MICHIGAN LABOR LAWS
Them for the Degree of M. A.

Laurence D. Clerum

1929

 

 

  
  

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MICHIGAN LABOR LAWS

Thesis

Submitted to the faculty of the Michigan State
College of Agriculture and Applied Science
in partial fulfillment of the require-
mente for the degree of Master of
Arts

by?
Laurence D. Glerum

1929

THESIS

 

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ALE LABOR LEvISLATICN. .

:ICHIGAK INDUSTRIAL CODE..
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Safety and Sanitation.
Railroad Safety Lews..
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I
INTRODUCTION

Michigan Labor Legislation is of importance because
it effects, directly or indirectly, every person in the
state. No one lives or earns a livelihood within the
borders of this state without being influenced by the
laws concerning labor conditions. It is necessary to
study these regulations.in order to comprehend their full
extent and significance. They have been accumulating
since the time of the states' admission to the union
in 1837. During this period of 92 years Michigan has
grown from an agricultural state into one with many and
varied industries. With this industrial growth there has
been a corresponding development in the industrial
legislation. The labor laws have continually broadened
and become more and more comprehensive.

Heretofore, no one has attempted to trace the
development of hichigan Labor Legislation. This thesis
seeks to trace the growth of the industrial code from
its beginning down to the present, noting the various
changes and indicating its present status. In the pre-“"
paration of this study the Michigan Public Acts, which
are published biannually, furnished the chief source of
information. Limited material concerning the immediate
conditions causing the adoption of certain legislation
was found in the Annual Reports of the State Commissioner

of Labor from 1884 to 1920 inclusive.

II
CHILD LABOR LEGISLATION

In Michigan, as in most state; laws restricting
the labor of children received first attention. These
laws are found early because of the fact that open—minded
people quickly appreciate and support the humanitarian and
economic arguments against the exploitation of children in
factories and at other types of arduous labor.

The humanitarian argument is that factory work is
”too hard and strenuous and will stunt and dwarf the ordinary
growth of a child, both mentally and physically. One writer
remarked forty years ago, as he watched child labor increas-
ing at the expense of child education, "Our large industrial
centers are liable to become centers of ignorance as the
citizens of tomorrow, who are the children of to-day go with
insufficient education, the tendency is not only to a crip-
pling of the intellectual condition but toward a crippled
physical condition as well, for in many instances children
in their tender years, immature in both body and mind are
employed at work requiring a constant strain on both." (1)

The economic argument which influences many is that the
employment of children lowers the working standards generally‘
enforced for adult workers. The presence of children in a
factory deprives their elders of the jobs they do. The father
as chief support of a family is perhaps unable to get employ-
ment because children are filling the jobs. Moreover, this

condition has a tendency to lower the standard of living;

(1) Annual Report of the Commission of Labor 1385, Page 90,

:alf the wages of adult

1

for children are c: "ten hi red for
laborers and the oresence of this co petition conse mtly

forces adults to ace ept smaller remunerstion.
Prior to the year of 1331 there was no legislation
whatsoever in the stat e of Michigan protecting child workers.

In that yerr the problem received its fir st recognition in

a law which applied to th minors en:;ag ed in cert sin

(.‘I\

occupations. It forbade the use of children under 1
of age as contortionists, acrobats, rope—waike rs, or beggars.
It was not until 1335, Imorever, that any lar rrs passed in
Michigan restricting the employment of children in factories.
Until that time parents were permitted to send or sire their
offspring out to work as soon as the children were old enoug.
to walk. It was tot/cor? :ulsory to provide Children T"1th an
education or to send them to school. Employers were not
restricted from e.p loying young ch oilfien at de n;erous end
strenuous tasks and keeping them working from "sun—rise to
sun—set" for a few cents in wages. An investigation in 1333
revealed the feet that children of seven to ten years of e“e
were working from six to ten hours 3 dry piling tricks in a
Detroit brick yard, while child an of ten to fou
of age worked from twelve to fifteen hours a day. In 133+
there were 596,394 cl ildre n between the school ages of rive

to twenty years. In the state there were 2

half, .ho a

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'1 1 .. 4.- ,3. z-.- 4.x
«SDQGd no school at any tine caring tne year. In

Detroit there we: e 22, 030 children of whom 9,2 3 rere at work,

./
and of tnese rorkin; Child:. en 2 ,235 were fourteen yeer’ of age

or under.

(1)1 Fun 110 Acts he. 26'
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Michigan was at this time (1884) ranking sixth highest

among the states of the union in regard to illiteracy,

and the amount of child labor was increasing annually.(l)
The State Commissioner of Labor's investigation in 1884
disclosed the fact that most children were compelled to work
long hours with scarcely any time for rest and recreation
and that they received a mere pittance for their efforts.
Long hours and strenuous tasks formed a fearful draft on
their tender nervous. systems and in many cases warped

them mentally and physically.(2)

Considering these facts and prompted by the increasing
public interest, the law-makers in the session of 1885
created the first child labor legislation for regulating
employment in Michigan factories. This act provided that
no child under the age of ten years could be employed
in any factory, warehouse, or workshop. It further provided
that every child under fourteen years of age , before being
allowed to work must secure a certificate signed by the ,~
proper school authority stating that he had attended school-
at least four months during the previous year. It was also
made unlawful for employers to hire a child for more than
ten hours a day or sixty hours per week. This law had
the popular support and was enacted by a practicall

unanimous vote by both houses of the legislature.

One year later a canvas was made in eight Michig:n

 

A.R. of 1885, page 90.
A. R. ofl887, pag6237
) 1885 House journal §%¥Ul8, yeas 8h, nays 4.
Senate journal p.540, yeas 2H, nays O.

 

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cities and it was revealed that 980 children of nine
to fifteen years of age were working an average of ten
hours a day for twenty-nine to forty-eight cents a day.
In 92 Detroit business establishments inspected,372 boys
and girls from ten to fifteen years of age were working
ten hours a day for wages which ranged from twenty-nine
to thirty-five cents a day. Bay City had 1&0 and Iuskegon
130 boys from nine to fifteen years of age working ten and
a half hours a day for twenty-five to forty-five cents wages?
Realizing that such conditions were undesirable and that
such hours were too long for young children, the legislature
of 1887 passed a law which prohibited any person, company,
or corporation from employing any boy under fourteen or
girl under sixteen years of age for more than nine hours
a day.(2)It was soon noticed that this law, while it limited
the working hours to nine per day, prescribed no limit on
the number of working hours per week. Consequently some
employers dodged the intent of this act by compelling the
children to work on Sundays or for seven days a week. In
order to overcome this abuse the first act of the next
legislature in 1389 sought to limit the number of working
hours in factories to fifty-four hours a week for all boys
under fourteen and girls under sixteen years of age.(3)

In the same year, 1889, the legislature raised the
minimum age limit for children working in factories from
ten to twelve_years of age. At the same time in order to

1 A.R. or 1837 page 2E7. P blio t 2, f lgék
E2; Public Act 162 of 1887 (3) u AC 05 0 3

(8)

lessen the accidents among child workers, it was made
unlawful for any child under fourteen years of age to
clean machinery while it was in motion. It was made
necessary that every firm employing more than ten children
under fourteen years of age keep on file for each child
so employed the four month school certificate and in
addition thereto the written consent of the parents giving
the name,age,and residence of the child. 1 It is important
to note that none of this child labor legislation applied
to farm children, domestics, store or hotel clerks.

That the child labor problem was not insignificant
was shown in 1891 when it was disclosed that fourteen
per cent of the total number of employees in Michigg?
factories were but eighteen years of age or under.
In order to diminish the number of children in factories
the legislature of 1893 raised the minimum age limit for
children employed in fachories from twelve to fourteen
years of age, and provided that children under sixteen
years of age,instead of fourteen years of age as formerly
required, must furnish the school certificate and the
written statement of their parents consent to their
employment. The law alsollimited all male children under
eighteen years of age and all females under twenty-one
years of age to ten hours employment a day and sixty hours

a week in any factory. This law was later expanded to

' Public‘Act 265 ems;
2 A.R. of189l age 14.
3 Public Act is of 1893.

 

 

(9)
(1)

include children employed in stores and factories.

In 1895, ten years after the first industrial
child labor legislation was enacted, the first
compulsory school law was passed in Michigan. This
law required that all children from eight to sixteen V,
years of age in the country districts and seven to
sixteen years of age in the city hadeto attend school
for at least four months each year.( )This act was
a great step toward the promotion of child welfare.

,
Very hearty support was given this legislation by
the Michigan Manufacturers' Association (perhaps
because of the economic reason of the hard times of
the early nineties and the great number of adults out
of employment).

The legislation of 1895 generally improved the
child labor code; the provision prohibiting the
employment of children in the cleaning of machinery
while in motion was strengthened, boys under eigh-
teen and girls under twenty—one years of age were
barred from doing this work; children under the age
of sixteen were barred from employment in places
where life, limb, health, or morals were endangered;
child workers under sixteen years of age had to
furnish in addition to their certificate and state-
ment of their_parents‘ consent, a certificate signed

(1 Public Act 113 of 1901.
(2 Public Act 95 of 1895.

