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Ma, 17 · t-1
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary

WOMEN'S BUR •
MARY ANDERSON,

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LIBR RY

STATE LABOR LAWS
FOR WOMEN
DECEMBER

31, 1940

Part 1.-SUMMARY

By

FLORENCE P. SMITH

BuLLETIN OF THE WoMEN's BuREAu, No.

156-I

UNITED ST ATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON: 1940

For sale by the Superintendent of Documenrs. Was hington, D. C.


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CONTENTS
Page

Letter of transmittaL__________ _____ ____ ____ ____ __ _____ __ __________ ___
Laws regulating hours of labor__ ___ ___ _______ ___ _______________ ___ _____
Seven-and-a-half-hour law _______________ _:__ _____ ___ ___ _______ __ ___ __
Eight-hour laws_____ ___ ___________ ___ ___ ____________ ______ ______ __
Eight-and-a-half-hour la ws___ __ ____ ________ __ ______________ __ ____ __
Nine-hour laws__ ___ _____ ______ ____ ____ ____ __ __ ____ ______ ___ ______
Nine-and-a-half hour laws_ ___ __________ __ ____ __ _________ _______ __ __
Ten-hour laws __________ _____ _________ ___ __ ~----- ---------------Ten-and-a-quarter-, ten-and-a-half-, eleven-, and twelve-hour laws____
Weekly hour laws________ ____ __ _________ _______ _____ _____ ____ __ ___
Laws prodding for a day of r est, one shorter workday, time for meals, a nd
rest periods · ______________ __ v '•.:.--------- - ---- - - - ---- -------------Day of rest, one shorter wol'kday __ ______ ______ __ ___ ___ ____ ________
Time for meals, rest periods________ _______ ___ _________ ___ _______ __
Night-work laws_ ____ ___ _______ ________ _______________________________
Prohibitory and r egulatory la ws_________ ___ ___ ___ __________ __ ___ ______
Considered by State______ __ _________ ______ _______________ __ __ _____
No prohibition or regulation_____ ____ __ ___ ___ ___ _______________
One prohibition or regulation__ ____ __ ____ __ ________ _____ _______
Prohibition or r egulation in one Sta te_ __ _____ ___ ___ ___ ________
Prohibition in two States ____ _,-_.,_:... __, ___ .,. _ __ __ ______ _____.__ __ ___
Prohibition or regulation in three States_____________________ __
Prohibition or r egulation in five States__ ____ __ _____ ___ _________
P ohibition in six States_____ __ _____ ___ __ ______ ___ ____ ___ _____
Consi~e~ed by character of prohibition or regulation___________ _____ _
Mmmg - --- ---- -- --- - -- ----- ---- ------------ --· - ------- - ------

Lifting or carrying heavy weights______ ___ __ ____ ______________
Co1·e-r oom r egulations___ ______ _____ __ __ _____________ ________ _
Employment befor e and after childbirth______ ___ __ _____ _______
Blanketprohiblttan___________________________ _____ ___ ___ ______
SummarY-------------- -----=----- - --------------- - ----------Seating laws_________ ________ _________ ____ __________ ___ ________ ___ ____
Industrial home·work laws.:__________ ____ _______ ____ ______ ______ ___ ___
'T ypes of labor laws, by State __ ___ ______ _.___ ___ _:_:~----------- - ---------Chart-'l'ypes of labor laws for women, by State_________________ __ __ __ __
Summary: Weekly hour limitations_____________________________________
III


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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
WOMEN'S BUREAU,

Washington, October 1, 191,f).
I have the honor to transmit a report summarizing the provisions of State labor laws for women. This brings up to date Part
I of Women's Bureau Bulletin 156, which summarized the laws at the
close of 1937. Part II of Bulletin 156, an analysis of the hour laws,
was supplemented at the close of the 1940 legislatures by a summary
of changes since March 1938.
.
State minimum-wage laws and orders are not included here, as they
have been presented separately in Women's Bureau Bulletin 167 and
· Supplement.
This report has been prepared by Florence P. Smith, research assistant.
Respectfully submitted.
MARY ANDERSON, Director.
Hon. FRANCES PF.RKINS,
Secretary of Labor.
MADAM :

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STA TE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN
December 31, 1940

