tion.

Provisions the provisions of the workingmen's compensation act of 1915, for compensa- and any supplements or amendments thereto which may hereafter be passed, and that the said contractor will insure his liability thereunder, or file with the Commonwealth, or the municipal corporation or board with whom the contract is made, a certificate of exemption from insurance from the bureau of workingmen's compensation of the department of labor and industry.

Duty of officers, etc.

Contracts

void.

SEC. 2. Every officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any bureau or department thereof, or of any municipality, or any bureau or department thereof, or any municipal division or subdivision of this Commonwealth, who shall sign, on behalf of the said Commonwealth or any municipality thereof, or any municipal division or subdivision thereof, any contract requiring in its performance the employment of labor, shall require, before the said contract shall be signed, proof that the said contractor with whom the contract is made shall have accepted the workingmen's compensation act of 1915, and any supplements or amendments thereto which may be hereafter passed, and proof that the said contractor has insured his liability thereunder in accordance with the terms of the said act, or that the said contractor has had issued to him a certificate of exemption from insurance from the bureau of workmen's compensation of the department of labor and industry. SEC. 3. Any contract executed in violation of the provisions of this act shall be null and void.

Approved July 18, 1917.

PORTO RICO.

ACTS OF 1918.

ACT No. 10.-Compensation of workmen for injuries—Insurance fund.

SECTION 1. This act shall be known as the Workmen's Accident Compensation Act.

SEC. 2. The provisions of this act shall apply to laborers injured, disabled or killed by accidents occurring while engaged in their work. Farm laborers not employed to work with machinery operated by steam, gas, electricity, animal or other mechanical power, domestic servants and employees engaged in clerical work, in offices and commercial establishments where machinery is not used, are excepted: Provided, however, That farm laborers employed in agricultural work where animal power is used shall be entitled to the benefits of this act.

Title.

Scope.

This act shall not apply to any employer who regularly employs less than three laborers, or to any laborer whose wages exceed the sum of twelve hundred (1,200) dollars annually: Provided, That pursuant to the provisions of this act, compensation shall be paid to laborers injured, disabled or killed by Public accident caused by the employment and occurring while engaged works. in any public works that may be performed by administration. The Workmen's Relief Commission is hereby authorized and directed to pay such compensation pursuant to the terms of this act, drawing from the trust fund belonging to the Government such sum or sums as may be necessary for the payment of said compensation. The sums so paid need not be reimbursed to the people of Porto Rico out of the fund created by this act.

SEC. 3. Any laborer who may be injured within the provisions of this act shall be entitled to

1. Medical attendance, medicines and sustenance as may be prescribed, including hospital service when necessary.

2. If the injury be of a temporary nature, to compensation equal to one-half of the wages received by him the day of the accident, which compensation shall run during such time as it may take to effect a cure. The period of such payments shall in no case exceed one hundred and four weeks: Provided, That in no case shall there be paid more than seven (7) no less than three (3) dollars per week.

3. If the laborer is partially disabled for permanent work he shall receive a compensation of thirteen hundred (1,300) dollars as minimum and twenty-five hundred (2,500) dollars as maximum. Compensation shall be graded in proportion to the rate of wages that the laborer was earning.

Any permanent injury which does not constitute permanent total disability, such as the loss of an eye, a hand, a foot, or any other injury of a permanent nature which does not wholly disable a laborer for any work in a remunerative occupation, shall be considered as partial permanent disability.

4. If the laborer is totally disabled for work, he shall receive a compensation of two thousand (2,000) dollars as minimum and four thousand (4,000) dollars as maximum. The compensation shall be graded in proportion to the rate of wages that the laborer was earning.

The preceding compensations shall be fixed between the maximum and minimum in view of the earning capacity of the injured laborer and his probabilities of life.

The total and permanent loss of sight of both eyes; the loss of both feet at or above the ankle; the loss of both hands at

Payments.

Benefits for disability.

Death.

Investment of benefits.

Injuries not compensable.

Medical

ex

or above the wrist; the loss of one hand and one foot, and such injuries as may result in the permanent disability of the laborer for any work in a remunerative occupation shall be considered total disability.

