Number 4 r.ferch 30, 1944 U. S. 'DEPARTMENT OF ; LABOR , \ ' '.ft * • . Division of labor Standards .•..^Washington THE LIBRARY OF THE LABOR LAW VARIATIONS IN THE STATES ,JUL.U) W4 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS December 7, 1%.1-December 31, 1943 Requests for relaxation of State labor laws for war production greatly- increased during the second year of war, particularly in labor shortage areas where a minimum 40-hour workweek is in effect. Labor commissioners from the principal industrial States, meeting with representatives of the Labor, War and Navy Departments and the Maritime Commission March 1 and 2, reviewed the situa¬ tion and made plans for adapting present policies to changes in production re¬ quirements. During the first two years of war - December 7, 1941, through December 31, 1943 -State labor departments in 33 States sent to the U. S. De¬ partment of Labor reports of action taken on 34,500 applications from 15,500 manufacturing establishments for relaxation of State hours of work laws. This action is summarized, State by State, in this report. Machinery for granting relaxation was set up in most States within a few weeks after the declaration of war. Policies and procedures, in general, follow recommendations of the 1941 National Conference on Labor Legislation. Employers are required to file a written application, an investigation is made, and if need is established a Written permit is issued. Usually provision is made for issuing temporary permits in urgent cases, pending investigation. This procedure was reviewed by representatives of the War and Navy Departments at a conference of State labor commissioners from the principal industrial States, called by the Secretary of Labor in January 1942, and arrangements were made for clearing problems which could not be handled satisfactorily at a local level, through the U. S, Department of Labor and the War and Navy Departments. Two similar conferences have been held - in July 1943 and March 1944 - with representatives of the War Production Board and the War Manpower Commis¬ sion present as well as representatives of the procurement agencies, to take up problems which have arisen from time to time and to report on experience under the procedures established. The number of variations from State labor laws authorized in 1943 showed a marked increase over 1942 in most of the States which send in reports. This is particularly true with respect to extended hours of work for women and minor employees. In part, the increase is a result of the War Manpower order for a 48-hour minimum workweek in labor shortage areas. The S-hour daily lim¬ itation has been modified to allow a 5 or 5lr-day week. One third of the per¬ mits for longer hours issued in California were of this type, authorizing more than 8 hours a day but not more than 48 hours a week. Wisconsin and New York report a number of 10-hour day, 5-day week schedules. Changes in legislative standards are also reflected in the reports for 1943. Twenty States and the District of Columbia enacted legislation during the year modifying hours of work laws for the war period. At the recent March conference of State labor commissioners and Fed¬ eral representatives consideration was given to plans for returning to peace¬ time labor standards as production demands taper off, to securing data on the extent to which existing permits are utilized and the effect of longer hours of work on production, and to problems occurring in the day-by-day administra¬ tion of applications for variations. Unemployment and worker morale problems resulting from cancellations of contracts were presented and a plan was pro¬ posed for informing State labor commissioners in advance so that they can aid in handling difficulties which aALsOFwttJ*. l^ftrge numbers of workers arc released from employment. The following statement drafted by a committee composed of Mr. Corsi, Industrial Commissioner,. New York, Mr. Burczyk, Member of the In¬ dustrial Commission, Wisconsin, and Hr. Connolly, Director of the Department of Labor, Rhode Island, was accepted as representing "the sense of the meet¬ ing." That - : W. 1. State labor departments which have the requisite authority review permits granting variations from State labor laws for war production, particularly those authorizing extended hours or 7-day weeks for the duration, to ascertain the ex¬ tent to which they have been used and to determine whether there is a continued need for them. 2. A responsible single line of communication be set ub, on.a.; State basis, to supply State labor departments with infor¬ mation from Federal agencies on cut-backs, and contract .can- . cellations, as far in advance as possible*,. This will.estab¬ lish liaison* between State and Federal agencies and will en¬ able State labor commissioners to assist in preventing the -i development of problems which result from the discharge of large numbers of workers.’ Reporting procedure deemed desir¬ able by the Secretary of Labor for achieving this objective should be worked out through the Department o.f'Labor. • , , 3. Where it is necessary to recruit school boys, and girls be- .- tween 16 and IS years of age for war work it is desirable • that the combined.hours of work and school should not be more than 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week. 4. ' The War and Navy Departments be requested to call the atten¬ tion of their appropriate field representatives to the gen- . eral policy of the Departments ''with respect to relaxation of labor laws and their continued support of the Recommendations on Hours of Work for Maximum Production issued by eight Fed¬ eral agencies. . 5. The attention of the War and Navy Departments be called to the fact that in certain States inspectors, although proper¬ ly identified, continue to have difficulty in securing en¬ try into privately owned plants having war contracts to make inspections under State laws. * 6. The Secretary of Labor be asked to appoint a Joint Federal- State Committee-including members of a similar committee.of the International Association of Government Labor Officials to explore methods of cooperation between Federal and,State agencies, particularly in connection with (l) problems of .ob- * taining compliance with labor laws during the war emergency and demobilization, (2) getting minors back into full-time school, (3) gathering data on the effects of longer hours on production and on the health and welfare of workers, and (. 4 ) post-war plans for strengthening State labor departments, returning to peacetime labor standards, and promoting such labor legislation as may be needed during the post-war period. 7. Appreciation be expressed to the Secretary of Labor for call¬ ing together State labor commissioners from time to time to discuss questions of. mutual concern to State labor departments and the' U. S.' Department of Labor, * * * * * S'B 4*'» U. S, Department of Labor i i o,' q, Division of Labor Standards Washington, D. C. 1M 7 v. VARIATIONS FROM STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WAR PRODUCTION December 7, 1941 - December 31> 1943 ALABAMA (No hours of work law.) ARIZONA A general Emergency Powers Bill, introduced in the 1943 Legislature, was de¬ feated. A bill to suspend entirely the 8 -hour day law which was approved by the State Legislature was vetoed by the Governor, No machinery is provided for granting exemptions, . t ■> * . ARKANSAS Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: basic 8 -hour day, 6 -day week for women, with overtime at time and one-half, and permit required for overtime in excess of 1 hour per day or 6 days per week 3 10 -hour day and 54- hour week for male minors under 18; night work prohibited minors under 18 ; 30 - minute meal period. ■ ' / ' v • ;V \ , / Summar y of Actio n T ak en on Ap pli cat ions 1942 and 1943 1 943 __1942 No. Plants No. AppUcat ions No. Plants No 0 App licat ion s Type of action Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Longer hours Seven-day wreek 14 3 8 3 17 3 10 3 11 2 5 1 11 2 5 2 Meal period Night work (minors) 9 1 9 1 M — — •* Total number of plants requesting variations: _ 42 . (This total is less than the Siam of the items because some plants requested more than one type of varia¬ tion, some had. some requests granted and others denied, and some applied in both 1942 and 1943.) Total number of variations requested: 63 Granted: 53 . Denied: 10 . :.