the duties imposed upon him by this act, he shall be liable to a fine up to the amount of two hundred marks [$38.60].

Should an employer or his representative wilfully make misstatements, he shall be liable to a fine of from fifty to five hundred marks [$9.65 to $96.50], except where a higher penalty is provided by law.

CHAPTER VI.-SPECIAL PROVISIONS.

SEC. 27. An employer is obliged to keep a record of wages and similar allowances a workman has received, in such a manner as to clearly indicate, with reference to the provisions of sections 8, 9 and 10, what wages the workman received in the establishment; on demand, this record must be shown to the trade-inspector and to the policeauthorities.

SEC. 28. A person to whom a compensation has been awarded under this act, is not thereby prevented from claiming damages for the consequences of the sustained personal injuries by means of an action at law; the amount thus recovered shall not, however, exceed the sum by which such damages exceed the above mentioned compensation.

Employers and insurance institutions are likewise entitled to claim full damages for what they were compelled under this act to pay, from a third party that can be compelled to pay the compensation.

SEC. 29. Contracts whereof the object is to restrict, annul or to assign to a third party the right to compensation provided by this act, are void; nor shall such compensation be liable to judicial seizure for debt.

SEC. 30. Actions relating to compensation for accidents at work are to be brought in the lower court of first instance in whose jurisdiction the accident has occurred, or in the court to which the employer is subject to actions for claims.

SEC. 31. It shall be the duty of the Senate to provide in what manner the enforcement of the insurance above prescribed is to be supervised, also to give such detailed directions as may be required to enforce this act.

SEC. 32. This act takes effect on the 1st day of January, 1898.

FRANCE.

ACT OF APRIL 9, 1898, RELATING TO THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACCIDENTS IN WHICH WORKMEN ARE INJURED DURING THEIR EMPLOYMENT, AS AMENDED BY THE ACTS OF MARCH 22, 1902, MARCH 31, 1905, AND APRIL 17, 1906.(a)

TITLE I.

Compensation in case of accidents.

ARTICLE 1. Accidents due directly or indirectly to their work, occurring to workmen and employees occupied in the building trades, in mills, factories, and workyards, in the business of transportation by land and water, in that of loading and unloading, in public storehouses, mines, surface mines, quarries, and, furthermore, in every enterprise or branch thereof in which explosive materials are manufactured or used, or in which a machine operated by a power other than that of man or animals is employed, shall give the right to a compensation, at the expense of the head of the establishment and for the benefit of the injured person or his representatives, provided that the interruption of work by reason of said accidents shall exceed four days.

Workmen who are usually employed alone cannot be included under the present act on account of the fact of the accidental co-operation with them of one or more of their fellow workmen.

ART. 2 (amended by the act of March 22, 1902). Workmen and employees designated in the preceding article cannot have recourse to any provisions other than those of the present act on account of accidents happening to them while at their work.

Those whose annual salary exceeds 2400 francs ($463.20) can be beneficiaries under these provisions only up to that amount. For the excess they are entitled to only onefourth of the pensions specified in article 3, unless the amount of the share has been increased by express agreement.

ART. 3 (amended by the act of March 31, 1905). In the cases considered in article 1 the workman or employee is entitled:

For total and permanent disability, to a pension equal to two-thirds of his annual salary.

For partial and permanent disability, to a pension equal to one-half of the reduction of salary which the accident shall have caused.

For temporary disability, in case the incapacity for work shall continue over four days, to a daily compensation, without distinction as to working days, Sundays and holidays, equal to one-half of the wages received at the time of the accident, unless the wages are variable; in such case, the daily compensation shall equal one-half of the average wages for the working days during the month preceding the accident. The compensation begins with the fifth day after that of the accident, yet it may accrue from the first day in case the incapacity for work shall continue over ten days. The daily compensation is payable at the usual times and place of payment in the establishment, the intervals not to exceed sixteen days.

In case death follows the accident, a pension is paid under the following conditions, to the persons indicated below, beginning at the time of the death:

A. A life pension equal to 20 per cent of the annual salary of the deceased to the surviving consort, when neither divorced nor separated, provided that the marriage was contracted prior to the accident.

In case of remarriage, the survivor's right to the aforesaid pension ceases; a lumpsum compensation, three times the amount of the annual pension, shall be allowed in this case.

B. For children, legitimate or illegitimate, acknowledged before the accident, bereft of father or of mother, and under 16 years of age, a pension based on the annual

a From Recueil de documents sur les accidents du travail. Reunis par le ministère du travail et de la prévoyance sociale. No. 14. Paris, 1911.

salary of the deceased, at the rate of 15 per cent of this salary in case there is but one child, 25 per cent in case there are two, 35 per cent in case there are three, and of 40 per cent in case there are four or more children.

The pension for children whose father and mother are both dead, is rated at 20 per cent of the salary.

The total amount of these pensions shall not, in the first case, exceed 40 per cent of the salary, or 60 per cent in the second.

