Contrary to what many might think, workers’ compensation insurance has a very long and interesting history. Unlike normal workplace health insurance, which is often offered as a benefit of employment, workers’ compensation is insurance most employers are legally required to carry in order to cover employees who have been hurt on the job and find themselves unable to work for an extended period.
The establishment of workers’ compensation insurance, however, was actually part of an overall fight for the improvement of labor conditions—a fight that began over 130 years ago. While most American workers understand the safety their workers’ comp benefits provide them, very few understand the important history of how these benefits were first established. Keep reading to learn about the history behind workers’ comp benefits and find out why you need a workers’ compensation attorney on your side when your benefits have been denied.
The fight for fair labor practices started in 1882 from an unlikely source: A parade. Organized by one of the country’s early labor rights groups, The Knights of Labor, the parade was originally referred to as “A Day of the People,” but would end up being known as “The Haymarket Affair” and would finally be marked as America’s first “Labor Day.”
The purpose of the parade was to peacefully strike in order to obtain an 8-hour work day. A small group of dedicated laborers sacrificed their day’s pay in order to stand for something more important: Fair labor practices and treatment. While it started out small the parade eventually grew into a demonstration of thousands of workers desperate to get the rights they deserved. Unfortunately, but probably not unexpectedly, violence eventually broke out between the police and the workers, garnering the event the national notice its initial organizers had hoped for.
Beginning of Workers’ Comp
Naturally, the event caught the eyes of the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, who had previously been concerned with the unfair treatment of the country’s vital labor force. However, in addition to Cleveland’s compassion, there was also fear of the growing power of labor unions—a fear that was confirmed and compounded based on the violence that occurred at the Day of the People parade. Both to ease tensions and start the process of improving worker treatment, President Cleveland established International Workers’ Day, the precursor to our modern Labor Day celebration.
This eventually lead to the creation of the first Workers’ Compensation law in 1911, which was a continuation of the steadily improving relationship between workers and their employers.
Workers’ Compensation Attorney
After a long, necessary fight, American workers finally received the benefits and treatment that they so desperately needed. However, even after all of the progress that those early reformers achieved, workers can still find themselves in a precarious situation, denied their workers’ compensation benefits after an on the job injury. If you’ve been hurt at work and haven’t received the benefits you deserve, then you need to consult a workers’ compensation attorney like Robert White, Attorney at Law. Robert White will fight for the compensation you need to move on with your life and support your family. Schedule a consultation today and start fighting for your benefits.