*V •' ‘ . ■ , v r - Forty-two firms have filed applications for variations from the Ar 1 ^nsas la¬ bor law since war began. Only 2 of the 30 plants applying in 1943 had also filed an application for an exemption in 1942* One, granted a permit for a longer work- week in 1942, was denied a request for longer hours and a 7-day week during 1943. Among the establishments applying in 1943 were 13 manufacturing firms, 2 con¬ struction companies, 2 wholesale bakeries, 3 communications firms, 1 transporta¬ tion and 1 public utility company. In 1942 laundries predominated, representing 5 of the 14 firms requesting exemptions. There were no requests for longer hours from laundries during this past year. The denials include one firm which with¬ drew the application before action was taken on it, one was denied a request for longer hours because it refused to pay time and one-half for hours worked in ex¬ cess of 8 per day and 48 per week, and a third was denied a blanket request for overtime previous to 8 holidays. This firm was asked to apply in each instance presenting evidence that such additional hours before the holiday were necessary. - 2 : - In only one case ms an authorization for longer hours granted for the ll dura' tion. 11 A lumber manufacturing company was permitted to employ women 5 10-hour days each week. Nine of. the. 17. permits for extended hours were.for periods of 30 days or less. Likewise one-half’ of the 7-day week permits were for one month or less. The 9 firms which requested variations from the meal period provision asked for no other exemption. Five were permitted to waive ,the requirement that a meal period must be allowed following a specified number of hours of work, provided time was given for rest periods and for meals at reasonable intervals. Four were allovjed a 30 -minute meal period in place of the longer period required if no lunchroom is provided on the premises. . . . CALIFORNIA , : . •• Basic legal peacetime standards in manufacturing industries: 8-hour day and 48-hour week for women and minors under IS, except canning and packing where longer hours permitted at increased rates j employment of women after 12 midnight prohibited except in canning and packings 6-day week for all employees with certain exceptions. ... . , ■ ■ • ■ . Legislation passed in February 1943 empowered the. Governor to grant varia¬ tions from legal standards for the employment of women during the emergency. Ap¬ plications are investigated by the Department of Industrial Relations and the recommended action submitted to the Governor who makes final decision. About 2,500 firms have applied for exemption from hours laws since war began. Most of.the requests have been filed since the 1943 legislation was enacted. Exemptions from Hours of Work Statutes . Between February 5* the effective date of the Ytfar Production Act, and December 31,. 2,856 applications for relaxation of the laws limiting the 'workday and the 'workweek of women were received. (A firm may file mpre than one application.) Of these 2~,694 covering 307,431 women were approved, 157 denied, and 5 withdrawn. This compares with 285 permits granted and 58 denied in the entire year of 1942. The 1942. permits were generally issued for 30 days or less; permits issued under the War Production Act are usually for the duration. - Workweeks in excess of 48 hours were allowed by 62 percent of the permits is¬ sued since February 5, 1943; in 31 percent longer daily hours were permitted within a 48 -hour week; 7 percent were special temporary permits. Thirty-one per¬ cent (513) of the 1,653 exemptions allowing longer work-weeks permit women to work more than 54 hours. The hours originally requested are frequently modified. This has been done in 875 of the applications approved since the War Production Act be¬ came effective; such modifications represent slightly more than half of the- per- mits which authorize hours in excess of 46 a week. ’■’**“ ‘ , » There were 1.89 permits issued allowing, employment of women for a 7-day week on alternate weeks or for one week out of every four. In addition 14 permits were issued authorizing 7-day employment for, men only. In 1942, 120 7-day week per¬ mits were granted for men and women, all but 11 of them expiring within 30 days. - 3 - Exemptions from Or ders of In dustria l Welfar e Commissio n. In addition to per¬ mits authorizing modification of the maximum-hour and 3rd ay-of-rest-in-7 lav/s, 508 applications were approved in the period February 5 through December 31* 1943*for variations from orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission governing the employ¬ ment of women. These permits covered night work, weight lifting, meal periods, hours of work of employees exempt from the maximum hour lav/, and home work. Seven applications were denied. The most usual variation authorized work after 12 mid¬ night. A total of 384 such permits have been granted since February. During 1942 an additional 229 night work permits were granted, valid for the duration. Exemptions from Child Labor Laws . The Minors Emergency Act providing for relaxation of child labor laws in the emergency was approved May 28, 1943. Be¬ tween the effective date and December 31* 659 applications were filed. Of these 494 v/ere granted, 153 denied, and 12 withdrawn. As of October 31* 33 percent had been issued to food-processing firms (for the most part during the school vacation period) and another 35 percent were for the employment of minors in aircraft, ship¬ building and other establishments producing war goods. The permits apply only to minors 16 to 18 years of age. The hours of such minors attending school may not exceed 8 per day and 48 per week for combined employment and school attendance. COLORADO Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries? 8-hour day for women. One hundred forty-nine permits for workdays in excess of 8 hours were granted to 36 establishments in Colorado during 1942 and 1943. Five of the firms applied in 1942* two reapplying in 1943. These were all manufacturing establishments. Of the 31 firms v/hich applied for the first time in 1943 more than one-half were re¬ tail establishments. The majority applied during the last 2 months, of 1943 and were granted permits for periods of 2 or 3 months. In 1942 and the first 6 months of 1943 permits usually covered 1 or 2 days and only rarely were granted for as long as a month. One firm alone, a manufacturer of small arms, secured 111 permits, all limited in duration to 1 or 2 days, to meet the peak demands of war contracts. CONNECTICUT Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industriess 9-hour day and 48 -hour week for women and minors under 18, except for 8 weeks on permit hours may be 10 a day and 55 a week 3 employment of women and minors under 18 prohibited after 10 p, 111,3 6 -day week for all employees. S ummary of Action- Taken on Application s .. 1942 and 1943 ' Type of action No. Plants No. AppI .icaticns No. plants No.Applic :ations Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Longer daily or wklyhrs.. 672 1 825 1 184 55 316 59 Night work Second shift 191 0 227 0 253 5 312 5 Third shift 109 0 120 0 164 7 186 7 Total number plants requesting variations ? 878 . (This total is less than the sum of the items because some plants requested more than one type of variation, some had some requests granted and others denied., and some applied In both 1942 and 1943.) Total number variations requested? 2058 . Granted? 19 86 . Denied? 72 . - 4 - During 1942 authorizations to employ women up to 10 hours a day and 55 hours a week were usually granted for 8 weeks* Upon the showing of urgent, need the Gov¬ ernor has the power to extend the authorization and in a few instances this was done. The power of the Governor to extend the period was renewed in May 1943. Practically all of the permits issued since that time for hours in excess of 9 a day and 48 a week (but not more than 10 a day or 55 a week) authorize- longer hours u until revoked." Night work permits during both 1942 and 1943 authorized such work "until revoked." ‘ r: . The Connecticut Department of Labor has had applications from- 878 firms in the 2-year period, 477 of them applying for the first time in 1943# There was a marked increase in 1943 in the number of permits issued and in the number of plants applying for longer hours. In 1942, 316 permits for longer hours were is¬ sued to 184 plants, one-third of them for periods of less than 30 days and most of the remainder for 8 weeks. During 1943, 825 permits authorizing longer daily or weekly hours or both were granted to 672 firms. None of these permitted more than a 55-hour week, the maximum allowed under the lawj about one-fourth authorized a 6-day week of 54 hours or less. Approximately half of' the 878 firms requesting variations during the 2-year period obtained night work permits for the duration. Seventy-five percent (308) of the 432 firms with such permits received them in 1942. The number of plants with night-work permits is less,than the number of applications granted because many plants with second shift permits later receive third shift permits and some plants have separate permits for different departments. In 1943 a number of -firms reported changing from three to two-shift operation;; in other cases night work was discontinued entirely. • • During 1942 the policy of the Department was to limit the employment of minors under 18 to a 48 -hour week and to 10 p.m. night employment. There has been a noticeable change in 1943, especially during the last six months, in the number of permits involving minors. Of the 825 permits for longer hours issued in 1943, 269 involved minors. Many of these permitted only 2 or 3 extra hours within the week or only longer daily hours. Minors were included in 61 of the 227"second shift and 20 of the 120 third shift permits granted in 1943. Girls are not permitted to work on the third shift. DELAWARE Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries 1 10-hour day and 55-hour 6-day week for womens employment of women 11 p.m.