C. In case the decedent leaves neither consort nor child, according to the provisions in subdivisions A and B, each of the ascendant and descendant kinsfolk dependent on the deceased for support, shall receive a life pension in the case of the ascendants, and a pension payable until the age of sixteen years in case of the descendants. This pension shall be equal to 10 per cent of the annual salary of the deceased, except that the total amount of the pension thus granted must not exceed 30 per cent.

When occasion requires, each of the pensions provided in subdivision C shall be proportionately reduced.

The pensions fixed under the present act are payable at the residence of the beneficiary, or at the principal town of the district of that residence, and, in case they are issued by the National Retirement Fund, by the institution's representative designated by the beneficiary.

They are payable quarterly and on expiration of the term, yet the court may direct the advance payment of one-half of the first stipend.

These pensions cannot be transferred or attached.

Alien workmen injured in accidents, who cease to reside in French territory, shall receive as compensation in full, an amount equal to three times the annual pension granted to them.

The same applies to their alien legal successors ceasing to reside on French territory, except that then the amount shall not exceed the actual value of the pension as per schedule mentioned in article 28.

The alien representatives of an alien workman shall receive no compensation, in case they were nonresidents of French territory at the time of the accident.

The provisions of the three preceding paragraphs may be modified, however, by treaties within the limit of the compensations provided in the present section-in behalf of aliens whose native countries guarantee equivalent privileges to our citizens. ART. 4 (amended by the act of March 31, 1905). The cost of medical attendance, medicine and funeral expenses must be borne by the employer. The maximum allowance for funeral expenses is the sum of 100 francs [$19.30].

The injured person may always choose for himself his physician and his pharmacist. In this case the employer can be held liable for physician's and pharmacist's bills only to the amount of the sum fixed by the justice of the peace of the district where the accident occurred, according to a schedule which is fixed by decree of the minister of commerce, on recommendation from a special commission comprising representatives of associations of physicians and pharmacists, of unions of workmen and of employers' associations, of accident insurance companies, and of guarantee associations and can be changed only at intervals of two years.

In addition to the obligations contained in article 3, the employer alone is held liable in all cases, for hospital expenses which, altogether, shall not exceed the rate fixed for applying article 24 of the act of July 15, 1893, increased by 50 per cent, but in no case to exceed 4 francs [77 cents] a day in Paris, or 34 francs [68 cents] elsewhere. Physicians and pharmacists or hospital institutions may bring action against the employer directly.

In the course of treatment, the employer may designate to the justice of the peace a physician to be charged to report on the condition of the injured person. This appointment, duly certified by the justice of the peace, shall give the physician access every week to the injured person, in the presence of the attending physician who shall be notified two days in advance by registered letter.

In case the injured person refuses to permit this visit, the payment of the daily compensation shall be suspended by order of the justice of the peace who shall summon the injured person by a registered letter.

In case the physician certifies that the injured person is in a condition to resume his work, and the patient denies it, the employer may, when it is a question of temporary incapacity, apply to the justice of the peace for a medical examination which shall take place within five days.

ART. 5. During the thirty, sixty or ninety days next following the accident, employers may be released from the obligations of paying the injured person the costs of the illness and the temporary compensation, or a part only of this compensation, as hereafter specified, if they can prove:

1st. That they have made their workmen members of mutual aid societies and place to their credit a certain share of the dues, said amount to be determined by mutual

agreement and in conformity with the standard constitution approved by the proper minister, but this share shall not be less than one-third of the dues.

2nd. That in case of injuries, these societies guarantee to their members medical treatment, medicine and a daily compensation for thirty, sixty or ninety days.

If the daily compensation paid by the society is less than half the daily wages of the injured person, the employer is obliged to make good the deficiency.

ART. 6. Operators of mines, surface mines and quarries may be released from the obligations for expenses and compensations mentioned in the preceding article by means of an annual contribution paid to the funds or mutual aid societies organized in these establishments under the provisions of the act of June 29, 1894.

The amount and conditions of this contribution shall be acceptable to the society and approved by the minister of public works.

These two provisions shall apply to all other employers who have established special benefit funds in favor of their workmen in conformity to Title III of the act of June 29, 1894. The above approval will be granted in appropriate cases by the minister of commerce and industry.

ART. 7 (amended by the act of March 22, 1902). Independently of action under the present act, the injured person or his representatives retain the right under the rules of common law, to claim reparation for injuries from parties responsible for the accident, other than the employer or his workmen and foremen.

The compensation allowed them shall relieve the employer, to that extent, of the obligations charged against him. In case the accident has caused permanent disability or death, this compensation shall be bestowed in the form of a pension payable by the National Retirement Fund.

Besides this grant in the form of a pension, third parties recognized as liable may be sentenced to pay other indemnities and expenses provided in the above articles 3 and 4, either to the injured person or to the employer in case the latter becomes party in the case.

This action against responsible third parties may be brought even by the employer at his own risk and peril, in the stead and place of the injured person or his legal successors, in case the latter neglect to make use of it.