(10)

by the county physician stating that the app-

licient was physically capable and fit for the
employment desired. The laws of this year-(lf95)
greatly improved the regulations dealing with

children by effecting an increase of the minimum

age limit for factory employment from fourteen to
sixteen years. This res accomplished by making it

more difficult to secure the working permits which
rere indispensible in the securing of employment.
Since these permits became more difficult to secure,
some persons tried to forge the certificates. To avoid
this the laws of 1397 made it necessary th72 all
permits be be sworn to by a notary public. )In 1901
the law was broadened so as to recuire stores and
hotels,as well as factories, to keep on file the

Sworn working permits for all minors i? gheir

employ under the age of sixteen years. 3

Previous to 1901 night work for children was

lawful, but in that year an act was created prohibiting
the employment of children under sixteen by any
manufacturing establishment between the hours of 6 P.h.
and 7 A.h. This law was later amended to prohibit
girls under eighteen years of age from working during
the hours between 6 P.h. and 6 A.H. in any factory.95

1) Public Act 189 of1395

2 Public Act 92 of 1897

3 Public Act 113 of 1901

& Public Act 113 of 1901
5 Public Act 285 of 1909.

(11)

And no male under eighteen years of aje
between the hours of 10 P.X. an" o A.:.
In 1905, twenty years after the first child

labor legislation in hichigsn, the advancement that
had been achieved was very encouraging for those who
were interested in protecting children from the hazards

of industry. Hichigen's child labor code compared rell
n
a)

with those of the other states. In 71Lg hichifan

A

factories and workshOps inspected in 1939, out ofextotsl
of 225,000, employees found therein, less than ninety
were discovered that were under fourteen years of ageZ )
‘2
and less than 6,000, were under sixteen years of age. J
In order to eliminate any possible loop-holes in regard
to the employment of children the law was further strength-
ened to provide that no child under fourteen years of
age could be employed in any theatre, concert hell,place
of amusement, fzctory, bowling alley, mercantile
establishment, telegraph)service, or any commerical

1+
enterprise rhetsoever. It was further stipulated that
every parent or guardian must send all the dtildren
under his supervision ,between the ages of seven to
fifteen yeers inclusive, to school during the entire
school year, unless the child v'as over fourteen years
of age and could furnish the school board satisftctory

gyjdence that his services were essential to the support
1- Public not 220 of 1911
2 A.R. of 1906 page 319

3 A.a, of 1936 page 317

(4) Public Act 171 of 1905.

(12)

(l)
of the family. It was later added that children

who had secured an eighth grade diploma miigt be
excused from compulsory school attendance. ) This,
however, was qualified in 1923 by a law which
provided that no child under fifteen years of age
mia :ht be employed in any mercantile business or
manufact Luring establishment during the hours when
the public schools were open and in session.(3)

The law prohibiting the employment of hildren
for performi ng dangerous work was strengthened in
1907 when the minimum age limit was raised from six-
teen to eighteen for boys and twenty-one for girls
for all employed where life, limb, health, or
morals were endangered.( Another act prohibited
any minor under twenty-one from being employed in
any theatre, concert hall or place where intoxi-
cating liquors were sold. The law of 1857
restricting the number of working hours for children
was strengthened by raising the age limit for boys
from fourteen to Gigi hteen years and prohibiting all
females from wor ring in any manufacturing establish-
ment for more than an average of nine hours a day and
fifty-four hours a week, and never more than ten
hours in any one day (exception was made for cannin%
establishments with perishable products in season1_

1 Public Act 200 of_1905 5 Public Actl7l of 1907
$2 Public Act 74 of 1907 ébg Public Act 285 of 10 C9

(3 Public Act 206 of 1923
; Puolic Act 169 of 1907

(13)

(1)
This law was later applied to mercantile inerituticns.

In order to prohibit children from getting into
industry the process of obtaining the required work-
ing permits has become constantly more complicated.
The certificates or permits must have the name and
residence of the applicant and his school report
showing that he has successfully completed at least
six grades; his age and date of birth must be sworn
to; he must have a statement signed by a physician
officially declaring that his health is in a good
condition and that he is physically capable of the
desired work; and he must have a sworn statement that
he has satisfactorily passed a literacy test and can
read and write intelligently. Since 1923 it has been
necessary that all minors under eighteen years of age

file an approved working permit with the mployer

(2)

when he applies for work. It was made unlawful for
an employer to hire any minor under eighteen years

of age who has not furnished the properly signed

(3)

working certificate. The employer must keep these
permits filed in his office at all times.

On July 1 1928 there were in hichigan 9,319 minors

between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years engaged

in industry by means of these permits approved by the
Public Act 206*of 1923.
a Public Act 206 of 1923.
3 Public Act 312 of 1925.

(11+)

State Department of Labor and Industry. The remainder
of the million persons gainfully employed in Michigan's
industries were over eighteen years of age.(l) This
indicates the success of the child labor code in this
state.
That hichigan's child labor laws are superior to
those of many other states is revealed by the fact that:
In 15 states children under 14 yrs. work in canneries.
In 12 states children under 16 yrs. work 9-11 hours a day.
In 22 states children of 1% yrs. run elevators.
In 28 states children of 14 yrs. work around explosives.
and in places endangering life, limb, health & morals.
In 8 states children of 14 yrs. may quit school. (2)
In 1h states children of 16 may oil machinery in motion
In conclusion the fact will be recalled that all
the laws concerning child labor have been introduced into
Michigan during the past forty-three years. Prior to
1885 the state had no restrictions regarding the employment
of children in factories. Michigan's first act in 1885
was to limit the number of working hours for children.
Next, in 1895, provision was made for compulsory school
education. In 1905 certain hazardcus work was forbidden
for children. It has been made more and more difficult
for the child to get into industry and for the employer
to take him in by the requiring of working permits and
the restricting of their issuance. The minimum age limit
fpr child workers has been gradually increased from

(1 Report of Mich. Dept. of Labor & Industry, 1928.
(2 Wisconsin Labor Statistics Bulletin #3 1928, page H.

(15)'
.3
nothing in 1884 to the present high standard of

eiEhteen years without a special permit and sixteen
years with a permit. The state has diminished the
number of working hours for children from seventy or
eighty to a maximum number of fifty-four hours a seek.
Thus has hichigan's child abor code been successful
in improving the child's Opportunities for physiciall

and mental growth and development.

III
FEMALE LABOR LEGISLATION

It has long been an obvious and recognized fact
that female workers have not the powers of physicial
endurance possessed by men. It has therefore been the
policy to protect women workers from the tediousness
of manual labor. The public interest has always been
much more pronounced in respect to female labor than
it has been in relation to male labor. Perhaps because
in women it sees the potential motherhood of the next
generation, consequently for the benefit of posterity
the women living and working to-day must be guarded
from all harm which would endanger their welfare and
capacites.

The first law in Michigan protecting female
workers was enacted in 1885. This legislation related
to the regulation of the number of working hours a day.
It prohibited women from being employed in any factory,
workshop, or manufacturing establishment for more than
an average of ten hours a day and sixty hours a week,
and required that employers must provide at least an
hour off at noon for lunch time.(1) The above named
hours continued to be the standard for women until
1909 when the legislature concluded that they were too
long and were an undesired strain on the women workers
and therefore they amended the law limiting the number
(1) Public Act 39 Of 1885.

 

(17)

of working hours to an average of nine a day with never
more than ten in one day nor fifty-four a week for all
females employed in factories.< ) The act was later
expanded to include all female wogkers employed in
offices, stores and restaurants.( )

Another phase of female labor legislation has to
do with the sanitation and the facilities of the working
conditions. In order to determine the actual conditions
in which females were employed the State Commissioner
of Labor made an extensive survey in 1890. This survey
disclosed some very deplorable situations. He found
13,436 female workers engaged in industry for an average
wage of seventy-five cents a day. 0f these 4,535 were
working at least ten hours a day. /"One hundred women
were found working on the fourth floor of a building
which had no fire escape whatsoever.” "In a shirt
factory poor ventilation and bad odors rendered the
air foul and unhealthful. No separate wash rooms were
provided and the one in use by both sexes, filthy to
the extreme." "In a box factory a girl of fifteen was
reported to have worked a week for eighty cents wages,
while three dollars was a record wage for any woman's
weeks work in that factory.” "In two Detroit firms
'sweating' was used most vigorously, the girls being
worked under a taskmistress for the lowest possible wage."
"In a hotel the basement was used as a laundry and was

Public Act 285 of 1909.
2 Public Act 255 of 1915 .

(18)

cold, damp, unventilated, dirty, and reeking with a
foul stench." IThese classes of labor are hard, poorly
paid, and carried on in the most dismal surroundings.
The women, however, makelittle complaint but live on
hopelessly from day to day, steadily tramping the tread-
mill of life.” "In a fashionable dry goods store it was
found to be the rule that although the place was supplied
with a toilet the clerks were not allowed to use it,but
must go where they best mi ht while the closet was
reserved for customers."(1 /To better such unsanitary
conditions a law was passed in 1893 making it compulsory
that a suitable and proper washroom be provided where-
ever female workers=were employed. This closet had to
be separate and apart from those used by males and had
to be kept clean and ventilated at all times. 2 Further
improvements and regulations bettering factory conditions
by providing for the proper heating, ventilation, and
lighting were adopted and provision was made for their
enforcement by the creation of state factory inspectors.
This factory inspection work will receive further
attention in the next chapter.

Among the first laws concerning women was an act
in 1885 which provided that every emplOyer of women in
any manufacturing establishment, hotel, or store had to
provide suitable seats for females and allow the use of
such seats when the active duties were not engaging the

ii).A.R. of Comm: of Lab. of 1892, pages 177-183.
(2) Public Act 126 of 1893.