-6 a.m. prohibited except in canneries and in industries requiring continuous operation. In 1942 one permit for longer hours and 18 night-work permits were issued. The 1943 Legislature amended the night-work prohibition for women so that they may now work until 11 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. No permits for longer hours have been granted in 19431 and only 2 for night work, both issued prior to the amendment. The Labor Commission reports that no additional applications for variations are anticipated since the amendment permits 2-shift operation on a 55-hour week basis, the schedule followed by the majority of the plants in the States. DISTRICT. -OF- COLUMBIA •* •« -* *■ uv Basic legal peacetime-standards for.manufacturing industries; 8-hour day, 48 -hour 6 -day week for - women-, and minors under 18. ■ ,v,; -■ Su mmary .of. A ction Take n on App li cations1943 -‘W'" •' ‘ . .J’• Type of action Number of Plants Number of Applications Granted Denied or Withdrawn Granted Denied or Withdrawn Longer daily or weekly hours 22 16 92 38 1 / Total number of plants; 38 , 1/ Thirty-two denied and 6 withdrawn. No provision for granting variations from the District of Columbia .hours law existed prior to June 1943. The United States Congress enacted a War Amendment to the Eight-hour Day, Law in June which permits exemption from both the daily and 48 - hour week provisions up to a 54-hour week, provided time and one-half is paid for overtime hours. Variations are restricted to "essential war work" and initial. permits are granted for a period not exceeding 60 days. No authorization may allow the employment of minors under 18 contrary to peacetime standards. i During the 7-month period June-December 31, 1943, 38 firms requested permis¬ sion to employ women longer daily or weekly hours 5 6 withdrew their applications before any action ms taken by the District of Columbia Minimum Wage Board. Almost one-half ( 41 ) of the favorable actions constituted renewals of permits which had lapsed. Manufacturing and transportation companies obtained 71 of the 92 permits and almost two-thirds of.,the 1,597 women employed for additional hours were working in production, not office, jobs. Sixty of the authorizations extended the work¬ week, but only 13 permitted the maximum 54-hour week allowed. Twenty-three permits allowed a 9 y or 10 -hour day, all of them restricting the longer daily hours to a specific emergency lasting for a few days, or limiting the number of longer days that may be worked within a month. Most permits are issued to meet temporary emergencies^ 41 were for one month or less and 44 for 2 months, with only 7 for a period of 3 months. The Board sometimes issues a permit for 2 or 3 days without an investigation, in an emergency, but the general policy- is- to investigate all. firms applying for exemptions. Every effort is made to restrict exemptions to firms which are doing essential war work." - •'« •• • > FLORIDA (No hours of work la?/.) ... .. ...... . GEORGIA (Law Permits a 60-hour week.) . ’ A ' - ‘ -’ ■ ' • ■' • . ■ 3 ' . I. DAE 0 ■' ; ; • '(Nine-hour day. No report.) ,• y - .... ILLINOIS (No report received 3 however, permits are being'issued under law enacted in 1943.) - 6 - •> c;r INDIANA Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: no limitation on the hours of work of adultsj employment of women prohibited after 10 p.m., or after 12 midnight if 2 shifts of S hours are worked 5 days a week 5 girls under 18 prohibited from employment between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. In 1942 employers applying for permission to employ women at night were granted exemptions authorizing either second or third shift employment or both. During the year 177 night-work authorizations were granted, 127 for third shift and the remainder for second shift employment. Minors were not allowed to work after 7 p.m. The 1943 General Assembly suspended the night-work provisions for women over 18 and provided that girls 16 to 18 years of age may work until 10 p.m. during the war, except in occupations determined to be hazardous by the labor com¬ missioner. The Act required employers to file notice of all variations from the peacetime night-work standards for women and minors. Night-work notices indicating the employment of women beyond the day shift were filed by 155 additional firms in 1943, making a total of 332 where night work for adults has been authorized. Notices reporting the employment of minors to 10 p.m. were filed by I 83 firms. IOWA (No hours of work law.) KANSAS Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 9-hour day and 492 -hour 6-day week for women and minors under 18 ° 3 employment of women and minors under 18 prohibited after 9 p.m .\ 45-minute meal period for women and minors under 18 required, except 30 minutes allowed on permit. Summa ry of Action Taken on Applicati o ns 1 942 and 1943 __ 1943 _ 1942 Type of action No. Plants No .Applicaticns No. Plants No.Applic ations Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Longer daily or wkly. 103 1 241 1 19 7 30 7 hours Seven-day week 9 1 50 1 10 2 13 2 Night work Second shift 30 0 51 0 44 1 66 1 Third shift 52 0 59 0 17 0 24 0 Meal period 98 0 HL 0 . ,-45. 0 ,.-45 0 Total number plants requesting variations: 127 . (This total is less than the sum of the items because some plants requested more than one type of variation, some had some requests granted and others denied, and some applied in both 1942 and 1943.) Total number of variations requested: 722 . Granted: 710 . Denied: 12 . During 1942 permits to war plants authorizing night work and extended hours were granted for 90-day periods, subject to renewal. In January 1943 the Department of Labor adopted a policy of issuing two. types of permits *• "regular 5 * and "special." Regular permits,-usually valid until revoked, are issued for night work, a work¬ week of. 54 hours (but r hot. mpre than 9 hours a .day - or 6 days [a week) and a lunch . period of - 3.Q -minutes for women and .minors. A regular permit may' contain only ohe_ of the provisions mentioned, or all of them. There are also cases in which plants are issued regular permits for limited periods, operating on peacetime hours standards the remainder,'.of.the_time. Special permits are issued authorizing con¬ ditions of work in .excess of..the„standards specified in regular permits. In some instances planbs with.,regular ...permits. ..have found it necessary, in addition, to re¬ quest permission to employ women in a single department for longer daily or weekly hours than those allowed in the regular permit in order to meet a bottleneck or temporary emergency. - . ' . Variations 1 were -granted to 109 plants during 19431 42. plants had had permits in 1942 and 67 were applying-'for the first time last year. Eighteen plants re¬ questing variations in 1942 did not apply for an exemption in 1943. Seventy of the 109 plants received only regular permits, IS only special permits, and 21 both regular and special permits. Minors were employed under the permits in 49 plants with regular permits and in 9 additional.plants, holding only special permits, a total of 53 plants* a - -. -a .: . r 1 All but 5 of the '-91 plants, with regular permits obtained permission to employ women 9 hours per day,. 54-^ hours per week. Many of these plants also obtained special permits for certain groups of employees in specific emergencies. In all, 172 special permits were issued to 39 plants allowing hours in excess of those granted in regular permits. Of these, 14 specified a 10-hour day, 54“hour week, and 52 the same daily hours, but a 60-hour week. Twenty-six were granted for a specified amount "of daily overt-ime hours, for a few days, but did not indicate whether the weekly limit could, . be exceeded. In addition there were 57 which were reported as allowing, overtime but the amount involved was not given. Seventy-seven of the 91 plants, with regular permits were granted night work authorizations, 32 for second shift only, and 45 for third shift. In an additional 8 plants night work was authorized in special permits. A 30-minute meal period ..-was authorized in all but 4 of the plants operating under a regular permit. Several special permits authorized shorter meal periods. • Almost twice as many firms applied in 1943 for exemptions as during 1942 and more than twice as many permits,were issued this past year. Two-thirds of the plants receiving regular jxjrmits were granted these authorizations during the first half of the year. Since July 1, 1943> there has been a noticeable increase in per¬ mits with special provisions. Seven-day week employment was allowed in 40 permits during this period as compared with only 10 during the first 6 months of the year. It is not possible to compare actions taken in 1943 with those taken during the first year of the war because of the change in the procedure in issuance of permits K E N T U C K Y. (Lav/ permits 60-hour week.) I - 8 - LOUISIANA Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 8-hour day, 48 - hour week for women except in communities under 6,000 where 9-hour day, 54-hour week permitted; 6-day-women in communities of more tnan 6,000; in canning and packing 10-hour day, 60-hour week in emergencies; for miners under 18, 8-hour day, 44-hour 6-day week, no night work; meal period for women, 30 minutes after 6 hours work with certain exceptions. Summary of Action Taken on Applications Type of action July l t 1942 - December 31. 