INTRODUCTION. July 2, 1892, Hon. John J. O'Neill, of Missouri, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives of the Fifty-second Congress, to which had been referred House resolution No. 152, providing for the compilation of the labor laws of the various States and Territories, submitted the following report: The committee, recognizing the great benefits that will be derived by the people from a knowledge of the labor laws now in force, hereto append a compilation thereof furnished by the Department of Labor. The compilation referred to was published in 1892, and formed the Second Special Report of the Commissioner of Labor. March 5, 1896, Congress adopted the following concurrent resolution: Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That there be printed 5,000 additional copies, in cloth binding, of the Second Special Report of the Commissioner of Labor, being a report of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives submitted July 20, 1892; 1,000 copies for the use of the Senate, 2,000 copies for the use of the House of Representatives, and 2,000 copies for distribution by the Department of Labor; and the Commissioner of Labor is hereby authorized to revise said report to include the labor legislation subsequent to the year 1891, and to annotate the report with reference to decisions of courts under the laws comprehended therein. In accordance with this resolution, the present volume has been prepared. As now made up, the report contains three chapters. Chapter I consists of (1) a table showing the legal holidays created by the laws of the States, (2) a digest of the apprentice laws, (3) a statement of the relations of employer and employee under the common law, as distinguished from statute law, and (4) a list of employments or occupations, the followers of which have been declared to be or not to be fellow-servants by the decisions of the courts in cases arising under the common law, with citations to all the cases consulted. Chapter II contains the labor laws passed by Congress and the legislatures of the various States and Territories prior to the year 1896. 7 8 The following table shows for each State and Territory whether the sessions of its legislature are held annually or biennially, the year up to which session laws have been consulted and used, and the years in which the next sessions will be held: SESSIONS OF LEGISLATURES. Session laws used State. Annual or biennial. up to and including Year of next session. a Also constitution of 1995. b Session of 1895 postponed by new constitution. The laws are presented for each State separately, and the States appear in alphabetical order. All laws, relating to which decisions are used, have notes referring to chapter and page where the decisions appear. The digest of lien laws contained in Chapter I of the first edition is now omitted, and the laws relating to the liens of mechanics, laborers, etc., are published, practically in full, in this chapter. All laws repealed since the publication of the first edition are omitted herefrom, and all laws bearing upon the subject considered, whether amendatory or new, are, it is believed, included. |