 

(19)
(1)

women workers. As many employers complied with the
law to the extent of furnishing the seats but made it
understood to their employees that_they disapproved of
the use of them, the law was strengthened to provide
that all persons employing female workers in any
business, trade or occupation must provide suitable
seats and make no rule or regulation prohibiting the
use thereof when the femalgs were not in the active
duty of their employment.( ) This law is now in effect
and is being enforced by the state factory inspectors.
Two types of employment have been entirely for-
bidden for female workers. The first was enacted in
1897 to safeguard the morals of women workers. It
prohibited the employment of women as bar-keepers,
waitresses, dancers, or musicians in any saloon or
bar—room.(3) The other type of work which has been
prohibited for female workers by statute is the operation
of emery wheels or belts. This restriction was adopted
because in many factories where these wheels were
used steadily the dust arising from them was very
injurious to the health. Another law was passed relating
to the conditions of female workers employed in hotels.
In many hotels where female labor was used it was the
policy to provide living quarters as part of the wages.
These quarters, however, were so had in some instances
that the regulations adopted in 1907 required hotels
Public Act 39 of 1885.

2 Public Act 91 of 189 .
3 Public Act 170 of 1897.

 

(20)

which furnished rooms for their female help to keep
these rooms properly heated, ventilated, and equippedél)
There has always been a great amount of complaint
concerning the difference in the amount of wages paid
female workers compared with the amount paid male workers
for doing a like piece of work. Women, because they have
fewer expenses can live more cheaply than men and may
therefore work for less wages. The acceptance of lower
wages by females forms a dangerous source of competition
for male workers. In 1915 an attempt was made to establish
a minimum wage restriction gor female workers but the
provision was not adopted.( ) Some relief was afforded
to this problem in 1919 when a law was passed making it
unlawful for employers to discriminate between the sexes
in the payment of piece work wages.(3)
On July 1 1928, there were in Michigan 125,405
women working in the industries and mercantile establish-
ments. This number does not include thousands whouare
employed in offices, hospitals, and small stores.( )
The laws protecting these workers are good but not the
best. There are certain important pieces of female labor
legislation that other leading industrial states have
adopted that Michigan has not yet taken up. The most
impbrtant of these include the eight hour day, the forty-
eight hour weekL the minimum wage laws for women, the
$1 Public Act 172 of 1905.

2 Public Act 290 of 1913.

(3 Public Act 239 of 1919.
( Report of Comm. of Labor, 1928

(21)

prohibition of night work in factories and all work
in the core-room of foundries, and the restriction
of employment of women immediately before or after

childbirth.

IV
XICHIGAN Ih-USTRIAL CODE

awe concerning the "cenditions of mployment'
were passed from year to year and have gradually
accumulated and formed what may be called an industrial
labor code. This chapter endeavors to present the
chronological develOpment of the Kichigan industrial
code in its respective phases.

HISTOR CAL
Probably one of the most important steps in the

progress of the hichigan industrial legislation was
the establishment in 1883 of a State Bureau of Labor
Statistics. This Bureau has develOped into the present
Department of Labor and Industry which will receive
a more complete description in a later chapter.
One of the first duties of the Bureau of Labor Statistics
was to investigate labor conditions. These investigations
disclosed some very deplorable and distressful conditions.
Dangerous machinery was unguarded, entailing frightful
accidents and untold suffering. Child labor was un-
restricted and often little children were found at
work with machinery that was dangerous even when hand-
led with the judgmenttof mature years. No provision
was made for ventilation in work-rooms which were
stifling with dust and foul air. Protection against

fire or sudden calamity was unthought of. Little

attention was paid to the sanitary conditisns of the
factory and the closets were commonly used by both
sexes. hany employers felt under no obligation what-
soever.to care for the health or morale of their

(1)
employees.

The investigators found "life in the brick yards
of Detroit was destitute and wretched. Laborers and
their families of five or six were crowded into filthy
dilapidated little one room hovels ten foot squ re
and eight feet high. The hovels were of wood, plastered
inside and dimly lighted by broken glass and sash,
approachable only through mud during the greater part
of the year, and were veritable sieves to the chilling
blasts of winter. Their food was scarce and poor. They
ate largely of animal food, dziefly pork, taking the
blood, entrains, heads, lungs, and liver and boiling

(2)
them into unsavory soups.“//, hen worked from eleven

to twelve hours a day and received fifty to seventy-
five cents wages per day. In any type of labor at
this time (1884) the number of working hours averaged
around eleven hours a day. kany types of labor, how-
ever, worked even longer hours. The street car
Operators and conductors, for example, worked twelve
to seventeen hours a day. There were no regulatory
laws governing factories and the employers could

exploit labor as they chose, working men eleven

to eighteen or twenty hours a day and pay them

él) Annual Report of the Bureau of Labor statistics.l902,pl6.
2) Annual Report of 1884 page 181.

(2’4)

(1)

starvation wages. Such were the conditions forty-
five years ago before the state government intervened
in behalf of the working man.
LAWS CONCERNING WAGES

The first law in Michigan protecting the welfare
of the working class had to do with the protection of
wages. This was the Kechanics Lien Act of 18271Nhich
provided that if an artisan or laborer did work on
anothar's property according to contract he migit keep
a just share of the prOpsrty in case the owner defaulted

(2)

in the payment of his due wages.

The next law concerning wages was passed in 1879
and it provided that in the payment of all debts, the
claims were given preference, second only to taxes.(3)
The wages of laborers were given greater security in 1893
by an act which prohibited any employer from forcing
employees into an agreement and without such agreement
to deduct, directly or indirectly, from an employeeis
wages for charity, social, or beneficial purposes.( )

In order to insure and safeguard the proper payment

of wages it was made unlawful for employers to pay wages
to their employees in script or orders unredeemable in
cash, unless a previous agreement had been arranged.(5)
For the protection of both employer and employee an act
was passed in 1903 providing that any person or concern

which indu s 1 b0 er to trav to oint aw from
(15 A. R. of 1885, page 82

E2; Michigan Revised Acts of 1838, page 538.
a Public Act 178 of 1879.

( ) Public Act 192 of 1893

(5) Public Act 221 of 1897.

(25)

the home locality must first make a written contract
in which the wages and the work are definitely specified.
And any laborer who accepts the contract and travels
to the distant point must either do the work or pay
the employer the cost that his transportation incurredsl)
There have always been complications and trouble
arising frdm long delayed payments of wages. For the
purpose of insuring laborers on the prompt payment of
their wages a law was enacted in 1913 which provided
that every employee of any manufacturing concern,
mercantile instutition, contractor, common carrier,
or public utility must receive his wages on or before
the first of the calender month for the first fifteen
days of the preceding month, and on or before the 15th
of the month for the last half of the preceding month,
unless otherwise agreed previous to the employment.
This law further provided that if a man left work or
was discharged, he should receive the full amount of
his due wages on the next succeeding pay day. In case
the employer failed to pay the wages as above provided
he was penalized at the rate of ten per cent interest
for each day delinquent.(2)This penality provision
was however declared unconstitutional by the State
Supreme Court the reason being given that it was
“class legislation, and the penality confiscatory and
unreason ble". The l w has since ended with
1 Public Act 10 of 1903

2 Public Act 113 of 1213
3 211 Mich.90,l78NW?¥ .

   

(26)

the penality changed to a maximum fine of one hundred
dollars~and.provision made requiring that when an
employee leaves his work he must be paid his due wages
within three days. And if the employee is discharged
he must be paid his due wages immediately. In case of
the death of the employee his wife or nearest heir
would receive his due wages.(1)

The problem of unequal wages being paid to men
and women for doing the piece of work has always been
a great cause for ill-feeling and complaint. Often
female employees receivd less than half the wages that -
are paid men for doing the same piece of work. 2) This
naturally resulted in the lowering of the wage scale
and hence in allowered standard of living. The first
step in the remedying of this condition was taken in
1919 when a law was passed forbidding employers from
discriminating between the sexes in the payment of’
wages for piece work.(3)

An interesting law was passed in 1919 . It
prohibits any employer from demanding or receiving
any part or portion of the tips that his employees
received in the performance of their dutiesll Nor may
such tips be substituted in lieu of wages.

HOURS OF LABOR

The first law restricting or limiting the number

1) Public Act 52 of_l925

2) A. R. of 1837 page 177

a; Public Act 239 of 1919
Public Act 322 of 1919.

 

(27)

(U

of working hours for men w s passed in leap. It

provided that in all factories, workshops, sam mills,
lumber camps, mines, and other businesses engaged in

‘Anufactur'ng ten hours should constitrte a legal

:3
9 3

day's work, and any employer compelling his employees
to work more than ten hours a day had to pay them

for the overti e work if no(a§reement had been arran ed
1

previous to the employment. As trainmen were not

”a
H
C;

included in this law an amendment was made to it in
1393 which provided that ten hours in any consecutive
twelve constitute a full days' work for railroad
employees and any further work must be rewarded with
overtime pay. C Another law prohibits any street
railway company from reQ”irin3 any motorman or

d

conductor to work more than six days in any seven,
'2

/
ency. The above mentioned

except in Case of emer
restrictions are all the regulations that the State
has made concerning the number of working hours for
adult male workers.
SAFETY AND SANITATION
The first law in Xichigan concerning the

physical safety of workers was a broad statute which

was enacted in 136‘ "to protect the rights, healt

D‘

and liberty of laborers." It provided that no person

without authority of law could by threat, intimidation
1 Public Act 137 of 1835
2 Public Act 17 of 893
3 Public Act 23 of 1919.

or otherwise interfere with or in any way molest any
lacorer in the cuiet and pe M8f-l pursuit of his
evocation.