5. If the laborer loses his life as a result of the injuries sustained, death occuring within one year from the time of the accident, as a consequence of such accident, the widower or widow and legitimate children and grandchildren, and, in the proper case, the illegitimate children and grandchildren, be they natural or not, of the deceased laborer all of whom were dependent exclusively on his earnings for their support, and, in default thereof, the parents of the deceased laborer who were dependent exclusively on his or her earnings for their support, and if there be no such parents, the nearest relative who was also exclusively dependent on the earnings of the decedent, shall receive a compensation of three to four thousand dollars as a maximum, which shall be graded according to the earning capacity of the laborer and of the number of persons entitled to compensation: Provided, however, That compensation where more than two persons are equally entitled thereto, as hereinbefore provided, shall be apportioned in the proper proportion, in accordance with the Civil Code: Provided, further, That an illegitimate child of a deceased laborer which child is not a natural child, shall have a share in the compensation equal to one-half of that accruing to an acknowledged natural child.

The laborer may, under will and testament, determine the apportionment to be made of the compensation so as not to be in conflict with this act or with the Civil Code.

In cases coming under paragraphs 3, 4, and 5, where a sum of money is to be paid to the laborer or to his heirs as compensation, pursuant to this act, the Workmen's Relief Commission hereinafter created shall exercise its good offices by reasonable suggestions so that the sum received shall be invested in a manner advantageous to the welfare of the laborer and his relatives, in such form as to produce the best possible means of subsistence: Provided, That no allowance for medicine and food shall be made after the date of the granting of such compensation and sums advanced therefor shall be deducted from the said compensation: Provided, further, That if the laborer or his heirs, pursuant to this act, are minors or incapacitated persons, or if, in the judgment of the said commission, there is a reasonable risk that such cash compensation may be squandered, the said commission shall deliver the amount of such compensation to the district court of the district where the beneficiary resides, for custody and investment in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating the application of amounts derived from the sale of the property of minors.

SEC. 4. Accidents occurring under the following circumstances are not labor accidents and, therefore, shall not entitle the laborer or his heirs under this act, to compensation:

1. When the laborer attempts to commit a crime, or to injure his employer or any other person, or when he voluntarily causes himself injury.

2. When the laborer is intoxicated, provided such intoxication is the cause of the accident.

3. When the injury is caused to the laborer by the criminal act of a third person.

4. When gross negligence of the laborer is the sole cause of the injury.

SEC. 5. During the period of disability the injured workman aminations. shall submit himself for examination, at reasonable times and places by a competent physician or surgeon, designated by the Commission hereinafter created. The commission is hereby authorized to enter into contracts with insular, municipal, and private physicians and with hospitals and practicantes when deemed advisable by it.

The workman and the employer shall also be entitled to designate and pay a physician and surgeon to witness such examination, but this right is established without prejudice to the right of the physician designated as aforesaid to visit the injured workman at all reasonable times and under all reasonable circumstances during his disability.

The refusal or objection of a workman, without just cause, to submit himself to such medical examination or professional treatment shall deprive him of his right to receive compensation under this act or to institute or prosecute proceedings under this act for the recovery of such compensation.

SEC. 6. A commission to be known as "The Workmen's Relief Workmen's relief commisCommission" is hereby created, which shall consist of five mem- sion. bers, as follows:

The commissioner of agriculture and labor, who shall be chairman of the commission;

The treasurer of Porto Rico;

And three other commissioners who shall be appointed by the Governor of Porto Rico, with the approval of the senate, and one of whom, at least, shall be a person affiliated with one of the bona fide labor organizations, another of whom shall be a physician and the other an engineer, until the next general elections are held. At the next general elections and in each subsequet election there shall be elected three commissioners of the Workmen's Relief Commission and a candidate shall be nominated by each of the three political parties casting the highest number of votes at the previous elections.

Such commissioners as may not be employees of the insular government shall receive a per diem of seven (7) dollars each for attending each regular or special meeting of the commission, payable out of the workmen's relief trust fund; and, further, mileage from their places of residence to the place of meeting and return, at the rate of ten (10) cents per mile. In no case shall the amount for per diem for each commissioner exceed the sum of four hundred (400) dollars per annum. The said commission shall elect a secretary prior to the first day of June. The said commission shall have power to adopt such rules and Rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of regulations. this act not inconsistent therewith, which said rules and regulations shall have the force of law. Violation of any rule or regulation issued by the commission created by this act shall be deemed a misdemeanor punishable by fine of not to exceed fifty (50) dollars for each violation.

