Minority groups.-The Bureau and State agencies continue to work on the placement problems of job seekers who have difficulty in obtaining employment because of color, religion, or national origin. Every effort is made to improve policies, programs, standards, and methods to insure the equitable employment of workers belonging to the minority groups, based on the principle of worker selection according to skill, experience, ability, and job performance without regard to national origin, race, or religion. The Bureau has entered into plans of cooperation geared to promoting employment opportunities with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, American Friends Service Committee, and National Urban League.

National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress

Act of August 19, 1964, Public Law 88-444, 88th Congress, Second Session

A National Commission on Technology, Automation and Economic Progress composed of 14 members from outside the federal government was established to study the effects of technological change and make recommendations to the President and Congress by January 1, 1966.

IV. SAFETY AND COMPENSATION

Federal Coal Mine Safety Act

Act of July 16, 1952, U.S. Code 1952, as amended Act of March 26, 1966, Public Law No. 89-376, 89th Congress, Second Session, Title 30, Sections 451-460, 471-483

The main objectives of the Division of Coal Mine Inspection, operating organizationally as part of the health and safety activities under the Bureau of Mines, are: (1) inspecting coal mines to determine the causes of accidents and occupational diseases therein; (2) reviewing reports and evaluating operations based on such inspections; (3) revealing, through personnel conferences with interested agencies, correspondence, and published reports, the unhealthful and unsafe conditions and practices in coal mines; (4) recommending practical means for correcting the conditions observed; (5) enforcing the mandatory provisions of Title II of the Federal Coal Mine Safety Act in order to forestall the occurrence of major disasters in coal mines in which individuals are employed underground; and (6) promoting and sponsoring safety education programs in the industry. (Note, 1966 Act extending the mandatory federal inspection and safety provisions to mine which were previously exempt because they employed fewer than 15 persons underground.)

About 250 coal mine inspectors operate from district and subdistrict. offices located near their actual field of operations.

Federal Metal and Nonmetallic Mines Safety Act

Act of September 16, 1966, Public Law No. 89-577, 89th Congress, Second Session

Establishing mandatory federal health and safety standards for all mines except those extracting coal and lignite (covered elsewhere in the law) and petroleum and other materials extracted in liquid form unless extraction requires employment of workers underground. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to establish standards with the aid of local advisory committees appointed by him. Annual inspection is authorized.

Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act

Act of March 4, 1927, as amended; U.S. Code 1952, Title 33, Sections 901950; Supp. III, Title 43, Section 1333(c); Public Law 803, 84th Congress, 2d Session; Public Law 87, 87th Congress, 1st Session.

The Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act provides workmen's compensation benefits for certain private employments subject to Federal jurisdiction.

PERSONS AND EMPLOYMENTS COVERED

The law covers substantially all maritime employment on the navigable waters of the United States (including drydocks), except the master or members of the crew of a vessel. The principal employments covered are longshoremen and ship repairmen while on board a vessel. The law has been extended to other employments, including all private employment in the District of Columbia, the outer Continental Shelf lands, and employment outside the United States in the service of contractors with the United States at military, air, or naval bases or on public works.

INJURIES AND DISEASES COVERED

The law provides workmen's compensation benefits for accidental injuries arising out of and in the course of the employment, and occupational disease arising naturally out of the employment.

AMOUNT OF BENEFITS

Compensation for disability and death is based on the average weekly wage of the injured worker. There is a statutory limit of $70 on the weekly compensation. [The minimum weekly wage for computing death benefits is $27 but the total weekly compensation cannot exceed the average weekly wage of the deceased.]

TEMPORARY TOTAL DISABILITY

The compensation rate is two-thirds of the average weekly wage, subject to a maximum of $70 a week, and a minimum of $18, or average weekly wages, if less. There is a 3-day waiting period, but if the disability lasts more than 28 days, compensation is paid for the waiting period. Compensation, up to the aggregate maximum of $24,000, continues during the period of disability.

PERMANENT PARTIAL DISABILITY

Compensation for permanent partial disability is paid under a statutory schedule and for nonscheduled injuries on a loss in wage earning capacity. The aggregate compensation is $24,000, exclusive of medical care.

PERMANENT TOTAL DISABILITY

Compensation is payable for life at two-thirds of the weekly wage up to the maximum of $70 per week, and a minimum of $18, or average weekly wages, if less.