SUMMARY
LAWS REGULATING HOURS OF LABOR
Only four States-Alabama, Florida, Iowa, and "\Vest Virginiahave no law of any sort regulating the working hours of women.
Indiana has but one limitation of hours-that prohibiting the employment of women at night in manufacturing. The remaining 43
States, the District of Columbia, and Pi1erto Rico have defi 1itely
forbidden the employment of women for more than a certain number
of hours a day or week or have penalized all employment beyon<l
certain specified hours by providing that it must be paid for at an
increased rate.
No State has regulated each industry or occupation by the passage
• of all types of hour laws. States that regulate daily hours sometimes
fail to limit the number of weekly hours, to provide for 1 day of rest
in 7, meal periods or rest periods, or to prohibit night work. Few
States have all types of Jaws. In California, Delaware, Kansa:::;,.
Massachusetts, New J ersey, New York, Ohio, P ennsylvania, and Wisconsin there are regulations of these various kinds covering manufacturing establishments.
Seven-and-a-half-hour law.
The shortest period to which daily hours of work are limited is 7½
a day in one State-Utah. Such daily hours for women employed in
restaurants, with maximum weekly hours of 45, have been prescribed
by the State industrial commission, which is authorized to set standards of work for women.
Eight-hour laws.
H ours of work are limited to 8 a day by the laws of 19 statesArizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, K ansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,1 Utah, Washington, and
Wyoming-and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The
number of industries or occupations included in these laws varies
greatly.
Arizona, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Puerto Rico laws
are general in their coverage, but all allow some exemptions, while
the laws in the other 14 States and the District of Columbia apply
to specific industries or occupations. These range from a long list
of industries, in effect providing general coverage, to five or six industries or, as in Connecticut, to only one industry.
1 This law is inoperative pending court decision as to its constitutionality.
to men and women.

It applies

1


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2

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

Oregon, which does not ha~e an 8-hour law, has provided an 8-hour
day and a 44-hour week for women in practically all its industries
through orders of the State welfare commission, which is authorized
to fix maximum hours as well as minimum-wage rates for women.
The California law, which provides an 8-hour day and a 48-hour
week and covers a long list of industries, has been upplemented hy
orders of the State industrial welfare commission with still more specific regulations. Certain of these orders set a 6-day week in a number of occupations and limit hours to 8 a day and 48 a week. Other
orders allow a 7-day week in a few industries if women are not employed more than 6 hours a day, and still others require increased
rates of pay for all hours worked beyond prescribed limits or on the
seventh day of the week. Thus, by a combination of methods of legislation, California regulates the hours of work for practically all women
workers except those in agriculture and domestic service and graduate
nurses in hospitals.
Though the States in this group limit daily hours uniformly to 8,
the number of hours a week that a woman may work varies. In South
Carolina 2 the weekly limit is 40 hours while in Oregon and Pennsylvania the limit is 44 hours; Ohio provides a 45-hour week in manufacturing and a 48-hour week in other industries; Arizona, California,
Connecticut, Illinois, K ansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New York,
Oklahoma,3 Utah, "\Vyoming, the District of Columbia, and Puerto
Rico allow 48 hours of work a week. New Mexico allows 48 in most
industries, 54 hours in one. Colorado and "\iVashington have no weekly
limit, though in Colorado industrial commission orders provide a 6-day
week in three industries, and in Washington industrial welfare committee orders prescribe a 6-day week in two industries. Montana provides no weekly limit for women in most of'.c upations, but laws for
men and women in two industries prescribe a 48-hour week.
Eight-and-a-half-hour laws.
North Dakota, by act of the legislature, provides for a working day
of 8½ hours in specified industries and occupations. T he law applies
only to towns of 500 or more population and limits the weekly hours
to 48.
Nine-hour laws.
Twenty S tates-Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana,
Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico,
North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and "\Visconsin-limit to 9 hours the working day of women in some industries. Oregon limits the weekly hours
to 44, and Massachusetts, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Virginia
to 48, while Connecticut allows 48 in manufacturing but 52 in restaurants and some other industries. Kansas allows 49½ hours a week in
laundries and factories and 54 in mercantile establishments. Vermont
and Wisconsin allow 50 working hours a week, Wisconsin 56 in certain
telephone exchanges; New Mexico allows 56 hours; North Dakota, 54
hours in mercantile and 58 in public housekeeping establishments in
towns of less than 500 population~ and Oklahoma 48,3 51,3 and 54
9
3

See footnote 1, p. 1.
The Oklahoma hour law provid es a 9-hour day, 54-hour week; all other provisions
app.ear in industrial welfare commission orders which are now inoperative pending court
review.


