The Evolution Of Worker's Compensation
The evolution of Worker’s Compensation has been around for centuries. Some people trace Worker’s Compensation all the way back to piracy and ancient Sumer. Ancient Sumer is the first urban civilization in southern Mesopotamia and also known as present-day Iraq. Worker’s Compensation is dated all the way back to around 2050 B.C. During this time the first government system, Xia Dynasty, began in China and the start of the Middle Kingdom began in Egypt. Along with the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Chinese, they used a type of “schedule” that categorizes specific injuries with the monetary compensation of that injury. During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th century is when we start to see Worker’s Compensation develop and cultivate.
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The Industrial Revolution was a period in which rural communities in Europe and America developed into industrial and urban communities. Normally, manufacturing took place in the home, and using basic tools and machines. The development and expansion of high powered machinery, specialized tools, mass production, and the development of the steam engine are key characteristics of the Industrial Revolution; but these key characteristics of the Industrial Revolution also came with many health risks and numerous injuries. This started the Worker’s Compensation undertaking in Europe. On October 14th, 1913, a coal mine in the town of Senghenydd, United Kingdom, exploded and killed 439 people. In the early 1900’s, the Industrial Revolution moved to America. The first states to take part in Worker’s Compensation during the Industrial Revolution were Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, and New York. Between 1903 and 1907, over 3,000 railroad workers were killed on the job each year. In the year of 1913, over 25,000 workers were killed in work-related accidents and around 700,000 workers were seriously injured during work (Clark). With the extreme working conditions continuing, hurt workers rarely received compensation and looked to the court for any kind of help.
The current framework for Worker’s Compensation was extremely restrictive. Employers used three principles, called the “Unholy Trinity of Defenses,” as a way to prevent the workers from being compensated. The Contributory Negligence principle claimed that if the worker was responsible in any way for their own injury, that they would not be compensated due to the fact that the employer was not at fault. This principle was first establish in the United States through the Martin vs. the Wabash Railroad case in 1893. During this case, the conductor of the freight train, Martin, fell off of his train. Inspectors claim that the handrail was loose, but because the inspection of defective equipment fell under his job description, he was not to be compensated for his injury (Christiansen). The Fellow Servant principle stated that the employers are not help liable if the injury was in any part caused by the negligence of a fellow employee. This was established in Britain in 1837, during the case of Priestly vs. Fowler. The case involved an injured butcher boy and another employee when carriage toppled over and injured the butcher boy (Simpson). The last principle, Assumption of Risk, was a document signed by employees for particular jobs. The contact states that the employee is agreeing to work a certain position and is aware of any hazards and risks the job carries. Worker’s knew these contracts as “death contracts” or “worker’s right to die.” These three principles were extremely restrictive and could be very expensive. It was also very infrequent for the worker to win compensation for
case.
One of the first laws involving Worker’s Compensation was established by a German aristocrat, Otto Von Bismarck, in 1884. Bismarck was also known as, “The Iron Chancellor.” Bismarck was determined to abolish socialism and restrain democracy, but he also knew that the working class was emigrating to America and that social programs would increase worker security and fuel economic growth. So, he passed the Workers’ Accident Insurance bill in 1884. The following quote is a direct quote from Bismarck explaining the need of the bill:
“The real grievance of the worker is the insecurity of his existence; he is not sure that he will always have work, he is not sure that he will always be healthy, and he foresees that he will one day be old and unfit to work. If he falls into poverty, even if only through a prolonged illness, he is then completely helpless, left to his own devices, and society does not currently recognize any real obligation towards him beyond the usual help for the poor, even if he has been working all the time ever so faithfully and diligently. The usual help for the poor, however, leaves a lot to be desired, especially in large cities, where it is very much worse than in the country” (Clark).
Originally, the Workers’ Accident Insurance bill specified that part of the cost was to be covered by the government, but in the final version of the bill it was decided that it place the entire cost solely on the employers. If fully disabled on the job, the program would cover medical costs and up to 2/3’s of the earned wages. This program is considered by most as the beginning foundation of the many current Worker’s Compensation programs that we have today in both America and Europe. Soon after the Workers’ Accident Insurance bill in Germany, England replaced their outdated Employer’s Liability Act of 1880, with the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1897. The Employer’s Liability Act of 1880 was somewhat expensive and it also depended on the court system.