ART. 8. The salary to serve as a basis for fixing the compensation to be allowed a workman under sixteen years of age or an apprentice who has met with an accident shall not be less than the lowest wages of able-bodied workmen of the same class engaged in the establishment.

In case of temporary disability, however, the compensation of a workman under 16 years of age cannot exceed the amount of his salary.

ART. 9. At the time of the definite adjustment of the life pensions, after the expiration of the term of revision provided in article 19, the injured person may demand that one-fourth, at most, of the capital necessary for the establishment of this pension, calculated according to the tables previously prepared for persons injured in accidents by the Old Age Pension Fund, shall be paid to him in cash.

The injured person may also demand that this capital, or the capital reduced by one-fourth at most, as has just been said, shall constitute a life pension, in his or her name, revertible to the amount of one-half, at most, to the surviving consort. In this case the life pension shall be reduced in such a manner that the revertibility shall not entail any increase of charges upon the employer.

The court, in chambers, shall decide on such applications.

ART. 10 (amended by the act of March 31, 1905). As salary serving as a basis for fixing the pension, for a workman employed in the establishment during the twelve months prior to the accident, shall be understood the actual remuneration allowed him during that time, either in money or in kind.

For workmen employed less than twelve months prior to the accident, as salary shall be understood the actual remuneration which they have received since entering the establishment, plus the pay which they could have received during the period of work necessary to complete the twelve months, based on the average rate of wages for workmen of the same class during the said period.

In case work is not continuous the annual salary is calculated both on the basis of the pay received during the period of active employment and of the workman's earnings during the remainder of the year.

If, during the periods referred to in the preceding paragraphs, the workman has been unemployed through exceptional circumstances and for causes beyond his control, the average salary corresponding to these periods of unemployment must be taken into account.

TITLE II.

Reporting of accidents, and judicial inquiry.

ARTICLE 11 (amended by the act of March 22, 1902). Every accident which occasions incapacity for work must be reported by the employer or his foremen within forty-eight hours, exclusive of Sunday and holidays, to the mayor of the commune, who shall prepare an official report thereon and immediately acknowledge receipt

thereof.

The notification and the official report thereon shall state, in the form fixed by decree, the name, occupation, and address of the employer, the exact place, time and nature of the accident, the circumstances under which it occurred, the nature of the injuries, and the names and addresses of witnesses.

In case the injured person does not in the meantime resume work, the employer shall, within four days following the accident, file at the mayor's office, where an acknowledgment of receipt shall at once be given him, a physician's certificate describing the condition of the injured person, the probable results of the accident, and the time when it will be possible to know the result definitely.

The report of the accident may be made under the same conditions by the injured person or his representatives within the year following the accident.

Notice of the accident, in the forms fixed by decree, is immediately to be given by the mayor to the departement inspector of labor or to the regular mining engineer charged with the supervision of the establishment.

Article 15 of the act of November 2, 1892, and article 11 of the act of June 12, 1893, shall no longer apply in the cases under the provisions of the present act.

ART. 12 (amended by the act of March 22, 1902). Within twenty-four hours following the filing of the certificate, and not later than five days after the report of the accident, the mayor shall transmit to the justice of the peace of the district in which the accident has occurred the report and either the physician's certificate or an attestation that no certificate has been produced.

When, according to the physician's certificate produced under the provisions of the preceding paragraph or subsequently transmitted by the injured person to the justice of the peace, the injury seems likely to result in death or a permanent incapacity, total or partial, for work, or in case the injured person is already dead, the justice of the peace shall, within twenty-four hours, institute an inquiry in order to ascertain:

1st. The cause, nature and circumstances of the accident.

2nd. The persons injured, the place where they are and the place and date of their birth.

3rd. The nature of the injuries.

4th. The heirs having right to claim compensation in the case, and the place and date of their birth.

5th. The daily and yearly wages of the persons injured.

6th. The insurance company in which the employer was insured, or the guaranty association with which he was affiliated.

The fees of the justice of the peace and his registrar, fixed in pursuance of article 29 of the present act and article 31 of the finance act of April 13, 1900, shall be advanced by the treasury.

ART. 13. After having heard the adverse parties, the inquiry is to be conducted in the manner prescribed in articles 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure in the presence of the interested parties or of those summoned by registered letter. The justice of the peace must go to the person injured in the accident in case the latter is found to be unable to be present at the inquiry.

If the medical certificate does not seem satisfactory, the justice of the peace may designate a physician to examine the injured person.

He may also appoint an expert to assist him in the inquiry.

No expert shall be appointed in establishments under governmental supervision, nor in those of the State placed under control of a service distinct from the service of administration, nor in national undertakings where work is carried on which the public welfare requires to be kept secret. In these several cases, the officers charged with the superintendence or management of these undertakings or establishments, and, as regards mining enterprises, the men deputized to safeguard workmen in mines, shall transmit to the justice of the peace a copy of their report to be attached to the official report of the inquiry.

Except in cases where it is physically impossible, duly attested in the official report, the inquiry should be in the briefest possible period and, at the latest, within ten days after the accident. The justice of the peace, by a registered letter, shall

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