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3

SUMMARY

hours, according to industry. Idaho sets no weekly limit, and the
remaining States allow 54 hours a week.
Nine-and-a-half-hour laws.
Wisconsin has fi xed hours for telephone operators m certain ex~
changes at 9½ a day and 56 hours a week.
TYPES OF LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN, BY STATES
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D aily hour limits

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Not specified in law. See 8-hour day and day of rest.
'Applies to men and women. (South Carolina hour law inoperative pending court decision.)
a Specified (or men 11,nd wowen in 2 industr~es but no weekly limit in general hour law for women .
• Inoperative pending court ·review. Provisions for 10 and 11 hours a day, 57, 58, and 62 hours a week
apply to both men a nd women.
1

273151 °-41- -2


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4

·S TATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

Ten-hour laws.
In this group are found the States of Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, ew Jersey, North
Carolina, Oklahoma,4 Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin-13 in all. The weekly hours show considerable variation
Oregon has the shortest limit-44 hours a week for one industry,
though for another no limit is set and for a third the limit is 60 hours.
New Hampshire and Pennsylvania have 48 hours and New Jersey
and South Dakota have 54 hours. Delaware and North Carolina allow
55 hours; , visconsin 55 in one industry, 60 in another; Oklahoma 4 57
and 58 hours; Georgia, K entucky, Maryland, and Mississippi, 60
hours. Five of these States-North Carolina, Oklahoma,4 Oregon,
Pennsylvania, and ·wisconsin-limit the hours of the majority of their
women workers to less than 10 a day and include only a few groups
in their 10-hour laws.
The laws in Georgia and Oklahoma 4 apply to both men and women.
Mississippi and Oregon, in addition to their laws for women only,
have 10-hour laws that cover both men and women, the Oregon act
a llowing 3 hours' overtime daily if time and a half is paid. For
women, this Oregon act is superseded by regulations for shorter
hours.
Ten-and-a-quarter, ten-and-a-half, eleven, and twelve-hour laws.
In this miscellaneous group are found the States of New Hampshire,
permitting a 10¼-hour day and a 54-hour week for women in other
than manufacturing industries ; T ennessee, a 10½ -hour day and a
57-hour week; T exas, an 11-hour day and a 54-hour week in cleaning
and pressing establishments; North Carolina, an 11-hour day and 55hour week; and South Carolina, a 12-hour day and a 60-hour week
in mercantile establishments. Oklahoma provides an 11-hour day,
62-hour week for men and women in one industry in certain localities.4
Weekly hour laws.
Eight States-Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, New York,
North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington-have legislation _supplementing the laws limiting both daily and weekly hours and regulating
only the weekly hours in the case of certain additional industries or
occupations. For these weekly limits Connecticut specifies 58 hours;
Maine, 54 hours; North Carolina, 55 hours; Louisiana and Washington, 60 hours; New York and Oregon, 48 hours; and Colorado, basic
hours of 48 a week. The North Carolina and vVashington laws
apply to both men and women in laundries and dry-cleaning plants
and in domestic service, r espectively.
One State, Minnesota, does not limit women's daily hours in any
industry but restricts the week to 54 hours. Alaska also limits only
weekly hours, providing a 60-hour week for domestic workers.
' See footnote 3, p. 2.


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5

SUMMARY

SUMMARY OF WEEKLY HOUR LIMITATIONS

Less than 48 hours a week
Ohio (45)
Oregon (44)

P ennsylvania ( 44)
South Carolina ( 40)

Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Illinois
Kansas
Louisana
Massachusetts
Montana

Nevada
New H a mpshire
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma 2
Oregon

Utah ( 45)

1

48 hours a week
P ennsyIvania
Rhode I sla nd
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wyoming
District of Columbia
Puerto Rico

Over 48 and under 54 hours a week
Connecticut ( 52)
Kansas ( 49½)

Oklahoma ( 51)
Vermont (50)

2

Wisconsin ( 50)

54 hoitrs a week
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New J ersey

Arkansas
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Michiga n

New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas

Over 54 and under 60 hours a week
Connecticut (58)
Dela ware ( 55)
New Mexico ( 56)

North Car olina ( 55)
North Dakota (58)
Oklahoma (57 and 58)

Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland

Mississippi
Oregon
South Carolina
Washington

2

Tennessee ( 57)
Wisconsin (55 a nd 56)

60 hours a weelc

Oklahoma ( 62)
1
2

2

Wisconsin
Alaska

Over 60 hours a week

See footnote 1, p. 1.
See footnote 3, p. 2.