The use of certain types of machinery unavoidably
entails considerable risk to the vorkmen. In order to
insure a greater degree of safety to the workers various
rules and regulations have been made,concerning the
operation of the angerous nachines. One such machine
is the emery wheel. The dust which arises from the
constant use of emery Wheels or belts is very injurious
to the lungs of those breathing it. So back in 1837
a law was enacted which provided that in any factory

where any form of emery vheel was in constant use, blowers

or similar exhaust apparatus had to be installed to
(l)
carry Off the dUSt dfide° It was later revealed that

many concerns,altho they provided the blowers, had
installed cheap inadecuate devices. In order to remedy

‘, —

this sitution the law was amended so as to specify the (
ratio of dimensions for the exhaust fans and suction pipeg?
It was also made illeral to oper at a any emery wheel or
belt in any room lyin: either Wliolly or partly celow

the surface of the ground,(without Special permit from

the Coamissioner of Labor. 3 Koreover, it was made
illegalhfor female workers to Operate any form of emery
wheel. : Another provision to eliminate the danger of

injurious dusts was one which required that hair picl ing

machines must be installed in upholsterins and :attress

1; Public Act 136 of 1887 Puolic Act 19 of 1 3
E2 Public Act 202 of 139 53; Public Act 172 of 1307.

(29)

factories where hair or tow were picked over end used
(1
for filling.

v

The first general law in hichigan for the improve-
ment of the factory standards of safety and sanitation

‘

was passed in 1839. This la'er provi ce

()1

that the owner or

Operator of any factory or mercantile establishment

(

must provide automatic doors or gates for all hoists,

elevators, or well- hol es, Which would close the gateways
Whenerer t e elevator dep.rte d therefrom. In each factory
t 1ere had to be the proper heating, lighting, ventilation,

' on r. --. ‘31 < J- n ‘ - s, . .‘r\-' _ . . I: h
sanitary arlgnhGMEHbS, and ejitaole cx1ts viued :or

r‘j
H
0

cf
H’

use in case of em rgency. All beltinj, shaf nv,

gearing, elertors, drums, vats of molten metal or hot
liquid and machinery had to be guarded. All dangergps
machinery had to have autoxatic shi_* tin3 dev vice s. ;
This law W98 very comprehensive and effected

iznpr ovements in meny fcctories. It was, however, so
broad rnd extensive that the local police officers

were unable to investi1gate its every detail and
consequently violations were common. In 1392 three
years after t1 e passage of this law the State
Commissioner of Labor Statistics investigated eir’t

two Detriit places of business 34d 1%? workers reported
inpure air, 374 reported impur

offensive and obnoxious odors. To provide for better

enforcement of the provisions of the labor 13w the
Elg.Public Act 5

Public Act g
(3) A.R. of 1392

 

h
r

L__

(30)

legislature of 1893 created the office of factory
inspector under the supervision of the Commissioner of
Labor. The inspectors were empowered to enter and

inspect all the manufacturing establishments in the

state. They were to see that the laws concerning the

age restrictions for children and the number of working
hours were respected;,and:that the'working'conditioas were
prOperly safeguarded according to the provisions of the
law. Whenever the inspectors discoverd infractions of the
law they so notifed the employer or operator or the
factory and these conditions had to be promptly remedied.
In addition:to the existing provisions for the welfare

and the safety of the workers the inspector was given
further regulations to enforce. All stair ways in factories
had to have substantial hand rails and rubber covered
steps. If females workers were employed thereabouts the
stairway had to be properly screened. Outside fire escapes
had to be provided for all manufacturing establishments

of three stories or more in height. Belts had to be
thrown on and off pulleys by means of machanical

apparatus if the inspector thought the danger required
this safeguard. Separate and sanitary washrooms and
closets had to be furnished for both sexes. A noon lunch-
time of at least 45 minutes was required furnished for
workers. These conditions the inspector had to observe

and demand be pr0perly enforced. Every factory in the

state had to be inspected and a report of its condition

(31)
(l)

sent annually to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The original act of 13?} creating the “a tory-
inspectors carried an appropriation alloving for the

employment of but two inspectors. The importance and

value of this servic

(D

has been demonstrated by the fact

that there has been a steady increase in the number of
inspectors employed until the present time when a force of
twenty are in the field. L kewise there has been a constantly

increasing number of regulations, that they must see are

enforced. Cables and gearin: of all elev vat uprs in factories
r,
c)

mtst be inspected at least once each year. Hotels an.

stores must be inspected annually as well as factories.

H
k4

The factory inspectors must as that a

(0

manufacturing

establishments, hotels, stores, theatres, halls, apartment

hduses, and public buildings more than two stories in
_ , (4)
height are ec ipped w1th su1table fire escapes. The

inspector is also authorized to inspect all foundries

or establishments where metal ca Mt1n:,:s or cores are race

and see that proper passe 3e ways, heet,.light ventilation,

and exhaust fans are provided. That first aid equipments
J

fl

furnished and all preca.utions observed. In 1??? the in—
Spectors had the duty added of inspecting annually all

so olhouses and stgam boilers and condemning those in an
unsafe condition. I Since 1913 the inspectors have seen to
it that the Hotel Law of that year is obeyed. This law pro—

vided that sacs room of a hotel must be posted vith direct-

 

ions to th e prooer fire escapes and ext1ncu1ohc*s
1§Puolic Kbt 1:6 of 1533 Ealpubiic Act 1“) of 1§07
2 clic Act 2:1 of l§?7 3) Public Act 132 of 1737
3) Public Act 113 Of §31 (5) Public Act 235 of l?09.

(32)

Also that the toilets must. be sanitary and towels furn-
ished for each individual, the beds must be furnished with
ninety-inch sheets and have a sufficient supply of quiltsfl)
The factory inspectors have also been given the duty of
inspecting all the buildings of state institutions.(2)

There was some little difficulty encountered when
factory inspectors ordered permanent improvements for
factories which were being rented. The renters shifted
the burden of the expense of the improvement on to the
owner of the building and often met with resistance.
So in order to straighten this matter out a law was-
enacted declaring that the owner of a factory was res-
ponsible for permanent improvements ordered by the factory
inspectors.(3

Before the days of electricity steam engines were
common and plentiful. Steam boiler explosions were very
frequent and cost many lives annually. So in order to
increase the safety of the operators a law was passed in
1899 requiring that every stationary steam boiler should
be equipped with an approved low water gauge and alarmfu)
In 1909 the factory inspector was given the duty of in!
specting all stationary steam boilers and condemning
those in an unsafe condition.

Up until 1901 no action had been taken to curb the
evil of sweat-shops. In that year many were existing in

DetrOit in a filthy and uninhabitable condition, the

werkers being driven through a ten-hour day by a

1 Public Act 188 of 1913 $4; Public Act 209 of 1899
2 Public Act 20 of 1919 5 Public Act 285 of 1909
3 Public Act 111 of 1897.

(33)

task—mistress, for wages ranging from sixteen to ninety-
eight cents a day. In order to st0p such practices a
law was enacted which declared thst no room or apartment
in any tenement or dwelling house could be used for the
manufacture of any type of clothing, piece work, or cigars,
without getting a special written permit from a factory
inspector who had made a visit to the place. The inspector
was given the power to make any and all regulations that
he saw fit and to revoke his permit whenever he saw fit.(l)
Numerous other laws regulating the safety and
sanitary conditions of workmen will be referred to in
this paper under the divisions concerning: marine laws,
mining laws, railroad laws,arbitration laws, and

compensation laws.

RAILROAD SAFETY LAWS
The first law directly providing safety measures for
the employees of railroads was passed in 1881. It
provided that every railroad must erect before each
side of every tunnel, viaduct, or bridge a safety guard
in the form of a traverse rod or beam with suspended
ropes which reach to the top of the freight cars.(2)This
regulation is in evidence to-day and has no doubt saved
many lives from being scrapped from the top of trains.
In 1895 an act was passed providing for the pro-
tection of street car employees. It provided that all

jztreet car companies must furnish from November 1st to

E1; Public Act 113 of 1901
2 Public Act 190 of 1881.

(34)

April 1st, wood and glass enclosures for the platforms
of sufficient strength to protect the employees from
exposure to the chilling winds and the inclemencies of
the weather.(l)

An important act for the promotion of the safety
of railroad employees was adopted in 190?. It provided
that all railroads must equip their cars with automatic
couplers which will function without danger of injury to
the trainmen.(2)

In 1915 an act was passed providing for the improve-
ment of the living quarters of railroad employees. It
required that railway cars which are furnished employees
for sleeping quarters must be clean, well-heated, lighted,
ventilated, and sanitary, with places and facilites
separate for the drying of wet clothes.(3)

ACCIDENTS

A forerunner of the Workman's Compensation Act was
introduced in 1909 in an act relative to the liabilty
of railroad companies for damages if the trainmen were
injured of killed. This law made the plea of contributory
negligence void if the accident was caused in any illegal
work of the company or if the companyiwas guilty of any
negligence.

The important piece of labor legislation concerning

accidents was passed in 1912. This was the Workman's

Compensation Act and an entire chapter will be devoted

,1 _Public Act a of 1895
'2 Public ACt 23 of 1907
a Public Act of 1915

Public Act 10A of 1909.

(35)

to a describtion of this law.

Two other laws have been enacted in Michigan
concerning injured and incapacitated workers. One
provided for the promotion of vocational education of
persons disabled in industry or otherwise and their
return to employment.(l) The other act was passed in
order to determine the number of persons suffering with
occupational diseases in Michigan. All physicians were
ordered to report all such cases to the Commissioner of
Labor.(2)

EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES

The first Free Employment Bureaus were created in
Michigan in 1905. In order to aid the poor and the
unemployed an act was passed authorizing the Commissioner
of Labor to establish in every city of the state having
a pOpulation of 50,000 persons a free employment bureau,
whose sole purpose was to find employment for all those
out of work and make no charge for the service renderedEB)
At this time (1905) there were but two cities, Detroit
and Grand Rapids, Which could meet the 50,000 pOpulation
requirement. Therefore, as this service quickly proved
its worth the next legislature amended the law so tfiat
it applied to all cities having 30,000 population. )
subsequently the requirement was lowered to allow ten (5)

of the larger Michigan cities to have these free bureaus.

