the provisions of this section. No employer or other person shall refuse to admit the Secretary or his authorized representatives to any such place or shall refuse to permit any such inspection.

(d) Any employer may request the advice of the Secretary or his authorized representative, in complying with the requirements of any rule or regulation adopted to carry out the provisions of this section. In case of practical difficulties or unnecessary hardship, the Secretary in his discretion may grant variations from any such rule or regulation, or particular provisions thereof, and permit the use of other or different devices if he finds that the purpose of the rule or regulation will be observed by the variation and the safety of employees will be equally secured thereby. Any person affected by such rule or regulation, or his agent, may request the Secretary to grant such variation, stating in writing the grounds on which his request is based. Any authorization by the Secretary of a variation shall be in writing, shall describe the conditions under which the variation shall be permitted, and shall be published as provided in section 3 of the Administrative Procedure Act (ch. 324, 60 Stat. 237), as amended. A properly indexed record of all variations shall be kept in the office of the Secretary and open to public inspection.

(e) The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction for cause shown, in any action brought by the Secretary, represented as provided in section 21a of this act, to restrain violations of this section or of any rule, regulation, or order of the Secretary adopted to carry out the provisions of this section.

(f) Any employer who, willfully violates or fails or refuses to comply with the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, or with any lawful rule, regulation, or order adopted to carry out the provisions of this section, and any employer or other person who willfully interferes with, hinders, or delays the Secretary or his authorized representative in carrying out his duties under subsection (c) of this section by refusing to admit the Secretary or his authorized representative to any place, or to permit the inspection or examination of any employment or place of employment, or who willfully hinders or delays the Secretary or his authorized representative in the performance of his duties in the enforcement of this section, shall be guilty of an offense, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished for each offense by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $3,000; and in any case where such employer is a corporation, the officer who willfully permits any such violation to occur shall be guilty of an offense, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished also for each offense by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $3,000. The liability hereunder shall not affect any other liability of the employer under this Act.

(g) (1) The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of any employment relating to the operations for the exploration, production, or transportation by pipeline of mineral resources upon the navigable waters of the United States, nor under the authority of the Act of August 7, 1953 (ch. 345, 67 Stat. 462), nor in the case of any employment in connection with lands (except filled in, made or reclaimed lands) beneath the navigable waters as defined in the Act of May 22, 1953 (ch. 65, 67 Stat. 29) nor in the case of any employment

for which compensation in case of disability or death is provided for employees under the authority of the Act of May 17, 1928 (ch. 612, 45 Stat. 600), as amended, nor under the authority of the Act of August 16, 1941 (ch. 357, 55 Stat. 622), as amended.

(2) The provisions of this section, with the exception of paragraph (1) of subsection (b), shall not be applied under the authority of the Act of September 7, 1916 (ch. 458, 39 Stat. 742), as amended.

TRAVELING EXPENSES

SEC. 42. The Secretary, deputy commissioners, and other employees of the Secretary shall be entitled to receive their necessary traveling expenses and expenses actually incurred for subsistence while traveling on official business and away from their designated stations, as provided by the Subsistence Expense Act of 1926.

ANNUAL REPORT

SEC. 43. The Secretary shall make to Congress at the beginning of each regular session a report of the administration of this Act for the preceding fiscal year, including a detailed statement of receipts of and expenditures from the funds established in sections 44 and 45, together with such recommendations as the Secretary deems advisable

SPECIAL FUND

SEC. 44. (a) There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a special fund. Such fund shall be administered by the Secretary. The Treasurer of the United States shall be the custodian of such fund, and all moneys and securities in such fund shall be held in trust by such Treasurer and shall not be money or property of the United States.

(b) The Treasurer is authorized to disburse moneys from such fund only upon order of the Secretary. He shall be required to give bond in an amount to be fixed and with securities to be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Comptroller General of the United States conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duty as custodian of such fund.

(c) Payments into such fund shall be made as follows:

(1) Whenever the Secretary determines that there is no person entitled under this Act to compensation for the death of an employee which would otherwise be compensable under this Act, the appropriate employer shall pay $5,000 as compensation for the death of such an employee.

(2) At the beginning of each calendar year the Secretary shall estimate the probable expenses of the fund during that calendar year and each carrier or self-insurer shall make payments into the fund on a prorated assessment by the Secretary in the proportion that the total compensation and medical payments made on risks covered by this Act by each carrier and self-insurer bears to the total of such payments made by all carriers and self-insurers under the Act in the prior calendar year in accordance with a formula and schedule to be determined from time to time by the Secretary to maintain adequate reserves in fund.

(3) All amounts collected as fines and penalties under the provisions of this Act shall be paid into such fund.

(d) (1) For the purpose of making rules, regulations, and determinations under this section and for providing enforcement thereof, the Secretary may investigate and gather appropriate data from each carrier and self-insurer. For that purpose, the Secretary may enter and inspect such places and records (and make such transcriptions thereof), question such employees, and investigate such facts, conditions, practices, or matters as he may deem necessary or appropriate. (2) Each carrier and self-insurer shall make, keep, and preserve such records, and make such reports and provide such additional information, as prescribed by regulation or order of the Secretary, as the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate to carry out his responsibilities under this section.

(3) For the purpose of any hearing or investigation related to determinations or the enforcement of the provisions of this section, the provisions of sections 9 and 10 (relating to the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and documents) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of September 16, 1914, as amended (U.S.C., title 15, secs. 49 and 50), are hereby made applicable to the jurisdiction, powers, and duties of the Secretary of Labor.