LAWS PROVIDING F,OR A DAY OF REST, ONE SHORTER
WORKDAY, TIME FOR MEALS, AND REST PERIODS
Thirty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands have regulated the hours of working women by providing
for breaks in their employment periods. E xcept in the Philippines,
these laws supplement legislation on the length of the working day or
week. I n the States that have industrial commissions the orders for
rest periods, a day of rest, and time for meals have been issued for
specific industries or occupations and have considered the special conditions that apply in each case.


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6

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

Day of rest, one shorter workday.
Twenty-three States-Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New J ersey, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,4 Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Washington, and Wisconsin-and the District of Columbia .in their
labor laws 5 have limited the number of days that a woman may work
in succe sion, usually to 6 days out of 7. In Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin this limitation comes through
laws providing 1 day of rest in 7 for men and women in specified occupations. California, Connecticut, and New York have that type of
legislation in addition to special provisions for a 6-day week for women.
The K entucky law provides against employment 7 days a week unless
time and a half is paid for the seventh day.
Arizona allows a 7-day workweek for women if daily hours are not
more than 6. The same is true under the California industrial welfare
orders for hotels and restaurants and unclassified occupations. For
work on the seventh day in seasonal industries and for nonperformers
i.n the motion-picture industry, California requires higher rates of pay.
For nonprofessional workers in hospitals Oregon allows a 7-day week,
if maximum hours are 7 a day, 44 a week. A 36-hour rest period is
required for the same workers after a 44-hour week with maximum
daily hours of 9. For public housekeeping occupations, Washington
will allow 10 consecutive days of work in emergencies, but requires
4 days of rest in any 28-day period; North Dakota allows not more than
28 workdays a month in public housekeeping occupations in towns of
under 500 population.
P ennsylvania legislation provides a 5½-day week and South Carolina 2 provides a 5-day week for all textile employees; under the laws
of a few States, one shorter workday in addition to a day of rest each
week is optional through provisions allowing daily overtime if the
maximum weekly hours are not exceeded and the week does not exceed
6 days. In some States 1 shorter day follows of necessity if the maximum daily hours prescribed in the law are worked; for example, North
Carolina allows 9 hours a day, but not more than 48 hours and 6 days a
week; Ohio, 8 hours a day, 45 hours, 6 days a week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Twenty-five States-Arkansas, California, Colorado, D elaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, K entucky, Louisana, Maine, Maryland, ·Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York,
North Carolina, North D akota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah,
Washington, and Wisconsin-the District of Columbia, the Philippine Islands, and Puerto Rico have provided that a period of time,
varying from 15 minutes to 1 hour, must be allowed during the
workday for meals or rest.
In 20 States-Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois,
Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin-the District of Columbia, and
2
4

15

See footnote 1, p. 1.
See footnote 3, p. 2.
Sunday laws, having their origin in the old Puritan "blue laws," are not considered here.


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SUMMARY

7

Puerto Rico an interval for meals or rest must be allowed after a
fixed number of working hours, usually 5 or 6. In addition, Oregon
requires a 10-minute rest period each half day in mercantile occupations. Colorado in retail trade and Utah in retail trade and restaurants require the same, each 4 hours or fraction thereof. Utah also
requires a 10-minute period morning and afternoon in any occupation where workers must be relieved by special employees before leaving
line of duty. A ruling of the industrial board in Pennsylvania allows
as much as 6 consecutive hours of work if a 15-minute rest period is
included and employees are not permitted to work during any other
part of the day. Maryland and North Carolina permit 6½ consecutive hours of work if the employee is not allowed to work the
remainder of the day, and Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine,
and the District of Columbia allow 6½ hours' work without a break
if employment for the day ends not later than 1: 30 p. m. In Massachusetts, 6½ hours are allowed if employment ends not later than
1 p. m. and 7½ if the worker is given opportunity to eat lunch on
duty and employment ends not later than 2 p. m.
Nine hours of rest between workdays is required in Oregon in all
occupations and in Wisconsin in cal)ning ,occupations. A rest period
of 15 minutes during each shift is a requirement for women in Washington canneries.
NIGHT-WORK LAWS 6
Sixteen States-California, Connecticut, D elaware, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota,
Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, and Wisconsin-and Puerto Rico prohibit night work for women in certain
industries or occupations. The laws of three o:f these States-Indiana,
Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania-cover manufacturing only, and in
South Carolina the law covers only mercantile establishments. In
Ohio and in Washington only one very small group is covered, ticket
sellers in the former and elevator operators in the latter. In the remaining 10 States 2 or more industries or occupations are included.
Maryland and New H ampshire limit the hours that a woman may
work at night to 8, though Maryland allows women to work 10 hours
and New Hampshire 10 and 10¼ hours during the day. Delawarn,
Kansas, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico, in addition to prohibiting work
at night in some occupations, limit the night hours in certain other
occupations. The most common period during which night work is
prohibited is from 10 p. m. to 6 a. m. A few of the States set only
an evening limit after which work is not permitted, and one StateNorth Dakota-prohibits work in one industry before 6 a. m. Work
is prohibited between 6 p. m. and 6 a. m. in the manufacture o:f textile
goods or leather in Massachusetts and in factories and laundries in
Wisconsin. Modifications may be allowed, however, in Wisconsin and
in textile industries in Massachusetts, where the legislature has authorized suspension of the 6 o'clock law, year by year, since 1933. Under
this legislation the 10 p. m. limit applies as in other manufacturing
plants. Indiana and Pennsylvania prohibit work in factories between
10 p. m. and 6 a. m., but will permit work until 12 p. m. in plants
6