In 1 2} the population qualification was removed and
1 Public Act 211 of 1921
2 Public Act 119 of 1911
3 Public Act 37 of 1905
Public Act 281 of 1907
5 Public Act 191 of 1911

(36)

the Commissioner of Labor was empowered to establish
employment bureaus where he felt that they were neededfl)

In 1927 the Michigan Free Employment Bureaus were
subrogated by the Michigan Employment Bureaus in order to
require the registration fee of ?1.00 to be paid by all
those applying for employment.(2 The object of this
change was to make the bureaus appear to be commerical
enterprises rather than charitable institutions. An idea
of the sOOpe of this work may be received from the fact
that during the year of July lst 1927 to July lst 1928
the bureaus succeeded in placing 33,376 of their applicants
in positions.(3)

In 1913 the first law was passed regulating
private employment agencies. Through out the state
numerous private employment agencies had been allowed
to grow up unmolested and unrestricted. Free from any
restraint, unscrupulous managers of some of these agencies
practiced corrupt methods of swindling their needy patrons
who were seeking work. One agency in Detroit went so far
as to charge its applicants a five dollar fee and then
advise them to go over to the state free employment
bureau to find a job. h In order to prevent such occur-
ences a law was drafted which provided for the licensing,

bonding, and regulation of the private employment agencies

and also limiting the amount of the fee that they could

T) Public Act 21?- of 15:23
2 PUbliC Act 255 of 1925

3 Report of LaLcr 30mm. July lst 1923

4 A. R. of Labor Comm. of 1913 page 1955.

  

(3?)

charge. A liability was imposed on all concerns which
falsely advertised and all the agencies were subjected
to the supervision of the Commissioner of Labor. 1) As
the number of private employment bureaus continued to
increase, a law was enacted in 1925 increasing the ob-
ligations by raising the license fees and their bond
qualifications.(2)
MINE LAW

The mine laws of Michigan fall into two divisions:
those relating to iron and c0pper mines; and those re-
lating to coal mines.
IRON AND COPPER MINES: The first commercial mining in
Michigan began in the iron and copper mines of the upper
peninsula. Because of the lax and careless methods of
Operating the mines, a great number of accidents occurred
and many workers were injured. In order to better cond-
itions the legislature of 1887 passed an act to provide
for mine inspection. The Board of Supervisors in each
mining county was authorized to appoint an experienced
miner asfa mine inspector. This inspector must visit
all iron and capper mines at least once every sixty days
and all other mines at least once a year or oftener as
he thinks necessary. After a thorough inspection the
inspector was empowered to condemn all places where he
believed that employees were endangered. Partitions
must be erected between all hoists and ladderways, mine

shafts must be covered so as to prevent anything falling

down them, allielevators or hoists carrying_men must have
(1) Public Act 301 of 1913 (2) Public Act 225 of 1925.

(38)

overhead covers. Whenever dangerous conditions were
found the inspector could order the miners to quit
work there and notify the Operator to make the place
safe by means of prOps or else abandon it. The
operator of a mine must furnish maps and assist the
inspector in examining the mine. An annual report Of
the conditions in all the mines is filed by the in-
spector with the Board Of Supervisors.(1)

Through fear that the Board of Supervisors might
be unduly influenced by political pressure in their
selection Of a mine inspector, the law was amended in
1911 so that instead of being appointed, the inspector
would be elected by the people at the general election.
And in addition to his regular inspections he must,
whenever requested by an employee of a mine, investigate
that mine. Whenever a mine is abandoned the owner must
put a fence around all Open shafts or pits which will
prevent anything from falling down them.(2) To provide
greater safety to drillmen the Operator must never
require or allow the use of any power or machine drill
by anyone more than fifty yards distant from fellow
workmen.(3)

These laws have greatly reduced the number of
accidents in the iron and cOpper mines and are in

effect tO—day. Further protection is afforded the

miners by the presence and cooperation of the federal

 

2 Public Act 163 of 1911

g1; Public Act 213 of 1887
3 Public Act 220 of 1913.

(39)

mine laws and the federal mine inspector.

COAL MINES: Between 1895 and 1900 there was a very
sudden and rapid develOpment in the mining of Michigan's
coal resources. In order to protect the workers in this
new industry an act was enacted in 1899 which authorized
the Commissioner of Labor to appoint an experienced
miner as a coal mine inspector to inspect all of the
coal mines in the state. The law requires that coal
mines must have an escape shaft of at least eight feet
square every three or four hundred feet. A competent
engineer must be secured to Operate all elevators and
hoisting devices. Cages and elevators which carry men
must have an overhead cover, a safety catch on the door
and their capacity must be limited to ten men. Operators
must furnish adequate prop and cap material for over—
head protection, and ventilation so that each worker

is supplied with fresh airfl) In 1905 further safety
precautions were added. Gaseous mines must have their
air tested and examined every morning by the Operator.
Break throughs must be kept closed. Projected shafts
must pass inspection. Passage ways must be wide enough
to allow passage of men and animals. Landings must be
kept clean Of loose materials and protected by safety
gates. Cages must be of steel and the cables examined
daily. Lights must be provided at the top and bottom
3: the shaft. Escapement shafts must be provided with

 

(1) Public Act 57 Of 1899.

(40)

stairways and kept clean. When adjoining mines meet
underground the connecting passage ways must be kept
clean and passable. Closets must be sanitary. Boilers
must be located sixty feet from the shafts. Hoisting
engines must have good brakes. A standard code of hoist-
ing signals must be adOpted. Extreme caution must be
used in blasting. Pure animal 011 must be used for
illuminating purposes. When adjoining mines are appro-
ached work must advance slowly and carefully. When
abandoning mines maps of all underground workings must be
made and furnished the mine inspector.(1 Further safety
rules were adopted in 1913. Ventilation must provide each
miner with one hundred cubic feet Of air a minute and
double that amount if any poisonous gases are present.
Electric lines must be heavily insulated. Clean sanitary
wash houses must be provided for the miners. All cars
in underground haulage must carry a conspicious headlight,
and refuge nooks provided along the tracks in narrow pass-
ages. Mine operators must furnish the inspector with a
complete map of the mine with the surface extent and the
underground workings indicated. The mine inspector is
endowed with police power and may arrest any violaters of
the mining laws.(2)

The above laws are in effect at the present time
and compare very favorably with those found in other states.
The coal mining industry is not very prosperous in Michigan

at the present time; there being but eight mines under

 

élg Public Act 100 of 1905
. 2 Public Act 177 of 1913.

(41)

Operation and these are Open but three or four months a
year.(1)
MARINE LAWS

Prior to 1909 there were no state laws regulating
the Operation of boats and vessels on the Great Lakes.
The existing federal laws applied only to those plying
in interstate commerce; consequently many vessels were
subject to no regulations whatsoever. The safety of the
employees and passengers on these vessels was Often
unnecessarily endangered. Because of this fact a law
to correct the conditions was passed in 1909 and strengt-
hened in 1911.

These acts provide that the Commissioner Of Labor
shall annually or oftener have inspected every steam or
machinery propelled passenger vessel not under the
jurisdiction of the federal laws. The inspector must
examine the boilers and machinery and see that they are
in a safe condition and equipped with safety valves.

The hull and equipment of the vessel must be examined to
determine the maximum limit of the number of passengers

that may be carried. There must be permanent stairs on

the decks, and the decks must be kept clean. Life preservsrs
must be furnished and easily accessible to every passenger
and member of the crew, also life boats provided. NO
explosives or highly combustable substances may be carried
on passenger vessels. The master, pilot, and engineer of

each vessel must be licensed and know the standard code Of

1 Report of Labor Comm. 1928.
2 Public Act 113 of 1909 8 Public Act 60 of 1911.

 

(42)

navigation signals. These signals concern the manner and
whistle signals of two vessels meeting, approaching, or
passing each other and what is to be done at night or in
fogs. At night every vessel must carry a red, green, and
white light forward. The name of each vessel must be
printed on her stern.

If the inepector finds that every thing is in good
order and that all the marine laws and regulations are
Observed satisfactorily, he issues his certificate of
inspection for the vessel. Such a certificate must always
be plainly posted in every passenger-carrying vessel.

If the inspector discovers any violations Of the law, these

infractions must be corrected before the certificate which

is necessary in order to do business will be granted.
ARBITRATION MOVEMENTS

During the period of the '80's in the nineteenth
century Labor began to realize that there is a power in
organization. Labor unions and organizations became very
pOpular and common among the working classes. In 1883
Michigan passed a law allowing Labor Unions to incorporate
in this state. 1 The chief and important weapon wielded
by the union was the strike. Because, perhaps, of the
novelty of this new power there was a widespread epidemic
of strikes. In hOpe of avoiding these occurences and
settling controversies peaceably the legislature of 1889

passed an act providing for the creation of a Court of

Mediation and Arbitration. -This Court was composed of
(15 Public Act 159 of 1883.

(1+3)

three arbitrators appointed by the governor with the consent
of the senate. It had the power to investigate all
contrOversies between capital and labor; it could subpeona
witnesses; demand books or other evidence needed to carry
out its purpose. After collecting and considering the
evidence the Court would issue a decision.(1) The weakness
of the Court lay in the fact that the parties concerned
could completely ignore its decision, which they frequently
did, and the Court was provided with no power by which it
might enforce its decree. Because of this weakness.the
Court was not effective; in fact, it was not until 1897
or eight years after the enactment of the law, that the
governor saw fit to appoint the first arbitrators. These
held thier office until 1909 investigating strikes and
making suggestions as to what should be done. These
suggestions were, however, so frequently ignored that
the legislature Of 1909 could see no reason for the further
continuance of the court and failed to apprOpriate money
for its maintenance..