1943 Longer Mo. of Plants No. of Applications Granted (No report on Longer weekly hours 79 79 denials ) The State Legislature enacted legislation in July 1942 empowering the Commis¬ sioner of Labor to grant variations from peacetime labor standards for attaining “maximum possible production in the war work of the State.” u War work" was de¬ fined in the Act as work in producing articles or materials for the Government or work in performing other services related thereto and necessary for the successful waging of the war. The law specified that no variation could be granted involving minors under 18 and that employees must be paid at the rate of time and one-half for work in excess of the statutory daily or weekly hours. Permits are granted for 6 months with reconsideration of the circumstances in each case if an extension is requested. Maximum hours of work are not specified in the permit'. However, repre¬ sentatives from the Department of labor visit the plants receiving authorizations and in accordance with the War Emergency Dispensation Act investigate whether the health and welfare of" the workers is properly safeguarded under the program of ex¬ tended hours. - The report from the Department of Labor of permits to 79 plants covers the period July 1942-December 31, 1943. More than 70 percent of the authorizations were granted to manufacturing firms, the remainder involving mainly communications, transportation and public utility companies, laundries, and in 2 cases restaurant employees in shipbuilding plants. Ten laundries granted dispensations in 1942 which expired in 1943 made no application for renewals. MAINE Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 9-hour day, 54- hour week. The 1943 Legislature amended the hours law to provide that during the war em¬ ployers may work women more than 10 hours a day but not more than 54 hours a week. The meal-period requirement may, during the war, be adjusted by agreement between an employer and. his employees or their authorized representatives, subject to the approval of the Commissioner of Labor and Industry. . During 1942, 9 permits were issued to 5 plants, 6 of which were for 30 days or less. In 1943, 6 permits were issued to 3 plants and 1 application was denied. All of the 1943 permits were for less than 30 days and were to meet specific emergencies. None of the firms Y/hich applied in 1942 reapplied in 1943. MARYLAND t (Lav; permits 60-hour week. No variations reported.) J / X - 9 - MASSACHUSETTS (No report received;; permits are being issued under war emergency laws of 1942 and 1943.) MICHIGAN (Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 10-hour day, 54-hour week for women. No authority to grant variations.) MINNESOTA Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 54-hour week for women. Sixty-one establishments in Minnesota have been-granted Si permits for hours of work in excess of those allowed by law. The 51 plants which applied in 1943 in¬ cluded 11 plants which had also filed application for exemption in 1942, Ten of the plants obtaining permits in 1942 did not reapply during the last year. Ap¬ proximately one-half of the exemptions were granted for a period of 6 months and all but 7 were for workweeks of 60 hours, some specifying a 10-hour day as the daily maximum allowed. From visits in the summer of 1943 to a selected sample of Minnesota plants obtaining' exemptions it was learned that firms were not making full use of the exemptions allowed but instituted the longer workweek only during rush periods or to meet bottleneck situations. Under many permits the firms are required to provide adequate lunch-room facilities and to allow morning and after¬ noon rest periods, MISSISSIPPI ,**•-* % * (Law permits a 60-hour week.) MISSOURI (Fifty-four hour week. No authority to grant variations.) MONTANA Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 8-hour day for women with overtime permitted in emergency. Eight applications for variations from the hours law were received in 1942 and 1943 in Montana. The 3 in 1942 were 'from restaurants and were denied. In 1943 one exemption was-granted, 3 were denied, and 1 was not acted upon; The exemption granted allowed women to work as train dispatchers 9 hours per day when necessary since it was impossible to hire additional help for one or two extra hours in emergencies. An application which involved employment of women in railroad shops up to 56 hours per week was not acted upon, the company being informed that as long as the 8-hour day was not exceeded the employment was permissible under the Montana law. The denials involved 3 retail firms requesting permission to employ women longer hours and contractors doing construction work for the Government who applied for permission to employ minors 16 years of age 10 hours per day and 7 days per week. - 10 - ,w •* Eleven applications Here received by the State requesting permission to employ minors under 16 in coal mines, a machine shop, a laundry, a sugar refinery, as pin- boys in bowling alleys, and as telegraph messengers. All of these applications were denied. NEBRASKA i Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 9-hour day, 54 -hour week for women; permit required for employment of women after 1 a.m. Nebraska reports that during 1943* 5 firms requested exemptions from the 9-hour day requirement. One employer who furnished evidence of the urgency of the situa¬ tion was engaged in production of war materials and had not been able to secure ad¬ ditional workers was told that under the circumstances no action would be taken by the Department. Similar action was taken with respect to the only firm which filed a formal application in 1942. Requests from the other 4 firms were denied because they were unable to prove that the situation could not be met by hiring additional workers and adjusting production schedules. * N E V A D A .;. . — • • • •». • «. , ' . . • . . •' • Vj • ‘ „• ' Forty-eight hour law for women with overtime to 56 permitted in rush periods at time and a half pay, if no additional help available. No authority to grant exemptions. • NEW HAMPSHIRE , 4 Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 10-hour day, 4 S-hour week for women and minors under 18 (not more than 8 per day or 4 & per week if work performed between 8 p.ta. and 6 a.m. on more than 2 days per week) except for Government supplies in time of war$ 6 -day week for all employees, ... In addition to exemptions already permitted under the hours lav/ in time of war, the Governor in 1943 was granted emergency powder, subject to the approval of the State Council, to suspend any law, rule, or regulation which interferes with the conduct of the war'. New Hampshire employers manufacturing supplies for the Government are not re¬ quired to obtain permits to employ women for hours in excess of peacetime standards, but they are expected to file notice of such hours with the Department of Labor. ;■ During 1942 and 1943, 84 firms filed notices of intention to employ women -j contrary to the peacetime hours of work and 7-day week requirements of the New / : Hampshire labor law. Thirty-one of the plants in 1943 filed 32 notices of -work¬ weeks in excess of 48 hours and 4 notices of 7-day weeks. In 1942, 53 firms filed 47 notices of longer workweeks and 25 notices of 7-day weeks. The filing of the notice of such employment does not mean that the longer workwpeks or 7 -day weeks . : have been instituted as regular schedules ol work., , . . . NEW J E R S E Y " ’ . . .. , Basic legal peacetime standards in manufacturing industries; 10-hour day and 54-hour 6-day week for women 18 and overj 8-hour day and 40 -hour 6-day week for minors 16 to 18 years of agej employment of women 18 and over prohibited after mid¬ night and of minors 16-18 after 10 p.m.; 30 -minute meal period except on permit. Summary of Action Taken on Applications Involving Adult Workers 19 42 and 1943 1943 _1942 Type of action No. Plants No. Applications No. Plants No. Applications Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Night work Second shift • mrn - 59 1 59 . 1 (after midnight) * Third shift 194 7 198 7 119 0 119 0 Meal period 17 1 17 1 37 1 37 • 1 Total number of plants requesting variations for adults! 5 2ZL. (This total is less than the sum of the items because some plants requested more than one type of variation, some had some requested granted and others denied, and some applied in both 1942 and 1943*) Total number of variations requested*. 440 . Granted; 430 . Denied; 10 . The Commissioner of Labor had authority in 194 2 to grant variations only from the night work and meal period laws for women. In April 1943 the Legislature passed an act allowing the employment of minors 16-18 up to 10 hours a day and 48 hours a week on permit. All applications for permits must be submitted for approval to an Emergency Child Labor Committee appointed by the Commissioner. Between May 1 and October 1 minors of the same age group may work in food-processing establish¬ ments a 10-hour day, 48 -hour week, and until 11 p.m.,without permit. During 1942 and 1943 there were 376 night work permits issued in Ne?