States that ha ve laws that apply only to girls under 21 years of age are not included.


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8

STATE LABOR LAWS · FOR WOMEN

operating two shifts- of ,not more than 8 .hours each and not more
than 5 days a week.
·
. Not only is night-work legislation found in a much smaller number
of States than is legislation limiting the daily and weekly hours of
work, but in many States that have both types of legislation the nightwork laws cover .a much smaller group of industries or occupations.
PROHIBITORY AND REGULATORY LAWS

7

A limited number of employments are prohibited to women by
legislation. Most of these are concentrated in the laws of a few States,
and many are prohibited or regulated in not more than one State.
Many of the States have only a single prohibition or regulation .
CONSIDERED BY STATE

No prohibition or regulation.
In 22 States and the District of Columbia there are no prohibitory
or regulatory laws regarding the ·employment of women in any specific
occupation. These States are Dela ware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, N ortli Dakota,
Rhode Island, South Carolina, South D akota, Tennessee; 'Texas, and
West Virginia. Two of these States-Kansas and ~orth D akotahave blanket laws declaring it unlawful to employ women under conditions detrimental to their health or welfare, but no employment is
named in the acts and none is specified by any authorized agency.
One prohibition or regulation.
The list of 13 States having a single prohibition or regulation
comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia,
and Wyoming-7 in all-prohibiting only work in mines; Oregon,
prohibiting messenger service; Con:q.ecticut and Vermont, r equiring
specified unemployed periods for women workers before and after
childbirth; Louisiana, forbidding the cleaning of moving machinery ;
California, prohibiting the li:fting or carrying of heavy weights,
thereby regulating the conditions under which women work; and
Michigan, with its law relating to work on moving abrasives, which,
however, because of ambiguous wording, never has been enforced
and is considered a dead letter.
Prohibition or regulation in one State.
Prohibitions or regulations occurring in only one State are 25 in
number. Minnesota prohibits the oiling of moving machinery and
Missouri says that no woman shall work between the fixed and traversing or the traversing parts of any machine in motion by the action
of any mechanical power except the machine she is operating. In
New York, employment in the basements of mercantile stores and restaurants may be allowed by the commissioner of labor only if the
7 In addition to the States, the Philippine I slands have legislation of this character.
Act 3071, session laws 1923, prohibits the employment of women in mines or in any place
where explosives are used or ma nufactured, and requires employers to gr ant to women
employed as laborers 30 days' vacation with pay before and 30 days after childbirth.