(e) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary the sum of $2,000,000 which the Secretary shall immediately deposit into the fund. Upon deposit in the fund such moneys shall be treated as the property of such fund. This sum, without additional payments for interest, shall be repaid from the money or property belonging to the fund on a schedule of repayment set by the Secretary: Provided, That full repayment must be made no later than five years from the date of deposit into the fund. Each such repayment, as made, shall be covered into the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.

(f) The Treasurer of the United States shall deposit any moneys paid into such fund into such depository banks as the Secretary may designate and may invest any portion of the funds which, in the opinion of the Secretary, is not needed for current requirements, in bonds or notes of the United States or of any Federal land bank.

(g) Neither the United States nor the Secretary shall be liable in respect of payments authorized under section 8 in an amount greater than the money or property deposited in or belonging to such fund.

(h) The Comptroller General of the United States shall audit the account for such fund, but the action of the Secretary in making payments from such fund shall be final and not subject to review, and the Comptroller General is authorized and directed to allow credit in the accounts of any disbursing officer of the Secretary for payments made from such fund authorized by the Secretary.

(i) All civil penalties provided for in this Act shall be collected by civil suit brought by the Secretary.

(j) The proceeds of this fund shall be available for payments:

(1) Pursuant to section 10 and 11 with respect to initial and subsequent annual adjustments in compensation for total permanent disability or death which occurred prior to the effective date of this subsection.

(2) Under section 8(f) and (g), under section 18(b), and under section 39 (c).

(3) To repay the sums deposited in the fund pursuant to su section (d).

(4) To defray the expense of making examinations as provid in section 7.

(k) At the close of each fiscal year the Secretary shall submit to t Congress a complete audit of the fund.

ADMINISTRATION FUND

SEC. 45. (a) There is established in the Treasury of the Uni States a special fund for the purpose of providing for the payment all expenses in respect of the administration of this Act. Such fu shall be administered by the Secretary. The Treasurer of the Uni States shall be the custodian of such fund, and all moneys and secu ties in such fund shall be held in trust by such Treasurer and shall be the money or property of the United States.

(b) The provisions of sbdivisions (b), (d), and (f) of section shall be applicable to the fund established.

APPROPRIATION

SEC. 46. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum $250,000, which shall be covered into the administration fund es lished in section 45 and shall be available for expenses incurred in administration of this Act during the remainder of the fiscal ending June 30, 1927, and during the fiscal year ending June 30, All unexpended balances of any appropriations made under autho of this section, remaining in such fund on July 1, 1928, shall be ered into the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous rece

AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS

SEC. 47. The expenses incurred for salaries and contingent exp by the Secretary in the administration (1) of the Act entitled Act to provide compensation for employees of the United States fering injuries while in the performance of their duties, and for purposes," approved September 7, 1916, as amended, and (2) of Act, may be paid from the appropriations for salaries and conti expenses for the administration of such Act of September 7, 1916 from the fund established in section 45 of this Act, in such pr tion as the Secretary, with the approval of the Director of the B of the Budget, determines to be fairly attributable to the cost o ministration of the respective Act, but the total amount paid such appropriation and such fund in any fiscal year on account administration of such Act of September 7, 1916, shall not excee amounts appropriated for salaries and contingent expenses fo administration of such Act for such year.

LAWS INAPPLICABLE

SEC. 48. Nothing in sections 4283, 4284, 4285, 4286, or 4289 Revised Statutes, as amended, nor in section 18 of the Act er

"An act to remove certain burdens on the American merchant marine and encourage the American foreign carrying trade and for other purposes," approved June 26, 1884, as amended, shall be held to limit the amount for which recovery may be had (1) in any suit at law or in admiralty where an employer has failed to secure compensation as required by this Act, or (2) in any proceeding for compensation, any addition to compensation, or any civil penalty.

DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES WHO BRING PROCEEDINGS

Sec. 49. It shall be unlawful for any employer or his duly authorized agent to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an employee as to his employment because such employee has claimed or attempted to claim compensation from such employer, or because he has testified or is about to testify in a proceeding under this Act. Any employer who violates this section shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $100 or more than $1,000, as may be determined by the deputy commissioner. All such penalties shall be paid to the deputy commisoner for deposit in the special fund as described in section 44, and if not paid may be recovered in a civil action brought in the appropriate United States district court. Any employee so discriminated against shall be restored to his employment and shall be compensated by his employer for any loss of wages arising out of such discrimination: Provided, That if such employee shall cease to be qualified to perform the duties of his employment, he shall not be entitled to such restoration and compensation. The employer alone and not his carrier shall be liable for such penalties and payments. Any provision in an insurance policy undertaking to relieve the employer from liability for such penalties and payments shall be void.

EFFECT OF UNCONSTITUTIONALITY

SEC. (50) If any part of this Act is adjudged unconstitutional by the courts, and such adjudication has the effect of invalidating any payment of compensation under this Act, the period intervening between the time the injury was sustained and the time of such adjudication shall not be computed as a part of the time prescribed by law for the commencement of any action against the employer in respect of such injury; but the amount of any compensation paid under this Act on account of such injury shall be deducted from the amount of damages awarded in such action in respect of such injury.

SEPARABILITY PROVISION

SEC. (51) 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.

EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. (52) Sections 39 to 51, inclusive, shall become effective upon the passage of this Act, and the remainder of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 1927.

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