Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-05-01
We ARE. STUCK FOR
AS MUCH As $4,000
IF WORKER IS HURT
More Than $50, OOO Montanans
Made Responsible for Huge
Sums Under Operations of
Proposed New Compensa-
ton Act.

The proposed new compensation
law, for which signatures to initiate
are now being circulated, is further
defined by the Associated Industries
OF Montana.
Section 1868. The proposed amend
ment omits the following clause from
the old law:
"''.excluding any person whose
employment is both casual and
not in the course of the trade. bus
mess, profession or occupation of
his employers"
1t adds the following clause.
An employee shall be deemed
to be in the service of his en-
ployer and acting in the course OF
his employment while travelling
from the plant of the employer
over the usual course OF travel to
his residence. and while travelling
from his residence to said plant
over the usual course OF travel"
This section, taken together with
Section 2847, which has been dis
cussed, will make every person func-
tioning under the new act an insurer
OF every employee he has, no matter
how short the term of employment,
and no matter what the employment
may be. from ditch-digging to book
keeping. 1t also makes such employer
an insurer OF the workman while going
to and from work.
Under the proposed amendment II
farmer, printer, householder or
anybody else coming under the act
hires any one except in domestic or
farm service, he becomes an insurer
Of that person not only while ''on the
job but actually from the time he
leaves his home to come to work until
he arrives at his home after work.
In other words. IL the worker is IN
jured on car, bus, street car, horse
back, on foot, or by any other method
or means while going to and coming
from his place OF employment by the
usual route, every employer" operat-
ing under the act becomes liable for
the amount OF the injury.
A householder may be working on
his own house and employ carpenter
or bricklayer. This carpenter or brick
layer may by his own act cause him
self and the employer to be injured.
What will this mean to the employer
II the workman is permanently dis
abled he will get s21.00 week for the
rest of his life. together with 5% in
terest on all deferred payments Sup
pose the workman be twenty years of
age His expectancy at that age Is 42.2
years, or 2194.4 weeks. AT $2100
week. this would amount to $46,0S2.40.
Five percent on this amount would
be $2.304.12. which would decrease
each month as the payments are made
SO that for the first month the en-
ployee would receive 1/12th OF Il times
81 or $1,000 in compensation, plus
I12th of $2,304.12 or $192.01 interest,
making his payment for the first
month s2S3.01.
With the decrease Of 5ee on the
$1,000 paid each month this would
amount in principal and interest to
$94,603.60. should the workman live to
the age OF 81, his normal expectancy.
At first blush, the average workman
may think the prospect OF getting
$94, 100000 very alluring. But on sec
ond thought, when he realizes that he
is one of the 10000 possible employ
ers" he will wake up to the fact, not
that he may get this sum, but that he
may have to pay Ii.
This applies to everybody operating
under the proposed act who hires a
man or woman, boy or girl in any occu-
patton except the few excluded occupa-
tons heretofore noted.
There is no compensation law any
where with such unreasonably drastic
provisions.