workers' compensation laws in all but four states began in the us in 1929.
when did workers' compensation laws in all but four states began in the us?
1929
colonial legislatures and later state governments adopted legislation patterned after the english "poor" laws. aid to veterans, often free grants of land, and pensions for widows and handicapped veterans, have been offered in all u.s. wars. following world war i, provisions were made for a full-scale system of hospital and medical care benefits for veterans. by 1929, workers' compensation laws were in effect in all but four states. these state laws made industry and businesses responsible for the costs of compensating workers or their survivors when the worker was injured or killed in connection with his or her job. retirement programs for mainly state and local government paid teachers, police officers, and fire fighters—date back to the 19th century. all these social programs were far from universal and varied considerably from one state to another.
social programs in the united states
at the turn of the 20th century workers' compensation laws were voluntary. an elective law made passage easier and some argued that compulsory workers' compensation laws would violate the 14th amendment due process clause of the u.s. constitution. since workers' compensation mandated benefits without regard to fault or negligence, many felt that compulsory participation would deprive the employer of property without due process. the issue of due process was resolved by the united states supreme court in 1917 in "new york central railway co. v. white" which held that an employer's due process rights were not impeded by mandatory workers' compensation. after the ruling many states enacted new compulsory workers' compensation laws.
workers' compensation (united states)