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SUMMARY

9

basements are sufficiently lighted, ventilated, and sanitary. In Oregon, messenger service is prohibited; in Colorado, work in coke ovens;
in Ohio, work as crossing watchman, express driver, molder, taxi
driver,8 jitney driver, freight or baggage elevator operator, baggage
handler, freight handler, and workers in blast furnaces, shoe-shining
:parlors, bowlmg alleys, and pool rooms, and in delivery service; and
m Pennsylvania, maintaining fires in hand-fired boiler furnaces, and
handling nitrators in the manufacture of nitroglycerine, taking down
blue beds after the process of lead corroding, setting up blue beds
in the corroding stacks of the Old Dutch process ( unless such buckles
or lead plates are used as have not previously been corroded), operating cranes, work for railroad corporations as messengers calling train
crews, and electric acetylene, oxyhydrogen, or other forms of welding
and cutting except bench and machine welding and welding in the
manufacture of radio tubes. These exceptions are permitted provided
that the women so employed wear protective clothing prescribed by
the department of labor and industry and are not permitted to handle
cylinders containing gases nor to lift weights of more than 15 pounds.
In vVisconsin, employment in any place used as a disorderly house,
or for solicitation or bargaining for immoral purposes, or employment
by any person convicted as a keeper of or an agent for a disorderly
house, is prohibited.
Prohibition in two States
·work in the manufacture of nitro and amido compounds and the
handling of any dry substance or dry compound containing lead in
exces of 2 percent are prohibited in New Jersey and Pennsylvania;
work in smelters is prohibited in Ohio and Utah; trucking, section
work on railroads, and employment as gas or electric meter reader
are prohibited in Ohio and Pennsylvania; and employment as bellhop
is forbidden in Ohio and 'Y' ashington.
Prohibition or regulation in three States.
Work on certain kinds of moving abrasives is prohibited in New
York and Ohio, though wet grinding may be permitted in ew York.
, Michigan also has such a law, but because of ambiguity in wording
it has never been enforced. The cleaning of moving machinery is
prohibited in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Missouri.
Prohibition or regulation in five States.
Work in quarries is prohibited in Arizona, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, and core making is regulated in Massachusetts,
Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Prohibition in six States.
Lifting or carrying heavy weights ( other_than in core rooms) is
prohibited in California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah,
ftnd Washington. Employment for certain periods before and after
childbirth is prohibited in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, New
York, Vermont, and vVashington.
8 The prohibition of taxicab driving was declared unconstitutional by a county court o1.
Ohio in 1928.


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10

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

CONSIDERED BY CHARACTER OF PROHIBITION OR REGULA1'ION

Mining.
Mining as an occupation :for women is prohibited in Alabama,
Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri,
New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, Washington, W isconsin, and W yoming-17 States in all. In 7 of these States,
as already indicated, all other occupations are open to women; in
Colorado only one other occupation, work in coke ovens, is prohibited;
and in Arizona and Oklahoma work in quarries is the only other
prohibited employment. (See also footnote 7, p. 8 ►)
Lifting or carrying ,heavy weig);tts.
In California, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Washington women may not perform t asks that involve the lifting or
carrying of heavy weights. In California, boxes, baskets, or other
receptacles weighing with their contents 50 pounds or more must be
equipped with pulleys, casters, or other contrivances so that they may
be moved easily. This regulation applies to mills, workshops, restaurants, packing, canning, or mercantile establishments, or any other
establishments employing women. Massachusetts has a law similarly
worded that designates 75 pounds as the maximum weight. This law
applies to manufacturing or mechanical establishments. The law in
California also provides specifically against the carrying of any box,
tray, or other receptacle weighing · with its contents 10 pounds or
over up or down any stairways· that rise more than 5 feet from the·
base. Another California regulation applies to any occupation, trade,
or industry, and specifies 25 pounds as the maximum weight to be
]ifted or carried.
In Washington women in manufacturing and mercantile establishments are not allowed to lift or carry "an excessive burden." In Pennsylvania the industrial board has ruled that women shall not be required
or allowed to lift heavy weights in explosive plants, and that women
working at permitted welding and cutting operat10ns shall not be
required or allowed to lift any material weighing more than 15 pounds.
Ohio prohibits employment requiring the frequent or repeated lifting
of weights in excess of 25 pounds, and Utah prohibits the lifting of
burdens in excess of. 30 pounds ap_d the carrying of more than 15
pounds.
Core-room regulations.
Regulations regarding the work of women in core rooms have been
set up by five States-Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania. Minnesota prohibits women from placing cores in
ovens or taking them out. Minnesota and New York prohibit the making or handling of cores the weight of whi_ch, including core box and
plate, exceeds 25 pounds; and a similar restriction in Pennsylvania
regarding the making or handling of cores specifies 15 pounds as the
maximum weight. Massachusetts forbids the lifting of any core or
cores upon one plate with total cubical contents of more than 1 cubic
foot, or total weight of more· than · 25 pounds;- unless assisted by mechanical appliances that_ limit to 25 pounds the physical effort involved.
Massachusetts also r eqmres that no woman shall work on any core with
total cubical contents exceeding 2 cubic feet, or with total weight,