DEATH

Burial expenses are provided up to a maximum of $400. Persons eligible for death compensation include a widow, children under 18 years, and those over 18 if incapable of self-support, and dependent parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and grandchildren. The aggregate award to all beneficiaries may not exceed two-thirds of the average weekly wage. The average weekly wage shall be considered not to be more than $105, nor less than $27, but the total weekly compensation shall not exceed the weekly wages of the deceased. The maximum compensation in any case may not exceed $70 per week. Compensation to a widow is payable for life, or until remarriage, and to children until they reach 18, or marry. Upon remarriage, the widow receives 2 years' compensation.

MEDICAL TREATMENT

All necessary medical care is authorized for the effects of an injury. The employer is required to arrange for such care. There is no limit on the cost or period of treatment.

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

Provision is made for furnishing prosthetic appliances and for the payment of not to exceed $25 per week for maintenance while undergoing vocational training.

SECOND INJURIES

The law sets up a special fund for payment of compensation in certain cases in which the employee suffers a permanent partial disability which, combined with a previous disability, causes permanent total disability.

ADMINISTRATION

This law is administered by the Bureau of Employees' Compensation of the U.S. Department of Labor, through Deputy Commissioners appointed to 13 Compensation Districts. The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for the decision in respect to claims arising in his District.

APPEALS

The decision of a Deputy Commissioner is subject to review on questions of law by the Federal District Court for the District in which the injury occurred.

Longshore Safety

Act of August 23, 1958, U.S. Code 1958, Title 33, Section 941 This Act amends the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and requires employers subject to its coverage to furnish and maintain employment and places of employment reasonably safe for employees. It also directs and authorizes the Secretary of Labor to issue safety and health regulations applicable to such employment and places of employment.

The amendment provides that the Secretary may not make determinations respecting safety within: (1) the scope of the general authority of the Coast Guard over vessels which navigate in United States waters; (2) the powers of the Coast Guard in times of national emergency, and (3) the authority of the Coast Guard over islands and structures in waters of the outer continental shelf as prescribed in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

In addition to making safety regulations, the Secretary is authorized to inspect places of employment and investigate practices in connection with employment subject to this Act to determine if violations have occurred; to hold hearings and issue orders with respect to violations, and to secure injunctions when necessary to enforce safety regulations. The Secretary is also authorized to study and investigate causes of injury in covered employment, to promote uniformity in safety standards and to provide for programs of training to prevent unsafe working conditions.

United States district courts have jurisdiction for cause shown in any action brought by the Secretary of Labor to restrain violations of this law or any rule, regulation or order issued by the Secretary to enforce it. Willful violations of the safety requirements or willful interference with the Secretary or his authorized representative in the performance of the Secretary's inspection and enforcement duties may be punished, after conviction, by a fine of not less than $100, nor more than $3,000.

Defense Base Act

Act of August 16, 1941, as amended, U.S. Code 1952, Title 42, Sections 1651– 1654, Supp. III, Title 42, Section 1651(f)

Extends the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to employees of private employers on defense bases or employees engaged on public works outside the continental United States under contract with the Federal Government.

Non-Federal Employees Engaged in Work on Federal Property

Act of June 25, 1936, U.S. Code 1952, Title 40, Section 290

This act grants to the States jurisdiction and authority to apply their workmen's compensation laws to non-Federal employees engaged in work on Federal property within the exterior boundaries of any State.

Radiation Hazards

Act of September 23, 1959, Public 86–373, 86th Congress, 1st Session This Act, which amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, authorizes the Atomic Energy Commission, if it finds a State's program for control of radiation hazards to be adequate and compatible with its own, to enter into an agreement with the Governor of the State providing for a discontinuance of the Commission's licensing and regulatory authority with regard to such hazards. The Commission is directed to cooperate with the States in formulating standards for protection against radiation hazards, authorized to enter into agreements with any State to perform inspections or other functions on a cooperative basis, to provide training for State employees, and authorized, on request of the Governor or on its own initiative after notice and opportunity for hearing, to suspend or terminate any agreement.

In addition, this measure creates a Federal Radiation Council composed of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Commerce, the original members of the Council which was established by Executive Order, and the Secretary of Labor, or their designees, and such other members as the President shall appoint. Functions of the new Council include advising the President with respect to Federal radiation standards and cooperative programs with the States.