[PUBLIC-No. 382-76TH CONGRESS] [CHAPTER 685-1ST SESSION] AN ACT To amend the Employers' Liability Act. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That sections 1 and 4 of the Act entitled "An Act relating to the liability of common carriers by railroad to their employees in certain cases", approved April 22, 1908 (35 Stat. 65; U. S. C., title 45, secs. 51 and 54), be, and they are hereby, amended to read as follows: "SEC. 1. That every common carrier by railroad while engaging in commerce between any of the several States or Territories, or between any of the Sta. s and Territories, or between the District. of Columbia and any of the States or Territories, or between the District of Columbia or any of the States or Territories and any foreign nation or nations, shall be liable in damages to any person suffering injury while he is employed by such carrier in such commerce, or, in case of the death of such employee, to his or her personal representative, for the benefit of the surviving widow or husband and children of such employee; and, if none, then of such employee's parents; and, if none, then of the next of kin dependent upon such employee, for such injury or death resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, roadbed, works, boats, wharves, or other equipment. "Any employee of a carrier, any part of whose duties as such employee shall be the furtherance of interstate or foreign commerce; or shall, in any way directly or closely and substantially, affect such commerce as above set forth shall, for the purposes of this Act, be considered as being employed by such carrier in such commerce and shall be considered as entitled to the benefits of this Act and of an Act entitled 'An Act relating to the liability of common carriers by railroad to their employees in certain cases' (approved April 22, 1908), as the same has been or may hereafter be amended." "SEC. 4. That in any action brought against any common carrier under or by virtue of any of the provisions of this Act to recover damages for injuries to, or the death of, any of its employees, such employee shall not be held to have assumed the risks of his employment in any case where such injury or death resulted in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier; and no employee shall be held to have assumed the risks of his employment in any case where the violation by such common carrier of any statute enacted for the safety of employees contributed to the injury or death of such employee." SEC. 2. That the first sentence of section 6, of the Act entitled "An Act relating to the liability of common carriers by railroad to their employees in certain cases", approved April 22, 1908 (35 Stat. 65; U. S. C., title 45, sec. 56), be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: "SEC. 6. That no action shall be maintained under this Act unless commenced within three years from the day the cause of action accrued." SEC. 3. That the Act entitled "An Act relating to the liability of common carriers by railroad to their employees in certain cases", approved April 22, 1908, as amended (U. S. C., title 45, ch. 2), be, and it is hereby, amended by adding an additional section thereto as follows: "SEC. 10. Any contract, rule, regulation, or device whatsoever, the purpose, intent, or effect of which shall be to prevent employees of any common carrier from furnishing voluntarily information to a person in interest as to the facts incident to the injury or death of any employee, shall be void, and whoever, by threat, intimidation, order, rule, contract, regulation, or device whatsoever, shall attempt to prevent any person from furnishing voluntarily such information to a person in interest, or whoever discharges or otherwise disciplines or attempts to discipline any employee for furnishing voluntarily such information to a person in interest, shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment, for each offense: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to void any contract, rule, or regulation with respect to any information contained in the files of the carrier, or other privileged or confidential reports. "If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and the applicability of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby." Approved, August 11, 1939. [PUBLIC-No. 256.] [H. R. 22340.] An Act Relating to injured employees on the Isthmian Canal. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That nothing contained in the Act approved May thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight, entitled "An Act granting to certain employees of the United States the right to receive from it compensation for injuries sustained in the course of their employment," shall prevent the Isthmian Canal Commission, under rules to be fixed by the commission, from granting to its injured employees, whether engaged in a hazardous employment or otherwise, leave of absence with pay for time necessarily lost as a result of injuries received in the course of employment, not exceeding in the aggregate thirty days per annum: Provided, however, That compensation paid to such injured employees under such regulations shall be deducted from any compensation which such employees may be entitled to receive under the terms of the said Act. Approved, February 24, 1909. [PUBLIC-No. 101.] An Act To amend an Act entitled "An Act granting to certain employees of the United States the right to receive from it compensation for injuries sustained in the course of their employment," approved May thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of the Act approved May thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight, entitled "An Act granting to certain employees of the United States the right to receive from it compensation for injuries sustained in the course of their employment," shall, in addition to the classes of persons therein designated, be held to apply to any artisan, laborer, or other employee engaged in any hazardous work under the Bureau of Mines or the Forestry Service of the United States: Provided, That this Act shall not be held to embrace any case arising prior to its passage. Approved, March 11, 1912. (111) [PUBLIC-NO. 267-64TH CONGRESS.] [H. R. 15316.] An Act To provide