/ Jersey authorizing the employment of Y/omen after midnight. Of these, 317 were for third shift employment and 59 for work on the second shifts ending after 12 midnight. The 178 night work exemptions granted in 1943 were 20 fewer than those issued the first year of the war. The 37 meal period permits in 1943 were slightly more than double the number issued in 1942. One firm applying for suspension of the meal period requirement was denied its request. Between April 1943* the month in which the child-labor emergency legislation was enacted, and December 31*1943* there were. 1,838 applications for longer hours for minors filed with the Department of Labor. In addition 133 requests for renew¬ als of permits which had lapsed were received. .Only 183 were denied; 1,610 we re granted, and at the end of the year there were 178 pending investigation and action either by the Child Labor Committee or the Commissioner. -Vy’ ; NEW MEXICO Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries;' 8-hour day, 48 - hour week for women; 30 -minute meal period for women. In New Mexico during 1942 one permit was granted for a workweek in excess of 48 hours. No reports have been received for the year 1943* N E W YORK t Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries; 8-hour day, 48 - hour week for women and minors under 18; night work prohibited for women over 21 I - 12 - af'ter 10 p.m., for women under 21 after 9 p.m., for male minors 16-18 after 12 midnight and for male minor messengers under 21 from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.; 6-day week for all employees; '1-hour lunch period except by permit. ._ . Under a procedure set up when war,, was-declared the industrial Commissioner - authorized exemptions from labor laws for war production under certain specified conditions. This procedure was incorporated into law when the Legislature con¬ vened in January 1942. In April 1943 the r ar Dispensation Act was amended to ex¬ tend the application of the law to essential civilian industries and to minors under 18. Dispensations involving minors must be approved by the State Bar Council before the Commissioner of Labor may take action on such requests. These changes, in the law have resulted in new types of firms applying for exemptions in 1943 and have increased the number of actions affecting minors. Laundries, restaurants, food manufacturers, telegraph companies, and mercantile establishments are represented more often in the requests filed during the last 6 months of 1943 than in the previous 18 months. No mercantile firms we re allowed dispensations at any time in 1942. Because of the necessity of providing shopping services to war workers a small number of dispensations has been granted to retail stores since July 1943. However women in factories continue to predominate in the dispensations allowing longer hours and night work. ... - - c . The Department of Labor reports that the number of women working more than 46 hours a week has increased and the proportion of women working 34 hours or more a week has likewise been rising. A ■ . • ■ ) y * ' . t ; * t • ' v In the latest available report covering the months of September and October 1943s four-fifths of the women in factories affected by dispensations from the women’s hour law were scheduled , to, work hours in excess of peacetime standards. A 34-hour week ?/as permitted most frequently; about one-half of the women affected by hours dispensations were on this schedule. One-sixth of the, total number of women affected were scheduled for hours in excess of a 54-Hour Y/orlrweek. There were frequent restrictions on the use of the longer week, such as a limit on the number of hours of overtime allowed.within a given period. Some of the longer workweeks vie re alternated with shorter weeks to make an average, of 54 hours or less. More of the longer Workweek schedules were granted in upstate New York than in the metropolitan area, and there were fewer limitations in the dispensations•there be¬ cause of labor shortages in that.area. Most of the women working longer workweeks were on day shifts. However, ,2 out of every 7 women who were.working longer hours were employed on night shifts. The report explains the increase as follows”. “Many of the long workweeks were for an emergency period only so that firms could meet the deadline of convoy sailings as well as to increase production.” 1 Permits authorizing night work continue to be issued. During the period cov¬ ered by the report slightly more than one-half of the plants receiving dispensa¬ tions from the women’s hours law were operating on a multiple-shift basis, 40 per¬ cent on a 3-shift schedule. More than 80 percent of the 3-shift plants were in the ' upstate area. Because of difficulty of adequate supervision as well as the diffi-. culty of finding additional workers for an extra shift, almost one-fourth of the shift changes were decreases in the number of shifts. Every effort is made to • maintain peacetime hours on the night shift. During September and October almost one-half of the women allowed to work at night were limited to a 48 -hour workweek. More employees have been affected by the 7-day week dispensations than, by those from any other section of the Labor Code. Women are not allowed, as a rule, to work continuously during the duration of the 7 -day week dispensations, but during the canning season there were a number of 7 -day permits which authorized the employ¬ ment of men every Sunday, Most dispensations from this section of the law im¬ posed restrictions such as six 7 -day weeks within a 6 -month period, or one rest day required after 13 working days. The machinery for handling dispensations for minors under the amendment to the War Emergency Act was put into operation in July 1943. All such applications are carefully investigated and the findings submitted with the application to the State War Council, This body which makes recommendations on dispensations involv¬ ing 16 and 17-year old minors, has developed certain policies. In the metropolitan area, where there is still a supply of adult workers, minors over 16 are not per¬ mitted to Y/ork more than a 48 -hour week. In labor shortage areas, they may work 10 hours a day and 6 days a week, but not exceeding a 50 -hour week with rest peri¬ ods required. So that minors may bo used effectively on second shifts, they have been permitted to work until 12s30 a.m. when the shift ends after midnight. All but 21 of the 155 dispensations granted between July 1-October 31* 1943* the period for which reports are available, related to hours of work of boys and girls working in factories. The majority of these were from manufacturing plants producing iron and steel and transportation equipment. Most of the hours permits affected male minors only and allowed a 50 -hour week on a day shift. There has been a noticeable increase since July 1943 in the number of applica¬ tions denied in New York, the majority of these representing requests resulting from the broadened definition of "essential war work" and the provision for relax¬ ing child labor standards. Between July l-0ctober 31* 26l employers' requests were denied because it ?/as felt the schedules proposed would be detrimental to the health and welfare of boys and girls under 18 or if employers made adjustments there Y/as no necessity for the employment of minors as requested. All applications for 7-day Yreek employment of 16 and 17-year old minors by factories were denied, as Y/ell as applications for night work permits in restaurants and stores. Permits in New York are limited by law to a 6 -month period and many are issued for a shorter time. Frequently a permit is amended because circumstances change. During the 23-month period covered in the data given belov7 rener. T als and amendments represent 42 percent of the total dispensations reported. During the war period, December 6 , 1941-October 20, 1943* New York has taken action on 16,090 applications for dispensations from 4*056 plants. Exclusive of the 1,806 applications from 1,796 plants for fingerprinting, the actions taken are given belov; for the entire period and also for the 1943 period, January 1-October 20s Total Plants Involved A ctions Granted Actions Denied from 12/6/41 Total en- From l/l/43 T otal en - From l/l/43 SECTION OF THE LAN _ -10/20/43 tire period -10/20/43 tare period -10/20/43 Grinding occupations for women & males under 13 (Sec. 146.3) 247 368 327 11 10 Age female messengers (Sec. I 46 .IO) 221 681 1 c>o 104 198 15 Day of Rest (Sec. 161) 1,670 3*423 1*791 166 36 Posting Day of Rest Schedule (Sec. 161.3) 93 125 60 2 0 (continued) Total Pla nts Involved Actions Granted ^ Actions Denied from 12/8/41 Tot al en- From 1/1/43 Total en- From 1/1/43 S ECTION OF THE LAW _ -10/20/43 tire period -10/20/43 tare period -10/20/41 Length Lunch Period 330 620 430 19 18 (Sec. 162) Hours of Males Under 18 in 285 97. 97 200 167 Factories (Sec. 171) Hours of Women in Factories 2 ,830 6,288 3,967 389 (Sec. 172) Hours of Women in Canneries 92 119 83 18 12 •(Sec. 173) Hours Males Under 18 in Non- IS 0 0 18 ' 18 manufacturing (Sec. 180-a) Hours Women in Mercantile 52 6 6 46 46 Establishments (Sec. 181) Hours Women Hotels and 361 * 311 250 - 144 120 Restaurants (Sec. 182) Hours Male Minor Messengers 181 468 . 