Worker’s Compensation slowly moved to American in the early 1900’s. Many scenarios caused the stir of Worker’s Compensation in the United States, including new laws, debates, and articles. Upton Sinclair was an American author of nearly 100 books and most famously known for The Jungle. The Jungle is a novel that made its debut in the middle of the Worker’s
The Industrial Revolution was a period in which rural communities in Europe and America developed into industrial and urban communities. Normally, manufacturing took place in the home, and using basic tools and machines. The development and expansion of high powered machinery, specialized tools, mass production, and the development of the steam engine are key characteristics of the Industrial Revolution; but these key characteristics of the Industrial Revolution also came with many health risks and numerous injuries. This started the Worker’s Compensation undertaking in Europe. On October 14th, 1913, a coal mine in the town of Senghenydd, United Kingdom, exploded and killed 439 people. In the early 1900’s, the Industrial Revolution moved to America. The first states to take part in Worker’s Compensation during the Industrial Revolution were Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, and New York. Between 1903 and 1907, over 3,000 railroad workers were killed on the job each year. In the year of 1913, over 25,000 workers were killed in work-related accidents and around 700,000 workers were seriously injured during work (Clark). With the extreme working conditions continuing, hurt workers rarely received compensation and looked to the court for any kind of help.
The current framework for Worker’s Compensation was extremely restrictive. Employers used three principles, called the “Unholy Trinity of Defenses,” as a way to prevent the workers from being compensated. The Contributory Negligence principle claimed that if the worker was responsible in any way for their own injury, that they would not be compensated due to the fact that the employer was not at fault. This principle was first establish in the United States through the Martin vs. the Wabash Railroad case in 1893. During this case, the conductor of the freight train, Martin, fell off of his train. Inspectors claim that the handrail was loose, but because the inspection of defective equipment fell under his job description, he was not to be compensated for his injury (Christiansen). The Fellow Servant principle stated that the employers are not help liable if the injury was in any part caused by the negligence of a fellow employee. This was established in Britain in 1837, during the case of Priestly vs. Fowler. The case involved an injured butcher boy and another employee when carriage toppled over and injured the butcher boy (Simpson). The last principle, Assumption of Risk, was a document signed by employees for particular jobs. The contact states that the employee is agreeing to work a certain position and is aware of any hazards and risks the job carries. Worker’s knew these contracts as “death contracts” or “worker’s right to die.” These three principles were extremely restrictive and could be very expensive. It was also very infrequent for the worker to win compensation for
case.
One of the first laws involving Worker’s Compensation was established by a German aristocrat, Otto Von Bismarck, in 1884. Bismarck was also known as, “The Iron Chancellor.” Bismarck was determined to abolish socialism and restrain democracy, but he also knew that the working class was emigrating to America and that social programs would increase worker security and fuel economic growth. So, he passed the Workers’ Accident Insurance bill in 1884. The following quote is a direct quote from Bismarck explaining the need of the bill:
“The real grievance of the worker is the insecurity of his existence; he is not sure that he will always have work, he is not sure that he will always be healthy, and he foresees that he will one day be old and unfit to work. If he falls into poverty, even if only through a prolonged illness, he is then completely helpless, left to his own devices, and society does not currently recognize any real obligation towards him beyond the usual help for the poor, even if he has been working all the time ever so faithfully and diligently. The usual help for the poor, however, leaves a lot to be desired, especially in large cities, where it is very much worse than in the country” (Clark).
Originally, the Workers’ Accident Insurance bill specified that part of the cost was to be covered by the government, but in the final version of the bill it was decided that it place the entire cost solely on the employers. If fully disabled on the job, the program would cover medical costs and up to 2/3’s of the earned wages. This program is considered by most as the beginning foundation of the many current Worker’s Compensation programs that we have today in both America and Europe. Soon after the Workers’ Accident Insurance bill in Germany, England replaced their outdated Employer’s Liability Act of 1880, with the Workmen’s Compensation Act of 1897. The Employer’s Liability Act of 1880 was somewhat expensive and it also depended on the court system.
Worker’s Compensation slowly moved to American in the early 1900’s. Many scenarios caused the stir of Worker’s Compensation in the United States, including new laws, debates, and articles. Upton Sinclair was an American author of nearly 100 books and most famously known for The Jungle. The Jungle is a novel that made its debut in the middle of the Worker’s