compensation for employees of the United States suffering injuries while in the performance of their duties, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the United States shall pay compensation as hereinafter specified for the disability or death of an employee resulting from a personal injury sustained while in the performance of his duty, but no compensation shall be paid if the injury or death is caused by the willful misconduct of the employee or by the employee's intention to bring about the injury or death of himself or of another, or if intoxication of the injured employee is the proximate cause of the injury or death. SEO. 2. That during the first three days of disability the employee shall not be entitled to compensation except as provided in section nine. No compensation shall at any time be paid for such period. SEO. 3. That if the disability is total the United States shall pay to the disabled employee during such disability a monthly compensation equal to sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of his monthly pay, except as hereinafter provided. SEO. 4. That if the disability is partial the United States shall pay to the disabled employee during such disability a monthly compensation equal to sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of the difference between his monthly pay and his monthly wage-earning capacity after the beginning of such partial disability. The commission may, from time to time, require a partially disabled employee to make an affidavit as to the wages which he is then receiving. In such affidavit the employee shall include a statement of the value of housing, board, lodging, and other advantages which are received from the employer as a part of his remuneration and which can be estimated in money. If the employee, when required, fails to make such affidavit, he shall not be entitled to any compensation while such failure continues, and the period of such failure shall be deducted from the period during which compensation is payable to him. SEC. 5. That if a partially disabled employee refuses to seek suitable, work or refuses or neglects to work after suitable work is offered to, procured by, or secured for him, he shall not be entitled to any compensation. SEC. 6. That the monthly compensation for total disability shall not be more than $66.67 nor less than $33.33, unless the employee's monthly pay is less than $33.33, in which case his monthly compensation shall be the full amount of his monthly pay. The monthly compensation for partial disability shall not be more than $66.67. In the case of persons who at the time of the injury were minors or employed in a learner's capacity and who were not physically or mentally defective, the commission shall, on any review after the time when the monthly wage-earning capacity of such persons would probably, but for the injury, have increased, award compensation based on such probable monthly wage-earning capacity. The com mission may, on any review after the time when the monthly wageearning capacity of the disabled employee would probably, irrespective of the injury, have decreased on account of old age, award compensation based on such probable monthly wage-earning capacity. SEO. 7. That as long as the employee is in receipt of compensation under this Act, or, if he has been paid a lump sum in commutation of installment payments, until the expiration of the period during which such installment payments would have continued, he shall not receive from the United States any salary, pay, or remuneration whatsoever except in return for services actually performed, and except pensions for service in the Army or Navy of the United States. SEC. 8. That if at the time the disability begins the employee has annual or sick leave to his credit he may, subject to the approval of the head of the department, use such leave until it is exhausted, in which case his compensation shall begin on the fourth day of disability after the annual or sick leave has ceased. SEC. 9. That immediately after an injury sustained by an employee while in the performance of his duty, whether or not disability has arisen, and for a reasonable time thereafter, the United States shall furnish to such employee reasonable medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies unless he refuses to accept them. Such services and supplies shall be furnished by United States medical officers and hospitals, but where this is not practicable shall be furnished by private physicians and hospitals designated or approved by the commission and paid for from the employees' compensation fund. If necessary for the securing of proper medical, surgical, and hospital treatment, the employee, in the discretion of the commission, may be furnished transportation at the expense of the employees' compensation fund. SEC. 10. That if death results from the injury within six years the United States shall pay to the following persons for the following periods a monthly compensation equal to the following percentages of the deceased employee's monthly pay, subject to the modification that no compensation shall be paid where the death takes place more than one year after the cessation of disability resulting from such injury, or, if there has been no disability preceding death, more than one year after the injury: (A) To the widow, if there is no child, thirty-five per centum. This compensation shall be paid until her death or marriage. (B) To the widower, if there is no child, thirty-five per centum if wholly dependent for support upon the deceased employee at the time of her death This compensation shall be paid until his death or marriage. (C) To the widow or widower, if there is a child, the compensation payable under clause (A) or clause (B) and in addition thereto ten per centum for each child, not to exceed a total of sixty-six and twothirds per centum for such widow or widower and children. If a child has a guardian other than the surviving widow or widower, the compensation payable on account of such child shall be paid to such guardian. The compensation payable on account of any child shall cease when he dies, marries, or reaches the age of eighteen, or, if over eighteen, and incapable of self-support, becomes capable of selfsupport, |