SEC. 7. Every employer subject to the provisions of this act, Accidents to be reported. or the person representing him in business, shall report to the Workmen's Relief Commission as soon as possible, within a period of five days from the date of the accident, all injuries suffered by his employees in the course of their employment. Such reports shall be upon printed blanks furnished upon request by the commission, and shall contain the name and nature of the business of the employer, the location of the establishment or place of business, the name, age, sex, and occupation of each injured employee, and shall state the date and hour of the accident, the nature and cause of the injuries sustained, and such other information as may be required by the Workmen's Relief Commission. The report made by the employer under the provisions of this section shall not be evidence against the employer in any proceeding under this or any other act.

The refusal or neglect of any employer to make the report required by this section shall be punished by a fine of not less than twenty-five (25) nor more than fifty (50) dollars for each offense.

The department of agriculture and labor, within forty-eight Investigation. hours after receipt of notice from the commission of the occurrence of an accident to any workman subject to the provisions of this act, shall make a thorough investigation of th said accident, the cause or causes thereof, the character, nature and ex

Claims.

Awards.

Limitation.

tent of the injuries sustained, and shall file a full report of the said facts with the Workmen's Relief Commission, including in the said report such other facts and circumstances as in the opinion of the Workmen's Relief Commission shall enable it to pass judgment on the claim for the relief of the injured workman when the said claim shall be presented to the commission as herein provided.

The Workmen's Relief Commission shall have the power to make such further investigation as it may deem necessary for the purposes of this act.

The Workmen's Relief Commission, or some trustworthy person designated by said commission, is hereby expressly authorized to subpoena witnesses, under notice of punishment for contempt, to take oaths and declarations, to examine books and documentary evidence material to the case under investigation, and to visit and inspect the buildings, machinery and other property where any accident to a workman may have occurred.

SEC. 8. From and after the approval of this act, any workman subject to this act who has sustained injuries while engaged in his work and in case of the death of such workman as the result of said injuries, his legal heirs, as described in paragraph 5, section 3, of this act, dependent exclusively upon his wages for support, may present to the Workmen's Relief Commission, within ninety days counted from the date of the injuries or from the date of the death of the workman, as the case may be, an application in writing for the compensation provided for in this act: Provided, That when the ninety days allowed for filing the application shall have elapsed such application not having been made, it shall be the duty of the Workman's Relief Commission to investigate the reason why the person concerned did not make such application and when the commission deems that said application was not made because of ignorance of the party concerned or because of some other reason not under the control of such party concerned, said party shall be granted thirty days more: And provided, further, That no application shall be denied on account of prescription unless it is clearly shown that said party concerned was notified of his right.

Such application shall state the date, place, nature and cause of the injury or death, the name and address of the employer and the name and address of the injured workman.

Within the period of fifteen days after the receipt of the report of the department of agriculture and labor, provided for in the foregoing section, the Workmen's Relief Commission shall consider the petition for compensation and shall render a decision either denying or awarding the compensation applied for; and in case the commission is of the opinion that the petitioner is entitled to compensation the decision of the commission shall specify the amount to be paid, and the time and manner in which payment shall be made.

A certified copy of the decision of the Workmen's Relief Commission, denying or granting compensation under the provisions of this act, shall be served upon the applicant for compensation and upon the employer for whom the injured workman was working at the time of the accident, within ten days after the rendering of such decision.

A certified copy of the decision of the commission, signed by the president and secretary thereof, and sealed with such seal as the commission may adopt, shall be sufficient authority for the auditor of Porto Rico, in accordance with this act, to issue a warrant to be paid by the treasurer of Porto Rico out of the workmen's relief trust fund.

No claim for the compensation provided for in this act shall be considered by the Workmen's Relief Commission unless the commission has received a written application on behalf of the person or persons entitled to compensation, within ninety days from the date of the accident.