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SUMMARY

11

including plate and core box or boxes, exceeding 60 pounds. Ohio
provides that women employed in core rooms shall not lift any object
weighing more than 25 pounds unless mechanical means are used that
limit the physical effort to 25 pounds. In New York, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania women are not permitted to handle cores having a
temperature of more than 110° F.
Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania all require specially constructed partitions between rooms in which core ovens are
located and rooms where cores are made by women, if the making and
the baking of cores are simultaneous operations. Furthermore, all
openings in partitions must be vestibuled with some self-closing device
that will effectually trap gases, fumes, and smoke.
·
Employment before and after childbirth.
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Vermont, and
Washington-six States in all-have legislation prohibiting the employment of women immediately before and after childbirth. In
Massachusetts and Vermont the period during which women shall not
be required to work is 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after childbirth;
in Connecticut it is 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after ; in Missouri, 3
weeks before and 3 weeks after; in New York, 4 weeks after; and in
Washington, 4 months before and 6 weeks after. (See also footnote
7, p. 8.)
Blanket prohibition.
There are several States-Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin-whose laws in general terms prohibit the employment of women
under detrimental conditions. 9 Colorado and Kansas say that women
shall not work in any occupation "under conditions of labor detrimental to their health or welfare"; the North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Oregon, and Washington laws are the same, with the substitution of
"morals" for "welfare"; Michigan provides that no woman "shall
be given any task disproportionate to her strength, nor shall she be
employed in any place detrimental to her morals, her health, or her
potential capacity for motherhood"; Pennsylvania makes it unlawful
to employ or permit the employment of any female in any occupation
determined by the industrial board to be dangerous to life or limb
or injurious to health or morals; and Wisconsin says that no woman
shall be employed in any place or at any employment dangerous or
prejudicial to her life, health, safety, or welfare.
Summary.
In 22 States and the District of Columbia there are no prohibitory
or regulatory laws regarding the employment of women in any specific
occupation. One prohibition or regulation only exists in each of
13 States; 2 exist in each of 4 States ; 3 in each of 4 States; 4 in each
of 2 States; and in 3 States respectively 6, 14, and 23 prohibitions or
regulations are in force.
The occupatio:n from which women are most commonly excluded by
law is mining, which is prohibited in 17 States, 7 of which have estab• Colorado-Statutes 1935, v. 3, ch. 97, sec. 239; Kansas-General statutes 1935, ch. 44,
sec. 640; Michigan-Compiled laws 1929, sec. 8497; North Dakota-Compiled laws, supplement 1913-25, sec. 396b3; Oklahoma-Statutes, supplement 1938, sec. 10896b; OregonCode 1930, v. 3, sec. 49-315; Pennsylvania- Session laws 1937, act 322; Washinl:'{tonRemington's Revised Statutes 1931, sec. 7624; Wisconsin-Statutes 1935, sec. 103,05.


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12

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

lished no other legal bars to women's employment. Two States only
have long lists of occupations at which women are not permitted to
work and, in most of which women in all other States are legally free
to engage. In all, 39 prohibitions or regulations have been set up by
law in 26 States, and of these 24 are concentrated in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey-13 in Ohio only, 6 in Pennsylvania only, 3
in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, and 2 in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The remaining 15 prohibitions or regulations are scattered
over 25 States.
SEATING LAWS
P ractically all the States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and
the Philippine I slands have laws that require some kind of seating
accommodations for women workers. In fact, only one State-Mississippi-is without a law of this kind. Florida's law covers both
men and women. In many of the States the laws apply to all or practically all occupations or industries, in a number to manufacturing
and mercantile establishments, and in a few-Alabama, Maryland,.
North Dakota, and South Carolina-only to mer cantile occupations.
Most of the States specify that "suitable" seats shall be provided,
some designate "chairs, stools, or other contrivances," a few p rovide
that the seats may be permanent fixtures so adjusted as not to obstruct
the work. In one State-K entucky-seats that fold are not a compliance with the law. Regulations in four States-Kansas, Minnesota,.
New York, and Ohio-specify seats with backs; California, Kansas, and
W ashington require foot rests, the first and last named stipulating individually adjustable foot rest s; and the same two States-California
and ashington-require adjustable seats at work tables or machines
to p ermit the position of the worker r elative to her work to be substan-tially the same whether she is seated or standing.
Many of the laws do not specify the number of seats to be provided~ ·
a few designate a "reasonable" or "sufficient" number, others require
seats for all female employees or one seat for every two or three
workers.
The laws vary litt le as to the extent to which the seats may be used ..
By far the majority of the laws provide that employees be permitted to,
sit when not actively engaged in their duties or when sitting does not
interfere with the proper discharge of duties. Others specify that the·
seats may be used as may be necessary, or to such extent as may be·
reasonable, or necessary, for the preservation of health.

