to gain in impetus, with
official commissions in eight states at
work preparing the way for legisla-
ton.
Safety and Health.
Three states passed bills further
restricting employment of children.
New Jersey and Virginia strength
ened their child labor laws, extending
the scope and nature of employment
affected, modifying working hours
and raising age limits. Maryland
raised from ~ to IA years the mini
mum age at which children may be
employed during vacations or may
work in canning or packing establish
ments. New York forbids females un-
der q from working in telegraph and
messenger employments. Rhode Is
land has made unlawful the use of the
kiss of death" suction shuttle in tex
tile mills.
Hours and Wages.
New York provided that no woman
employed as messenger may work
more than fifty-four hours a week, or
before a. m. or after 10 p. m. Vir-
ginia restricted the work day for
women in factories, laundries and
mercantile establishments to ten
hours. Employers are forbidden by a
Massachusetts law from collecting any
gratuity given to employees for check
ing clothing. This state also made
it unlawful for employers to deduct
from the wages of an employe, be-
cause of tardiness, any sum larger
! than that part of his wages which
would have been earned during the
Z time actually lost.
Trade Disputes.
Laws TO curb criminal syndical-
/ ism" and sabotage were enacted in
/ Arizona, Montana, Nebraska, North
d Dakota and South Dakota, in addition
to similar measures adopted by Idaho
7 and Minnesota last year. Ignoring
the l. w. W. definition conscientious
withdrawal of efficiency" these laws
define sabotage as the violent and
malicious destruction of property as
means of affecting economic, indus
trial or political ends or hindering war
I preparations. Heavy penalties are
imposed. Montana, moreover, peti-
tions Congress to formulate a federal
definition of sabotage.
/ Administration of Labor Laws.
Efficiency in the administration of
labor laws is a matter of increasing
concern. New Jersey created a work
mems compensation bureau to have
exclusive original jurisdiction over all
! claims. Kentucky abolished the dis
trict system of administering compen-
sation. Massachusetts ordered an in
vestigation of the state board of labor
and industries. Porto Rico reoryan-
lied her compensation commission on
representative basis.
Employment Service
Meeting an urgent need created
| by the movement of colored workers
into Northern states, New Jersey
law establishes a migrant welfare and
employment bureau to investigate liv-
ing conditions among migrants, in
struct them in sanitary living, endea-
vor to procure proper housing facili-
ties, and to obtain suitable employ
ment; and New York appropriated
$1,000 to create an additional employ
ment Office ito best serve the inter
ests of the negro population" Strict
regulation and gradual elimination of
commercial private employment agen-
cies is furthered in New Jersey by
the imposition of heavy license fees
and bonds. Montana urges Congress
to provide for labor placement on a
permanent adequate basis.
Must Work" Laws.
Interesting legislative by-products
of the war are the anti-loafing meas
ures in nine states-Deleware. Ken
lucky, Massachusetts,, New Jersey.
New York, Rhode Island and South
Dakota in 1918 and Maryland and
West Virginia in 1917-to compel
able bodied men not subject to the
draft to engage in useful occupations.
The laws in most cases affect male
residents between is and so, and hours