The idea of arbitration for strikes lingered on
and again appeared in 1915 when a law was passed creating
a Board of Mediation and Conciliation. This Board was
headed by a commissioner appointed by the governor with
the advice and consent of the senate. The duty of the
Board was to arbitrate and settle peaceably disputes
arising between employers and employees of railroads, mines,

public utilites or whateveg_other industries might petitggp
(1) Public Act 238 of 1889.

(is)
(1)

for this service. The same old difficulty confronted
this Board. After it had deliberated upon the evidence
and had reached a just decision, it was powerless to en-
force its decree and was merely limited to suggesting
and adrising.

After this Board had existed for three years, it
had accomplished so little that the effort was deemed
futile and the Board dissolved in 1918. It has not been
since revived, altho the law still remains on the statute
books and the governor may bring it into existence by
merely appointing a commissioner. Because Of the
diminishing frequency of serious strikes, there has been
a lessening in the attention and thought devoted to the

creation of an arbitration court in Michigan.
(1) Public Act 230 of 1915.

 

V

WORKMAN'S COMPENSATION ACT

Seventeen years ago, in 1912, the principle of
workman's compensation was recognized and adopted in
Michigan. Previous to the time it was assumed that
the injured workman would alone bear the losses
occasioned by accidental injuries. Often workmen who
were living happily and prosperously and providing well
for their families would sustain an accidental injury
while working which would incapacitate them, and thus
prevent them from receiving any income, and if the
disability for work was of long duration the man's
soon became exhausted and he and his whole family would
be thrown into poverty and distress.

It is true that the workman might resort to a law-
suit tO recover damages, but experience proved this to
be thoroughly inefficious and unsatisfactory. Under the
common law which governed these cases the employer had
three defenses; namely, assumption of risk, the fellow
servant rule, and the plea of contributory negligence,
and these defeated more than nine-tenths of the damage
claims.(l) Moreover, lawsuits required a long period of
time for adjudication thus incurring large expenditures.
In the end, if the injured man was awarded damages, by the
time he had paid his lawyer and the other expenses little
would be left him other than the animosity of his employer.

Then the workman"s compensation laws evolved a product of

(I, U.S. Bur. of Labor Bull. #U39 page 87.

 

 

(46)

experiments in foreign countries and some states during
the first decade of t1lis centiry. These laws were based
upon the economic principle that the consumer should pay
all the costs incurred in the production of the goods
which he consumed. The employer should repair his man-
:mo*ver the same as he repairs his machine power and shifts
the repair xpsnse ourders onto the consumer as a cost of
production.
Governor Osborne in 1911 appointed a com -rission
to investigate and report a plan for legislative action

to provide compensa .tion for accidental ir .juries or death

(1)

5

arisin out of or in the course of employment. he

...]

commission determined that the industrial accidents in
Michigan warranted remedial legislation. The Governor
then called a Special session of the legislature in 1912
which passed an act to "promote the welfare of the people,
relating to the liaoility of employ ers for iijuries or

a,

death su -stained by their etrploye es, providing compensation

for accidental Ljury or death of employees and the methods
for the pay.ent Of the same, establishing an Industrial

,3

Accident Board, defining its p0 ers, pr0v1iuin for a review

mi

of its awards, and making

51
7

out of these provisions."

n ap ooropriation for the carrying

I'USD

In accordance with this law there was created a board
known as the Industrial Acciden Board which consisted of
three menoers appoin nted oy the Governor by and with the
consent of the senate for a six year term. The Board was
non—partls .n.

(lj'Pug lic Act 245 o‘
(2) .1 lie Act 10 o

(L17)

The Act provided for an elective system of com-
pensation with -he exception of all governmental agencies
(excluding officials) to which the law is compulsory. It
provided also that unless an employer elected to adopt
the compensation plan, the rights of his employees to sue
and collect damages for injuries would be greatly stren-
gthened, for employers who did not elect to operate under
the Workman's Compensation.Act could not use the three
defenses, that the employee was negligent (unless the
negligence was obviously wilful) or that the injury
was the result of a fellow employee's negligence, or
that the employee had assumed risks by the failure of
the employer to provide and maintain safe premises and
suitable appliances. These defenses did not apply to
injuries sustained by household domestic servants, farm
laborers, or to employees whose employers had elected
to accept the provisions of the compensation law.

Every employee of an employer who had adopted the
compensation act was, without written notice to the
contrary, assumed to be protected by the law.

There were four methods by which an employer
might elect to pay compensation; namely, (1) by furnishing
satisfactory proof of his solvency and financial ability
to pay directly to his employees. (2) To insure his
liability in an authorized liability company. (3) To
insure his liability in any mutual insurance association
organized under the laws of the state. (4) To insure the

liability with the State Accident Fund.

(48)

The compensation law as originally passed pro-
vided that any employee who had not given notice that
he did not wish to be subject to the provisions of
the act would be entitled to compensation if the per-
sonal injury arose out of or in the course of his
employment by an employer who was subject to the pro-
visions of the law., However, a claimant was not en-
titled to compensation if he was injured through his
own serious and wilful misconduct. The law did not
provide for the payment of compensation if the in-
jured was not incapacitated for a period of at least
two weeks from earning his usual wages, compensation
began on the fifteenth day after the accident unless
the disability lasted for eight weeks or longer, in
which case compensation started on the date of the
accident. Reasonable medical and hospital services
and medicines were furnished by the employer for the
first three weeks after the injury. Occupational
diseases were not covered by the compensation law.

In case death resulted from an injury compen-
sation was paid to the dependents of the employee
who were wholly dependent upon him for support in a
weekly sum equal to one-half of his average weekly
wage, but not more than ten dollars nor less than
four dollars a week for a period of three hundred
weeks from the date of the accident. If there were
any persons only partially dependent upon his earn-

ings at the time of his injury, weekly compensation

(49)

was paid equal to the same proportions of the week-
ly payments for the benefit of the wholly dependent
persons as the amount contributed to the partial depe nd-
ent bears to the annual earnings of the deceased.

T1 ose considered as depe dent s were: a wife upon her
husband "ith wh an s11e lived at the time of his death,
or a husband upon a wife with whom he lived, or a

child or children under sixteen years of age (or over
sixteen if mentally or physically in ca Dacitated).

If he or they were living with the parent at the time

of the death an equal division of the compensation
was made among the children. If there were any total
dependents, partial dependents were not entitled to
any part of the compensation. A person must be a
member of the family of the deceased or be related as
husband, widow, or lir1eal descendant to be a day endent.
All questions of dependency were determined on the date
of the accider t and subsequent changes do in no way
influence the payment of th -e compensation. If one
dependent dies, the remaining compensation was divided
equally among the survivors, and payments only term-
inate upon the death of all depender ts. Depefidents
may include non-resident aliens.

The er ployer or his insurers ?.ere required to

pay reasonable sickness and on rial expenses to the
amount of two hundred dollars if there were no depend-
ents. Coz1pe1s ation was payable at the rate of one-half

the weekly wages but not more than ten dollars nor less

(50)

than four dollars a week, and in no cases could the
period exceed five hundred weeks or a total amount
of four thousand dollars. If the injured was only
partially disabled, compensation was payable at a
rate equal to one-half the difference between the
average weekly wages before the injury and the wages
he was able to earn upon his return to work. This
could continue for a period not to exceed three
hundred weeks. For purposes of computating the

rate of compensation the weekly wage was arrived at
by dividing the average annual earnings of the em—
ployee by fifty-two. If he had not worked a year

in the employment in which he was injured, his annual
earnings were computed by multiplying the daily wage
by three hundred.

If the injured employee died before the expir-
ation of the period for Which he was entitled to
compensation, payment of the compensation to him
would then terminate and the employer was liable for
the funeral expenses. Compensation could be claimed
by the guardian or next friend for a mentally incom-
petent or a minor child. The receiving of monies
from other sources or insurance companies could in no
way be considered as part of the compensation to be
paid.

A claimant's right to the compensation had to be

protected by filing a notice of the injury with the

employed within three mont1s after the accident, and

a claim for compensation must be made within six months
after the accident occured. If death resulted or phy-
sical or mental incapacity the claim had to be made

the

1~ 1,

within six months from the date of the de th 0

9.)

above mentioned i ca pa city. The time, place, and cause
of the injury were given in th notice, and it was signed
by the injured or by some one in his behalf. Dependents
or some one in their behalf si_ned the notice in case of
the death of the injured party. The injured party was
required to submit to a physical examination at any tim
during the period of Cisaoi ity, if it were so requested
by the respondents.

The Industrial Acc icent Board could grant permission

for the payment of cc;:e nsation in a lump St m unc.er

special circumstances if the weekly payme11ts had been
made for not less than six onths, and the lump payment

might be discounted by the payer at the rate of five per
cent per annum. Rights to compensation could not be

si;1ned a.way by ihe clai nt; and his compensation was not

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assignable or subject to a ta
debts. Taxes and wages are the only things whicn have
priority over coioensation payzents in ca.se of nsolve11cy.
If an accident resulted in the disability for work
or the loss of a member which m ght entitle the injured

to compensation, an agreement was executed and Mil ed with

the I1dustrial Accident Boa rd and if appioved by the said

(52)

board it was binding upon the parties which entered into
the said agreement. The terms of the agreemantflhad to be,
in harmony with the provisions of the compensation act
in order to receive the approval of the board. If an
agreement could not be reached by the interested parties
a committee of arbitration was formed consisting of one
member of the Industrial Accident Board who acted as
chairman and two other persons, one named by the plaintiff
and the other by the respondents. Investigations were
made and a hearing held in the locality of the accident
and the resulting decision filed with the Board. The said
decision was final if neither party made a claim for a
review within ten days, unless for sufficient cause the
Board granted an extension to the time period for claiming
a review. Any member of the Industrial Accident Board
had the right to require that the injured person be exam—
ined by an impartial physiciah and the reasonable expenses
for such services were paid by the Board. The arbitrators
of the case were allowed five dollars a day for their
services, such fees , together with the costs of arbit-
ration were paid by the department after having received
the approval of the Board.