139 260 2 (Sec. 185.1). Hours on Public Works 123 161 75 44 7 (Sec. 220.2) Minimum Wage Orders (Sec. 564.2) 38 41 41 1 1 Other Sections of Law * 40 56 40 7 4 u 14,292 7,488 1,523 456 * Includes dispensations relating to Hours of .women in binderies (Sec. 2); Operation of elevators by females under 18 (Sec. 146:5); Employment of females in mines and quarries (Sec. 146 : 6 ); Core-making occupations for women (Sec. .147);.Seats for women (Sec. 150); Posting of women's hours schedules (Sec. 174)I.Hours of women elevator operators (Sec. I 83)5 Rate of wage payment (Sec. 196:2) Anti-noise(Sec. 1530 of Penal Law and Sec. 181 of Sanitary Code), 1/ Sum of items does not equal total number of plants because some establishments have had more than one type of dispensation. NORTH CAROLINA' Basic legal standards for manufacturing industries.: 9-hour day, 48 -hour 6 -day week for females, in manufacturing industries except for certain specified.occupa¬ tions; 9-hour day, 48 -hour 6-day week for minors 16 to 18 years of age; night work prohibited for girls 16 to 18 years of age from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and for boys 16 to 18 years of age from 12 p.m. to 6 a.m.; 10-hour day, 56 -hour week, 12 in 14 -day em¬ ployment for males, with time and one-half for the fifty-sixth hour. During 1942 no variations from labor laws regularing the employment of women and minors were permitted. The law limiting employment of men to 55 hours a week,to 12 in 14 days was relaxed but these exemptions were not reported. In 1943 the Leg¬ islature provided for modification of any labor law if such action was necessary for the war effort. In May the Governor issued a proclamation authorizing the employ¬ ment of girls 16-18 up to 10 p.m., the standard set by regulation under the Walsh- Healey Act. In addition, the same age group of girls may work up to 12 midnight on permit. The commissioner is also authorized to. grant exemptions from the hours of work and 7-day week requirements for women. Permits are restricted to 6 months - 15 - in duration. All overtime must be compensated for at time and one-half the regular rate. Firms granted night work permits for girls 16-18 are required to see that adequate transportation is furnished from the plant to the workers’ homes. The department requires a report from each firm at the end of 90 days showing the num¬ ber of girls actually employed on second shifts operating after 10 p.m. Since enactment of the legislation in May the following actions have been taken on requests for exemptions: Summary of Action Taken on Applications No. Plants_No. Applications Type of action Granted Denied or withdrawn Granted Denied or withdrawn Longer daily or weekly 10 4 16 4 hours Seven-day v/eek 2 0 3 0 Second shift for girls 33 1 . 33 1 16-18 Total number of plants requesting- variations: 48 • Total number of variations requested: 57 . Granted: 52 . Denied or withdrawn: 5. Twelve of the 16 permits authorizing longer daily or weekly hours were limited to 30 days or less, 3 were from 30 to 60 days, and one was for the period required to complete a specific job. In 12 of the permits the hours authorized were speci¬ fied as follows: 54 hours a week in 5 permits, 56 hours a YYeek in 4j 60 hours in one (for one week only), and longer daily hours but not more than 48 hours a week in 2 permits. The firms whose applications were denied were unable to show that the extension of hours ?ra.s necessary for war purposes. Permits for 7-day v/eeks Y/ere granted to meet specific situations and Y/ere less than a month in duration. Applications to employ girls from 16 to 18 years of age were received from 34 firms. One firm withdrew the application. Permits Y/ere issued to the other 33* Among them was a telephone company (13 different branch exchanges), textile mills, and firms engaged in the manufacture of hosiery and knitted underwear. Firms re¬ ceiving permits to employ Y/omen longer hours included manufacturers of aircraft parts, rubber goods, tents, and other products used by the armed forces. NORTH DAKOTA Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: Sy-hour day, 48 -hour week for Y/omen. One firm was granted a permit for longer daily hours and a 7-day week for a period of 2 weeks in 1942. During 1943,2 regulations were issued, one in respect to a telegraph company with 4 branches and the other to a telephone exchange. The regulation promulgated for the telegraph offices permitted workweeks of 56 hours spread over 7 days provided sufficient time Y/as allowed for meals at the end of 5 hours. The telephone exchange was allowed to employ Y/omen night operators 15 out of 25 hours if sleeping arrangements were made. The day operators were permitted to Y/ork not more than 9g- hours per day and not more than 277 hours within the month. Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 8-hour day. and 45-hour 6-day week for womens 8-hour day, 48 -hour 6-day week- for boys under I8j employment of boys under 18 or girls 18-21 prohibited after 10 p.m* and of girls under 18 after 6 p.m. The Ohio Legislature in 1943 amended various sections of the hours law reg¬ ulating the employment of women and minors for the period of the-war. During the war women may work 10 hours per day, 50 hours per week 6 days a week. Women in glass companies now may be given a 12-minute lunch period instead of 30 minutes, the peacetime.lunch-period required for all women employed in manufacturing. Con¬ tinuous emplojhnent without a meal period formerly limited to 5 hours has.been changed to 6 hours. The 6-day week-is no longer required for Y/omen employed by a communications company.' ' •• •• •.. ... . . .... The 8-hour day, 46 -hour v/eek formerly applicable to boys under 18 is now ap¬ plicable only to minors under 16. Night work formerly prohibited from 6 p.m. tow 7 a.m. for boys under 16 and girls under 18 is now prohibited only for minors under 16. Formerly night Y/ork betr/een lO p.m. and 6 a.m. was .prohibited for boys 16-18 . and girls 16-21, but now the prohibited hours are from 11 p.m.to 6 a.m. and apply only to girls under 18. ' The-list of occupations prohibited for females has been considerably decreased, and the Y/eight-lifting limit for v/omen has been raised from 25 to 3.5 pounds. ■ ; »* ... . * - - « . *■ In addition to the above changes in basic standards during the war, employers furnishing goods or services necessary to the war effort are exempted' entirely from hours provisions. Such employers are required to report within 46 hours to the Director of Industrial Relations any hours of employment in excess of 10 per day, 50 per v/eek, and 6 days a v/eek, and may be required to make additional re¬ ports. The director, if he considers the excess hours unnecessary or injurious to the health of females, may certify the facts and conclusions to the Director of Health, who may order discontinuance of the schedule or may place certain restrictions upon the employer. The employer may appeal the. decision of the Director of Health. Both the Director of.Industrial'Relations and the Director of Health are required to keep records. No report has been received from Ohio on action taken under the n e\i lav; Y/hich became effective May 15, 1943. During the period January 1, 1942-April 30, 1943* 983 applications for varia¬ tions Y/ere received, of Y/hich 506 were granted and 477 denied. On May 1, 1943, 121 maximum hour permits were in effect, 30 night work permits for girls under 21, and 5 night work permits for boys 16 to 18 years of age. There were also 3 7-day Y/eek permits and 5 meal period authorizations in effect. The authorizations granted- prior to the enactment of the new legislation were not valid after the new law be¬ came effective May 15, 1943. * * • * . # 0 K LAH 0U A'- • • ' g Basic legal peacetime standards for'manufacturing industries: 9-hour day, 54- hour v\/eek for women. — 17 • * Five applications for longer hours Were filed during the first 14 months of the war. The department required that specific information be supplied justify¬ ing the longer work schedule. -Two firms withdrew their requests when advised of the procedure. The other 3 were told that pending investigation there would be no interference with the program. If investigation indicates the longer work schedule is not justifiable the employer is ordered to cease employing women longer hours. OREGON Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 8-hour day, 44-hour 6-day week for females and; minors under 18, except in canning and pro¬ cessing occupations, with overtime at time and one-half allowed on permitj 45- minute rest period after 6 hours required for females and minors under 18. During the period January 1, 1943-December 31, 1943, Oregon reports that 950 permits for hours in excess of legal standards were issued, all of them limited to a maximum 10-hour day, 60-hour week, A large number of the hours permits was granted to firms to enable them to comply with the War Manpower directive for a 48 -hour week, issued in 1943. Frequently such permits provided for 1 or 2 longer workdays within a 48 -hour week, in order to reduce the workweek to 5 or bays. No permits were reported for 1942, so no comparison can be made. Fourteen permits authorizing 30-minute meal periods were granted upon joint application from the employer and employees. Two permits were issued for 7-day weeks, one to an aircraft plant for 4 weeks to meet a production quota and the other to a shipyard for 1 week so they might adjust the schedules to allow for Sunday off. PENNSYLVANIA Basic legal peacetime standards in manufacturing industries: 8-hour day and 44-bour 5if-day week for women:; 8-hour day and 44-hour 6-day week for boys under 18; employment of wromen over 21 prohibited after 10 p.m* except in plants operating 2 shifts of 8 hours each, prohibited alter 12 p.m.; employment of women under 21 pro¬ hibited after 9 p.m. Summary of Action Taken on Applications 1/ 1942 and 1943 1943_1942 Type of action Number of Applications Number of Applications Granted Denied Granted Denied 48 -hour wreek for women 1,545 0 1,107 47 over 18 Permits for weeks in ex- 1,351 0 163 0 • cess of 48 hours 48 -hour week for minors 587 0 Not available. 