Masonry Magazine June 1986 Page. 26
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1986 CATALOG
PATENT PENDING
UNIVERSAL LINE HOLDER
The newest and most advanced design in masonry line holders. It works easily and efficiently for any brick or cement-block application. It fits all plains, at any angle, or in brick block cavities. From Goldblatt- world's leading manufacturer of trowel trade tools and equipment.
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511 OSAGE KANSAS CITY, KS 66110
PHONE 913-621-3010
an AXIA enterprise
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Dealer Inquiries Invited
MORTAR, PLASTER, TERRAZZO MIXERS
4, 6, and 10 cu.ft. Capacities
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Anchor Manufacturing Co.
2922 West 26th Street,
Chicago, Illinois 60623
ANCHOR MANUFACTURING CO.
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2922 West 26th St., Chicago, IL 60623
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WORKERS COMPENSATION
continued
Workers compensation cut through the Gordian knot of workers' rights that were largely theoretical and reversed the situation. While the particulars of the laws differed by state, the employer, more able to spread the risk through insurance and pass it along to customers as a cost of doing business, was made fully liable (with certain exceptions, such as suicide). The old common law standards were abolished.
Workers compensation insurance either became mandatory by law, or mandatory by practice (some laws were written in such a way as to make participation voluntary, but with penalties for non-compliance so severe as to make them mandatory in everything but name).
Once the initial laws had been put on the books, three 1917 Supreme Court decisions upheld them. By 1920, workers compensation had spread to 42 of the 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the Territories of Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. When Mississippi passed its act in 1949, workers compensation was established throughout the land.
The first workers compensation laws applied only to occupations considered hazardous. It is perhaps a small irony that the compensation law overthrown by the New York court on the eve of the Triangle Fire would not have covered the garment workers who died. Today's laws, of course, would.
As a general rule, workers compensation laws cover all employments save those in agriculture, domestic service, and casual labor. And there is a growing trend toward bringing these excluded employments within the Acts, especially farm workers who are now fully covered in 15 jurisdictions, and covered with limitations in another 20.
Workers compensation laws have expanded not only to cover most employments, but also the kind of injuries workers receive. The early compensation statutes were designed to cover traumatic injuries caused by a single occurrence such as a severed limb, a broken leg, or a chemical burn. While these are still covered, and still account for the bulk of workers compensation claims, modern compensation legislation also includes occupational diseases and cumulative injuries those diseases or disabilities that can be the result of the prolonged exposure to either the substances used on the job or the repeated actions that can cause injury over time.
In recent years, the states have been upgrading benefit levels to those recommended by the 1972 Report of the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation. Although not complete in all states, this process has dramatically increased benefits over the past decade. In 1972, the average unweighted weekly maximum benefit for a temporary disability was $72. By mid-1985 it had risen to $315. In 1972, only 14 states had automatic escalation provisions to keep benefit levels in line with wage levels. In the years since 1972 that number has grown to 42.
Today, workers compensation is one of the largest lines of property/casualty insurance, with an annual country-wide premium of $18 billion. As the American industrial base changes, the compensation system has changed with it. As long as it continues to meet the needs of its vast constituency, the workers compensation system will remain a vital part of the industrial and commercial life of the American people.
Classification
There are approximately 650 classifications used in writing workers compensation insurance. Each carries its own rate. Employers are assigned the classification or clas-
26 MASONRY-MAY/JUNE, 1986