If the Board received a claim for a review all the
facts of the case were reconsidered by them and a decision
was rendered which was, in absence of fraud, conclusive.

The only recourse left if either of the interested parties

Wasidissatisfied was an appeal to the State Supreme Court

(53)

which had to be made by certiorari within thirty days
after the Board's decision. If the terms of the agree-
ment or orders of the Board were not complied with, the
same could be presented to the circuit court of the
county in which the accident occured and a judgment
might be secured againist the employer or the Insurance
Company which had assumed the employer's risk.

If an employee was injured by a third party while
working for his employer, he could proceed under the
common law and make a claim for damages from the third
party or he might claim compensation from his employer
but he could not do both.

Every employer who elected to accept the provisions
of the compensation act was required to keep a complete
record of all- accidents sustained by his employees while
in the course of their employment and make an immediate
report of these accidents to the Industrial Accident
Board, or be liable to a fifty dollar fine for refusing
or neglecting to file these reports.

Such were the provisions of the Workman's Com-
pensation Act when it was originally adopted in 1912.
As this type of legislation was entirely new and un-
tried in Michigan it was necessarily unadapted to all
the various angles of industry, therefore it was made
possible for the Governor to appoint a commission of
three members, at any time he considered the provisions

of the law unfair or inadequate, to investigate the

(51+)

workings of the law and ma? e recot'nmendations for any
needed legislation to improve the law. Such commissions
have been appointed from time to time and their recom-
mendations adopted. In fact, each legiSlature since the
passage of the Act has corrected some flaw or added

some new constructive feature to improve the law.

The legislatures of 1913 and 1915 increased the
amount of the appropriation and provided for the enlarg-
ing of the staff and working force of the Board. (1)

In 1917 the act was amended to better define the
average earning of an employee. It was provided that
fifty-two times the weekly wage should be considered
an annual wage, the average weekly wage was arrived at
by multiplying the daily wage by six, and if it was
impossible to secure the exact daily wage at the time
of the accident, the previous daily wage of the employee
and of others at similar work in the same locality was
considered as the daily wage. The fact that an employee
had received compensation from one accident might in no
way debar him from receiving compensation for later
injuries.(2)

The legislature of 1919 made further amendments;
In order that all employees engaged in any and all of
the employer's businesses might have protection, the law
was changed to include all employees which the emplyer

engages during the time that he remains under the act.

It is also necessary that these all be covered by the

(1) rubiic Act 273 of 1913 a Public Act 10A of 1915.
(2) Public Act A1 of 1917.

 

 

(55)

same insurance company. A conspicious notice was provided
for all employers who elect to come under the compensation .
act and these must be posted by them in their place of
business. Increased compensation was provided for injured
employees. The period for which respondents were liable
for medical, surgical, and hospital services was increased
from three weeks to three months; the period of two-weeks'
wait before the injured b ecame entitled to compensation
was reduced to one week and if the disability existed for
six weeks (previously eight) or longer the payment of
compensation started from the date of the accident; death
benefits were increased and persons wholly dependent had
their payment increased from fifty to sixty per cent of the
average weekly wage, not to exceed a payment of fourteen
dollars nor less than seven dollars per week; the weekly
rate of compensation was raised from ten to fourteen
dollars for total disability and for partial disability

a proportionate increase was authorized; The maximum amount
of compensation receivable was increased from four to six
thousand dollars. The definition concerning dependents
was broadened to include a living child or children.under
sixteen years of age by a former wife or husband of the
deceased employee as a full dependent, and the death
benefits had to be divided equally among all total depen-
dents, however, a surviving parent receives all compen-
sation which goes to the support of all the children un-

less upon investigation it was revealed that that person

(56)

was incompetent to perform his or her duties properly,

in which case a legal guardian other than the father

or the mother might be appointed to care for the interests
of the minors.

The section of the law relative to making the
claims for compensation was amended to provide that an
accident that does not develop into a disability for
work until six months subsequent to its occurance but
does develop later may then have a claim made within
three months after the actual development, if the employer
has had notice of this accident but has not reported it
the time limit for a claim is extended to two years.

If an injured person's mental and physical condition
was such that he could not make a claim, the limitation
of six months does not run againist him; and if the
employer refuses or neglects to report the accident,
the statute of limitations does not run againist the
injured until a report is filed. Reports for all
accidents had to be made to the department on the
eighth day after the accident on blanks furnished by
the Board; if the accident was serious and compensable
the report had to be furnished with full information
relative to the occupation, wages, nature and extent of
the injury and the place of the accident, this report
had to be signed by the employer.(1)

Governor Grosbeck in 1921 thought that for

economic reasons the Industrial Accident Board, Board
(1) Public Act 6A of 1919.

 

(57)

of Boiler Rules, Department of Labor, and Industrial
Relations Commission(l)should be combined into one
department, so the legislature created the Department
of Labor and Industry. This department will be fully
described in a following chapter.

TWO new sections were also added to the compensation
law that year. One provided that when an employer who was
subject to the provisions of the Act contracted with a person
whowas not subject to the act to do work for him, an
accident sustained by the person working for the sub-
contractor would be compensated for by the acceptance of
the Act by the principal contractor in the case, just the
same as if he had been employed directly by him and not
by the sub-contractor. The employee can not recover
damages under the common law from the contractor who hired
him, if compensation has been paid by the principal; how-
ever the principal may sue the sub-contractor for
reimbursement. The other new section gave the Commission
jurisdiction over all disputes regarding claims made for
injuries sustained outside the territorial limits of the
state, if the injured was a resident of Michigan at the
time of the accident and the contract of hire was made

in this state.

(1) NOTE: The Industrial Relations Commission wee established in
1919 to investigate and report the industrial conditions of
the state with reference to unemployment, housing, safety,
‘health, and the conditions of workers in general. The purpose
of this commission, consisting of five members without com-
pensation and appointed by the Governor, was to advise the
legislature as to wise and beneficial legislation to adapt
for the aid of the laboring classes.

See Public Act 281 of 1919.

 

(58)

The law was again changed in 1921 in order to
increase the benefits to dependents, provision was made
that the expenses of the last sickness and of the burial
of injured employees, not exceeding two hundred dollars
must be paid by the employer in addition to the other
compensation. The maximum amount of compensation that
might be paid for one person's accident was increased
from six to seven thousand dollars.

Because of the constantly increasing number of
cases of arbitration that were requiring the attention
of the Commission, deputy commissioners were appointed
and authorized to hear cases. And in order to speed up
cases and eliminate any possible disregard or negligence
to hinder such hearings it was provided that there should
be punishment as for contempt of court for a witness who
failed to obey subpoenas of the commission or who refused
to be sworn in, to testify, or produce evidence pertain-
ing to the investigation, or might be guilfy of any
contempt while in attendance at a hearing.

The legislatures of 1923 and 1925 granted an in-
crease in the appropriation to cover the expensg of
enlarging the working force of the department.( )

Some very important amendments were made to the
law by the legislature in 1927. Among which there is
one which provided that minors between sixteen and
eighteen years of age who were illegally employed were

entitled to receive double compensation for any injuries.

{13 Public Act 173 of 1921
2 Public Act 193 of 1923 a Public Act 120 of 1925.

 

(59)

The rate of weekly compensation was increased
from sixty to sixty-six and two—thirds per cent of the
average weekly wage of the injured person with eighteen
dollars as the maximum limit. Compensation might not be
paid for more than five hundred weeks nor to exceed a
total amount of nine (previously seven) thousand dollars
for the accident of one person. Dependents who were
alien non-residents were entitled to receive two-thirds
of the amount of compensation that would.have been received
by residents of the United States or Canada.(1).

During the past twenty years every state in the
Union has adopted some form of a workman's compensation
law. Being of so recent a develOpment there is naturally
a great degree of uniformity and similarity among the
various laws, and none of them varies greatly from that
of Michigan. In the history of the development of the
Michigan law many amendments have been made to the

original act, all of which have tended to make it more

extensive and more liberal to the wage-earner.

 

(1) Public Act 63 of 1927.

VI

ADMINISTRATION

In his inaugural message to the legislature,
delivered at the Opening of the session in 1883,
Governor Begole made the following remarks and
recommendations: 'Paupers and criminals, the fish in
the brook, and the cattle in the fields,-all have
State Commissioners to look after their welfare. But a
large class of our citizens have no one whose especial
duty it is to investigate their condition and report
what legislation is necessary for the protection of their
interests. I refer to the laboring class. I would
recommend the establishment of a labor bureau headed by
a commission whose duty it shall be to study labor
questions and advise means of reforming numerous abusesf%)
Acting upon his suggestion this legislature of 1883
passed an act creating a Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Bureau was headed by a Commissioner appointed by the
Governor. The Commissioner was authorized to select a
deputy to assist him. These two officers, together with
the Secretary of State as an ex—officio member, comprised
the commission of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The
duty of the Bureau was to collect and print in annual
reports statistical details relating to all phases of
labor in the state, particularly including the number,
age, and sex of the wage earners, the safety and sanitary

conditions of employment, and the social, economic, and

 

(I) Annual Reoprt of Bur. of Labor, 188#, page 1.

