Evening star., 1945-08-26
Minimum Pay Law
Urged in Virginia
State Labor Report
By the Associated Press.

RICHMOND, Va, Aug. 25.-Strong
arguments for State minimum wage
legislation were presented in the
report of the State Department of
Labor and Industry for the biennium
ending September 30 1914, which
has just been made public.
"The adoption of minimum wage
legislation on State level will prove
of untold benefit in the postwar
period to workers who do not have
the protection of the Federal Fair
Labor Standards Act" the report
avered, adding, THE responsibility
for the protection of workers in in
trastate occupations is with the
State, and if this responsibility is
not assumed through State legisla-
ton their well-being will be seri-
ously jeopardized.
by neglecting to provide this
protection for its citizens who are
working without any protective wage
contracts, the State will retard its
social and economic progress as en-
ployment under substandard remu-
nerations reduces the standards of
| living and tends to involve the en-
tire commonwealth in a downward
spiral"
Some Groups Not Covered.
1t was pointed out that workers
employed by industries engaged in
interstate commerce have Federal
legislative protection, but intrastate
industrial workers are not covered
by wage orders.
While commenting on the real
service" women have rendered to
the Nation through their partici-
patton in war industries, the report
stated 1T is important to point to
the impending evils of the equal
rights amendment - proposed
by a group of women who desire to
correct certain inequalities between
the sexes" Rather than correct
these inequalities the constitutional
amendment advocated would create
greater inequalities than those it
is intended to correct" the depart
ment asserted.
analysis of the true value of the
proposed equal rights amendment
discloses that in addition to the
ruthless destruction of all protec-
now exist on the statute books the
entire social and economic struc-
ture of the Nation would be thrown
into a state of complete confusion
! by its adoption.
Fear Family Breakdown.
"Women's place in society has
specific significance as provided for
by the law of Providence. Normally
women are home-makers =.
To conform with the facts of life.
both custom and law require a
husband to support his wife and
family =. Thesbreakdown OF
our family structure and the con-
sequent deterioration of the coming
generations will be only one of the
many chaotic situations that will
develop upon the passage of this
kind of legislation.
This certainly will not bring
about the equality of both sexes,
because the fact of sex difference
10 completely ignored-men and
women are different in physical
structure and social function. 1t
will simply place additional burdens
on women, forcing them to support
Eight-hour days and six-day weeks,
| lies o."
State labor laws have been a
protection to women, it was reported.
Eight-hour days and si-day weeks,
with lunch and rest periods, provide
the best means of obtaining maxi
mum output from women workers
by maintenance of their health and
efficiency. Because longer hours
tend to decrease output and in
crease absenteeism and accidents,
the department included in its re-
port a recommendation that an g.
hour day and 48-hour week as
maximum be the objective for
sound postwar employment program.
Gross salaries and wages of in
dividuals in the State scared to
unprecedented heights in 1943, when
workers earned $1,795 100000, the
ranorf Shouo6