16-18 , ► • • Third shift for women over 18 402 0 329 0 1/ Detailed data on number of plants not available. Approximate number of plants requesting variations: 3,000 . - 18 - Permits authorizing a 48 -hour week, hiight work for women and minors, and variations from the meal period law are granted in Pennsylvania under authority of Acts passed by the State Legislature.in.May.1943* Prior to this time exemp¬ tions from the Women’s Hours Law were granted under special ruling of the Indus¬ trial Board. In the earlier periodothe•.variations were granted entirely to firms engaged in producing war materials'or engaged.in services vital to the war effort. The 1943 legislation authorized the Department of Labor and Industry to grant exemptions to any employer directly or-indirectly connected .with the war effort. On permit, women and minors over 16 can be employed a 10-hour day, a 48 -hour 6 - g day week and at night. The policy of the Department has been to permit only women over 18 to work on third shifts and to restrict second-shift permits for girls under this age to 10 p.m. Exceptions to this policy have been made when the firm has obtained permission from the U. S. Department of Labor to employ girls of this age on Government contract work, provided work ends at midnight and certain safeguards are established for these young workers when employed after 10 p.m. Permits granted to retail and service firms are not reported here. Approx¬ imately 3,000 industrial establishments, transportation ana communications com¬ panies in Pennsylvania have applied for and been granted permits authorizing a 48 - hour workweek since war began. About 1,500 firms have requested permission to em¬ ploy-minors for the same workweek; the majority of these firms employ women over 18 also on the 48 -hour schedule. More than twice as many firms applied for the longer workweek in 1943 as applied prior to that date. With the issuance of the 48 -hour week directive by the War Manpower Commission many industrial establish¬ ments in Pennsylvania which had been operating on a 40- or 44-hour week lengthened the workweek. The applications to employ women on the third shift also increased from 329 in 1942 to 402 in 1943. A peacetime ruling of the Industrial Board which permitted the granting of emergency permits to firms for temporary periods to meet loss of time caused by breakdown of machinery, unusual problems of operation, or to meet a sudden peak demand has been amended to include emergencies arising in production of materials under Government contract. In the data cited here a small number of permits granted to plants because of difficulties such as spring floods, machinery repair and other emergencies which arise in peacetime are included. During 1942, I 63 temporary permits were granted for workweeks in excess of 48 hours, more than one-half of which were limited to one week or less. During 1943 1,351 temporary emergency permits were granted, 986 between June 30-December 31> 1943. In the 12 months of last year it is estimated that less than 500 firms were involved in these authorizations, the majority of which were requested to meet specific emergencies lasting less than one week. There were instances in which a firm obtained several emergency permits but if a workweek in excess of 48 hours was requested for more than 30 days or if the firm had previously been granted an emergency permit, a careful investigation was made before the permit was issued. The firm was required to submit a detailed statement of the circumstances surround¬ ing the need together with a letter from the regional office of the.contracting agency attesting to the urgency of the work. Few of the emergency permits cover all women employees; minors under 18 are not involved in the workweeks exceeding 48 hours. Regular workweeks in excess of 48 hour's are granted only when employees request a 5-day 50-hour v:eek in preference to a 52 "-day week, - 19 -- RHODE ISLAND Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 9-hour day and 48-hour week for women and minors under IS; Sunday labor prohibited except when authorized by permit. Summary of Action Taken on Applications 1942 and 1943 _ 1943 ___ 1942 ___ Type of action No. Plants No,Applications Ho. Plants Kb,Applications _____ ■ Granted De nied~*G ranted Denied Granted Denied Granted De nied* Longer.daily or weekly hours 57 20 100 . 22 13 35 19. 37 Seven-day week 10 0 16 0 7 13 * Or withdrawn. Total number of plants.requesting variations: 103 . (This total is less than the sum of the items because some plants requested more than one type of varia- 1 tion, some had some requests granted and others denied, and some applied in • ' both 1942 and 1943.) „■ Total number of variations requested: 214 . Granted: 142 . Denied: 72 . Permits in Rhode Island are granted by the commissioner under power delegated by the Governor, acting under the war : powers granted to him in 1941. All extensions are restricted to relieving bottlenecks in war-production work, Rhode Island reports that slightly more than twice as many firms in 1943 re¬ quested permission to employ women, longer workweeks than in 1942. Two of the firms granted permits maintained the 48-hour workweek but made 4 requests for longer daily hours. -One hundred requests were granted during last year, compared with 19 permits for longer hours, issued in 1942. Although as a rule each firm in 1942 was granted only one extension of hours there was an average of 2 permits for extended hours issued to each firm applying in 1943. Thirty-two of the 1942 plants were not heard from in 1943 while 14 reapplied for longer hours at some time in 1943. There were 57 nev; firms in 1943 asking permission to employ women in excess of 48 hours for the first time. Ten of the firms obtaining permits for longer hours were also granted permission to employ women on Sunday, in each case making a 7-day week of 56 hours. > • • * ’ ' In contrast to the 30 applications denied and 7 withdrawn in 1942 there were 21 denials and one request withdraw this past year. Denials, were issued either because there was no bottleneck or emergency situation or,-because the firm did not have war contracts and v/as not eligible for an exemption. Rhode Island exemptions are never granted for long periods but always to meet specific emergency demands. The firm is required to find other-means of meeting its problems if a 30- or 60- day permit for longer hours will not remedy the difficulty. •SOUTH C A R 0 L I N A Sunday v/ork prohibited. - y South -Carolina reports that variations are. granted from the Sunday la?/. - - 20 SOUTH DAKOTA Basic legal peacetime standards in manufacturing industries; 10-hour day, 54**hour week for Y;omen. According to reports from South Dakota it has been unnecessary to grant exemptions. T E N N E S S E E T Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries; 57-hour Y/eek with a 10g—hour day permitted to provide for one shorter day in the workweek. In 1943 emergency legislation was passed authorizing the Commissioner of Labor to allow women employed in the manufacture of goods for the United States Govern¬ ment to work in excess of lOg- hours per day and 57 hours per week. Applications must be supported in writing by the War and Navy Departments. Before the enact¬ ment of the legislation one request for an eleven-hour day, 66-hour week for women employees of an aircraft plant was denied because no authority existed for granting variations. In 1943 two firms, one engaged in manufacturing and the other in com¬ munications, were denied requests to employ women an eleven-hour day, 70-hour week. In one case workers were available to meet the situation; the other was not covered by the emergency legislation since it was not manufacturing war material. A third application which involved the manufacture of necessary war products was granted and the employment of 100 women was allowed for 9 hours per day 7 days per week for one week. TEXAS Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries; 9-hour day, 54- hour week for women, with overtime permitted if time and one-half paid for all em¬ ployment over 9 hours per day; 10-hour day, 60-hour week in textile mills, and 11- hour day in laundries, provided double time is paid for hours in excess of 9 a day. The 1943 Texas Legislature empowered the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the war to grant permission for a 10-hour day (no weekly limit) to employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards, Walsh-Healey, and Davis-Bacon Acts, provided the extended hours are not found injurious to health and morals, are not hazardous to women employees, and are necessary to the public interest. The commissioner may upon investigation and without hearing grant temporary permits not exceeding 30 days. Such exemptions can be extended after hearing for a 6-month period. If an employer or one-third of his Yeomen employees requests permission to work longer hours, the commissioner must hold a hearing within a 30-day period, and if the findings are favorable to such employment a permit may be granted for a 6- month period v/ith automatic reneYv'al for another 6 months unless a complaint has been registered during the life of the permit. From December 1941 to March 22, 1943, when the law Y/as approved, 32 permits were issued and 15 requests denied. From March 22 to December 31, 1943, 136 plants received 138 permits; 27 permits were issued for 30-day periods and 111 for a period of 6 months. Eleven plants, granted 6-month permits, had been given initial per¬ mits for 30 days; 12, granted 6-month permits, had previously had 6-month permits. The larger number of these permits represents manufacturing firms which are directly connected with the production of war materials. -21 < UT A'H (No report,) VERMONT Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 9-hour day and 50-hour week for women and minors under 18; overtime up to 10 hours a day and 60 hours a week allowed for a period of 10 consecutive weeks a year on permit. During the 2-year period 97 exemptions were granted from the Vermont hours law for women, 63 in 1943. Most of the permits authorize a 10-hour day, 60-hour week) a few permit lopger hours for specific emergencies. The commissioner reports that in many cases, the 10-Hour day, 60-hour workweek has not been inaugurated as a reg¬ ular schedule but is used only when bottlenecks occur or there is an urgent need for the product. The number of plants represented in the permits is not available but since most exemptions are granted for the duration of the war there are probably few duplications of plants in- the actions reported, . . ./• '' ' •" -. VIRGINIA ... . . Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries;. 9-hour day and 48-hour week for women except in canning, packing, and certain specified occupa¬ tions. Between December 7, 1941-Becember 31, 1943 there were 44 firms in Virginia which requested permission to employ women for workweeks in excess of 48 hours. Thirteen of these companies applied only in 1942; 7 applied both in 1942 and 1943 and 24 were new firms requesting longer hours-for the first .time this past year. In 1943,46 permits .were granted, about one-half of them for a 56-hour week, 8-hour day and 7-day week. Six applications were denied,'two because the plants were not engaged in war work and Y/ere therefore not eligible for an exemption under the war emergency act. Four plants'v/ere found upon investigation to be able to hire addi¬ tional employees to solve their production problems. In 1942,23 permits were issued to 16 firms, making a total of 69 permits issued to 44 firms since war began. All of the establishments were manufacturing firms, WASHINGTON Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 8-hour day, 6- day week for womdn and minors under 18, except in canning and packing pin packing, 10-hour day and 6-day week, with daily overtime.and employment on seventh .day al¬ lowed at increased rates; 15-minute rest period each shift for women and minors in canneries; employment of minors under 18 prohibited betr^een 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.; 1 hour- rest period after 5 hours wrork for minors under 18, ‘The number of exemptions allowed during 1942 was not reported. During the year 1943 approximately 150 requests for longer daily hours and for a 7-day week were re¬ ceived. The folloYdng is quoted from a report received from the Washington Depart¬ ment of Labor and Industries:' "The requests for a 7-day week have been refused ex¬ cept in extreme cases and then (alloY/ed) for not more than 2 weeks. Additional hours have been granted for short periods of time to expedite delivery of essential Y/ar materials. 11 Approximately 30 of the applications for longer hours and 7-day weeks were denied. - 22 During the same period approximately 50 firms applied for exemption from^the 30-minute meal period provision as a means of staggering hours to relieve traffic congestions existing throughout the State. All of these applications were granted. E S T VIRGINIA (No hours law.) f WISCONSIN f Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 9-hour day and 50-hour v/eek for Y/omen, except 54-hour vreek with overtime permitted at increased rate in canneries; 8-hour day, 40-hour 6-day week for minors 16-18. Employment of Y/omen after 6 p.m. prohibited; 6-day Y/eek for all employees. One-hour meal period required for Y/omen in laundries and manufacturing except canning; 45-minute meal period if lunchroom provided. Summary of Action Taken on Applications 1942 and 1943 _ 1943 __ -_ 1942 Type of action No. Plants No.Applications No. Plants No.Applications Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Granted Denied Longer daily or 103 0 132 0 10 0 11 0 weekly hours •* Seven-day YJeek 35 0 48 0 51 0 73 0 Night Yrork Second shift 73 0 77 0 121 1 145 1 Third shift 223 0 242 0 200 1 216 1 Meal period 326 0 370 0 273 0 273 0 Total number of plants requesting variations: 649 • (This total is less than the sum of the items because some plants requested more than one type of variation. some had some requests granted and others denied, and some applied in both 1942 and 1943.) Total number of variations requested: 1,589 . Granted: 1.587 . Denied: 2 . The Industrial Commission of Wisconsin, under general authority, authorizes variations from the labor laws for Y/ar purposes. The employer receives an exemption from peacetime standards in the form of a ’’Special Order,” vdiich usually contains certain conditions of employment. In most cases the employer discusses the request with a representative of the labor department before a Y/ritten application is filed. This accounts for the absence of denials in the Wisconsin report. It also results in feY/er applications being filed, because it is often possible for the inspector and the employer to adjust the schedule Y/ithin the hours alloY/ed by lav/. In addition to the special orders issued to specific plants for adult Y/orkers the commission has issued a number of general w special orders” for minors. In these the standards are relaxed for all minors covered and individual plant permits are not required. Maximum hour permits are issued for variations from the 9-hour day, 50-hour week statutory standard for women, the 8-hour day, 40-hour week limitation established by general order for minors 16 and 17 years old (applies to 16-year old minors during vacation period), and the 8-hour day, 48-hour night vfork limitation for night v/ork for both women and minors. Since the declaration of war, 649 plants have received special orders. Among the 420 plants receiving authorizations in 1943 were 293 firms applying for exemp¬ tions for the first time. Applications were made in 1942 by 229 firms which found it unnecessary to request additional variations in 1943* The 132 maximum hour permits granted in 1943 represented a marked increase over the 11 granted to 10 firms in 1942, Slightly less than one-half ( 64 ) of the exemptions to the hours law in 1943 authorized workweeks in excess of 50 hours,’ two-thirds of the 64 were for periods not exceeding 3 months duration. Twenty permits authorized workweeks of 54 hours and the same number permitted a 55 -hour week; 10 permitted workweeks between 50 and 54 hours; and 14 authorized workweeks from 56 to 60 hours. Sixty-eight permits authorized hours in excess of 9 a day or S a night, but not more than 50 a week. In a number of cases longer daily hours are requested in ordei to allow women or minors to work a 5-day week. Most of these permits were issued for the duration. Those permitting longer daily or weekly hours or both for minors frequently required rest periods during the day, A total of 463 plants have received night work permits since the war began. Three-fourths of the plants applying for night work permits in 1943 had employed women on day shift only in 1942 , There was a decrease in the number of 7-day week permits issued in 1943* Dur¬ ing the first year of the war 73 permits were issued to 51 firms; in 1943* 43 per¬ mits were issued to 35 plants. Seven-day week permits were often limited to certain groups of workers and in about one-half of the cases were issued for 3 months or less. If a permit allows 7-day week employment for a longer period of time, the employer is required to report each week the names of the employees who worked the full week and the number of consecutive weeks each has worked on such a schedule. During the 2-year period 509 manufacturing plants have been granted permission for meal periods less than the statutory requirement. More than 90 percent of these provided for a 30-minute meal period. Only 23 plants were granted permission for a shorter meal period, 8 for 20 minutes, 12 for 15 minutes, one for 13 minutes, one for 10 minutes, and one in which the requirement was waived entirely. In the latter instance the workers involved were watching machines operating on continuous process and it was felt women could eat their lunches while at work without danger to their health. Sixteen of the permits authorizing meal periods under 30 minutes required that rest periods be given during the half-day periods preceding and following the short lunch time. In most cases these shorter meal period allowances involved only a small number of employees and often were limited in the period for which they were allowed; 2 of the 4 permits of this kind granted in 1942 were not renewed. A General Order was issued in July and amended in December 1943 which permitted minors 14 to 16 years of age to work until 8 p.m. weekdays except on Friday and Saturday throughout the year, and to 9 p.m. other weekdays during vacation periods. W Y 0 M I N G Basic legal peacetime standards for manufacturing industries: 8 -hour day and 40 -hour week for women; overtime permitted in emergency if time and one-half paid. The Wyoming Department of Labor and Statistics reports that no applications for variations from the State hours law have been received.