(61)

industrial conditions of the laboring class. In the
collecting of this information the local officers
assisted the state investigators. The county clerks,
aided by the township supervisors, made regular reports
of the facts and conditions in their respective counties
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Commissioner was
authorized to subpoena and examine under oath such
witnesses as he might require inthe performance of his
mission.(l)

Obviously the task confronting the first Commissioner
was a large one. He had a big task and but a small
appropriation allowed him with which to hire assistants.
After visiting the three then existing similar bureaus
in the eastern states the Comissioner modeled and began
his system and work. The next legislature in 1885
increased the appropriation for the bureau and provided
that the commissioner might send out special canvassers
to assist in the securing and accumulating information
and it was provided that the commissioner might punish
those witnesses he called who refused to testify or
testified falsely.(2)

In 1891 the commissioner was further empowered by
being authorized to enter any factory in operation and
gather facts and statistics relating to the hours of

work, wages, industrial, economic, and sanitary conditions.

These investigations revealed many abuses and violations

'of the laws protecting the safety and health of the

 

$1; Public Act 156 of ids;
2 Public Act 189 of 1885.

(62)

employees. The local police and prosecuting attorney
were responsible for the enforcement of these laws, but
such officers are universally slow and lax and it was
consequently very rare that the frequent and numerous
violations of the labor laws were prosecuted.

In order to reform this situation the legislature
of 1893 authorized the Commissioner of Labor to appoint
regular factory inspectors whose duty it was to inspect
annually all factories and manufacturing establishments
and see>that the labor laws were enforced or the violators
prosecuted.(l) The value of this factory inspection by
state men was soon evident, and the number of inspectors
has been continually increased so that the Labor Commiss-
ioner has to-day twenty full time factory inspectors
functioning in this state.

In 1899 it became the duty of the commissioner
of Labor to have all the coal mines in the state in-
spected at least once each Year. The Commissioner was
authorized to appoint an experienced miner as state
coal mine inspector, whose duty it was to investigate
the coal mines and to correct or prosecute any violations
of the coal mine laws.(2)

‘The Commissioner of Labor's duties were increased
in 1905 when he was authorized to establish and super-
vise the Free Employment Bureaus in certain of the larger
cities of Michigan. The value and extent of this work

(3)

was described in a previous chapter.
1; Public Act 126 of 1893

.2 .Public Act 57 of 1899 .
36 Public Act 37 of 1905 or see page 35."

 

(63)

In 1909 the name of the Bureau of Labor and
Industrial Statistics was changed to the Department of
Labor. The Department of Labor continued to be headed
by the Commissioner of Labor who appointed a deputy to
assist him. The Secretary of State was relieved of his
duties as ex-officio member of the Commission. The
appropriation was enlarged and the Department of Labor
continued with the administration and enforcement of
all the laws concerning labor, including factory ins
spection, the gathering of statistics, and the operation
of the free employment bureaus. In addition, the
commissioner was authorized to appoint an experienced
seaman to inspect all the passenger carrying ships and
vessels navigating within the jurisdiction of this state.
The Inspector was required to inspect all these vessels
at least once each year and see that the marine laws were
being complied with or their violations corrected.(2)

In 1913 the Labor Commissioner was given another
duty when he was made a member of the Hotel Commission.
He, the Insurance Commissioner, and the food and Health
Commissioners, comprised the Hotel Commission whose
function it was to have all of the hotels in the state
inspected at least once each year and have any violations
of the Hotel law remedied and the violators prosecuted.(3)

The gradually developing important-and multifarious

administrative duties of the Commissioner of Labor received

an impetus with the establishment of the present Department
g1; Public Act 285 of 1909

 

2 Public Act 113 of 1909
3 Public Act 188 of 1909

(64)

of Labor and Industry in 1921. This Department is the
resultant of the merging of several, all the powers and
duties that were endowed in the Department of Labor,
Industrial Accident Board, Industrial Relations Commission,
and the Board of Boiler Rules were transferred and vested
in the Department of Labor and Industry. The powers and
duties of the Department of Labor and Industry are
administered by a Commission of four members appointed

by the Governor with the consent of the senate. One

member is appointed chairman and is in general charge

of the department. He designates three members to
administer the Workman's Compensation Act.(l)

The principal steps in administering the com-
pensation law may be roughly outlined as follows : an
accident happens. It may or may not prove compensable,
and if compensable it may range in all degree of serious-
ness from one causing no lost time to one resulting in
total disability or death. The first step in determining
what is due the injured man is to secure the necessary
reports from the employer, employee, and physician or
surgeon. The second step is to examine these records
and if necessary prepare the case for hearing by an
arbitrator or the commissibn on an appeal from the
arbitrator's decision. The third step is the holding
of the hearings by the commission and notifying the in-

terested parties of the awards made. The fourth step

includes the checking up on the promptness of the
(1) Public Act h} of 1921.

 

 

 

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(.66)

compensation payment. An idea of the magnitude of

this work may be had from the report of the Commission

for the year from July 1st 1927 to July lst 1928.

There were 210,558 accident reports filed with the depart-
ment and of these 30,558 were compensable.(l)

The chairman of the Commission, who is in charge
of the entire department, personally directs the labor
division. This division has twenty deputies or in-
spectors and maintains a branch office in Detroit. It
performs all the inspection work, visiting each year
16,673 factories and manufacturing establishments, all
hotels and stores, public buildings, steam boilers,
coal mines, and passenger carrying vessels, and enforcing
all state laws pertaining to the working conditions,
welfare of employees, and regulations concerning the
employment of women and children.(2)

The Labor Commissioner establishes and supervises
the public employment bureaus, and inspects and licenses
the private employment bureaus. He oversees the act-
ivities of the Bureau of Negro welfare, which is an office
that collects and systematizes all information concerning
the colored people of this state. He is head of the Board
of Boiler rules, a board which determines the rules and
regulations that the operators of stationary steam boilers
must observe.

The Department of Labor and Industry collects and

systematizes all statistical information and details

51; Report of Labor Com. July 1928.
2 See Chart page 65

 

(6?)

concerning hours, wages, age, sex, and working conditions
where labor is employed, (except on farms) and all matter
relating to the industrial, social, educational, moral,
and productive industries of the state. This material is
printed in monthly bulletins and in a biannual report.

In summarizing, it is recalled that the present
Department of Labor and Industry which is administering
the labor laws of Michigan is a development of the last
forty-five years. It was first created as a Bureau to
collect statistics on labor conditions in 1883, and later
the Commissioner was given the power to go into factories
and look around for statistical details. Then he was given
authority to inspect factories and enforce the labor laws.
The inspection duties gradually increased from merely
factories until they now include coal mines, hotels,
stores, foundries, vessels and boats, and public build-
ings. The Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics
developed into the Department of Labor in 1909 and in
1921 the Department of Labor merged into the Department
of Labor and Industry and assumed the responsibility
of administering the Workman's Compensation Law. The
Department is now a well organized and efficient

administrative unit of the State Government.

 

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VII
CONCLUSION

(.2 Ly '\ I

In concluding it may be recalled that the
Michigan labor laws have been completely developed
during the last forty—five years. In that time Mich-
igan has changed from a primarily agricultural and
lumbering country into a highly industrial state.
Michigan is to—day the automdbile producing center
of the world. This largest industry has accomplished
its entire growth in the last twenty-five years.

Because Michigan‘s industrial being is of such recent
origin, the labor laws form an admirable study for the
tracing of the growth of the public interest in the
conditions of the working and industrial populations.
Previous to the eighties there was little interest
shown toward labor and the usual attitude was to let
the laborer look out for himself as he best might.
Then labor unions became popular and with them came
their wide-spread epidemic of small strikes attracting
the public attention toward the conditions of labor.

Gradually the long working hours were limited or
lessened and the dangerous and more obnoxious conditions
of employment and habitation were bettered. Factory
inspectors were sent out to see that the higher standards
provided for by the labor laws were adopted. These
standards have continued to rise as the public has more

thoroughly appreciated that society in general is more

(70)

prosperous when the welfare of the working classes is
guarded. The growth of this sentiment was well illust-
rated in 1912 when the Workman's Compensation Act was
adopted, shifting the burden of the expense of accidental
injuries from the unfortunate individual alone to society
in general. There has been a steady accumulation of the
laws protecting the welfare and safety of labor so that
to—day Michigan has a reasonably extensive industrial code.
Michigan's labor laws are not yet as voluminous and
extensive as those of some of the older industrial states
such as New York or Massachusetts; but on the whole the
Michigan labor laws are about average and not very far
behind the foremost of the industrial codes of the leading
industrial’states.

In the matter of child labor Michigan has as high
an age qualification as can be found in any of the states;
the law requires that a child must be eighteen years of
age before he can enter a factory for permanent work.
Children between sixteen and eighteen years of age may
be employed only after they have secured working permits
approved by the State Labor Commissioner. The present
law restricts the hours of labor for children to nine
per day and fifty—four a week.

Michigan's female labor legislation is not volum-
inous but carries about the average restrictions found
in the industrial codes of the lesser industrial states.

Working hours are limited to nine a day and fifty-four

(71)

hours a week. The female labor code should be strengt-
hened to prohibit night work and provide foran.eight
hour working day and forty-eight hour week for women.

The Workman's Compensation Laws of Michigan are
very similar to Such legislation in the other leading
industrial states, and they have been made more and
more liberal each year by additional amendments.

The administration of the Michigan labor laws
is being expertly handled by the efficiently organized
Department of Labor and Industry, headed by the State
Labor Commissioner.

In final summary, the attitude toward the laboring
classes and wage earners has changed in the last forty-
five years, with the growth of Michigan's industries,
from .an attitude of complete indifference to that of

liberal protection.

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