,v

INDUSTRIAL. HOME-WORK LAWS
Twenty States have industrial home-work laws or regulations:;Californi a, Colorado, Connec6cut, Illinois, I ndiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon ,.
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, .Tennessee, Texas, Utah, vVest Virginia,
and , visconsin-and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 1 0These laws, ranging from those of long standing directed primarily
toward protecting the health of the consumer to those of recent date
1
°Colorado, Oregon, Utah, a nd the District of Columbia have no home-work legisla tion ,
but h ome-wo rk regulations or prohibitions appear in orders -issued under authority of
other labor laws in these States.


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SUMMARY

13

stressing the health and welfare of the home workers and the maintenance of wage and hour standards of factory workers, prohibit the.
making of cer.tain articles or regulate manufacture or processing in
rooms or apartments of tenements or dwelling houses.
The laws of California, Illinois, M;assachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico entirely prohibit the making or
processing in homes of certain enumerated articles, including articles
of food or drink, drugs and poisons, surgical and sanitary supplies,
explosives, toys, dolls, children's clothing, and tobacco. New Jersey
prohibits the manufacture of dolls and dolls' and children's clothing in
tenements. With no home-work laws, but under legislative authority to
control the conditions under which women work, Colorado, Oregon,
and Utah also have prohibited home work in certain industriesColorado and Utah in retail occupations that can be performed on the
employer's premises, and Oregon in the cracking and shelling of. nuts
and in needlecrafts.
In California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
I sland, and Puerto Rico the State labor departments are authorized
to prohibit work in any industry in which wages and working conditions are found to be injurious to the health and welfare of the home
workers or detrimental to labor standards in the factory. So far New
York has prohibited home work ( with certain exemptions) in the
manufacture of men's and boys' outer clothing and neckwear, and
artificial flowers and feathers; Pennsylvania in the assembling or
partitioning of boxes used for packing candy or food; and Rhode
I sland in the making of jewelry and wearing apparel. In California
an industrial welfare order for manufacturing prohibits an employer
from giving home work to a woman or minor employed at his place of
business. The Texas State Board of Health is empowered to prohibit on the basis of injury to the health of home workers, the general
public, or factory workers, and in Wisconsin the board of health and
the industrial commission jointly may prohibit home work if necessary
to protect health of consumers or workers. In all eight of these laws,
and in that of Illinois, the administering agencies are empowered to
make rules and regulations for enforcement. The vVest Virginia law
provides that the manufacture of other than listed articles may be
prohibited if done in violation of home work or any other labor or
health law.
Ten States-California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts,,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas-and Puerto
Rico prohibit industrial home work except for persons working in
their own homes, and all, with the exception of Ohio, have established
by law certain requirements that must be met before work in homes is
permitted. In general these requirements are for cleanliness, adequate lighting and ventilation, and freedom from infectious and contagious disease. Similar requirements are made in seven other StatesConnecticut, Michigan, Missouri, New J ersey, Rhode I sland, West
Virginia, and ·w isconsin-which do not restrict work done in a home
to the immediate members of a family.
Requirements of a different character also are made in a number of
States. In Maryland a member of the family desiring to do home·
work must secure a license to use the premises for such purposes. In


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14

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

New Jersey such license must be secured by a member of the family or
the person who wants to manufacture or distribute home work, and .
in Wisconsin by the manufacturer. In Illinois, and in .Connecticut if
others than the family are working in a home, the ~owner of the
premises must obtain such a license.
·
All home workers must be certificated in California, Connecticut, ·
Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
Texas, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico, and such certificates must be
renewed annually in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania,
Texas, and West Virginia.
Employers must secure permits in California, Connecticut, Illinois,
Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Texas, Vvest Virginia, ·wisconsin, and Puerto Rico, and in all
these States but Indiana and Michigan must renew their permits annually. A charge is fixed for employers' permits in the laws of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Texas, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico ; in Illinois,
New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island such fees are graduated
according to the number .of home workers. In Illinois and Pennsylvania, where the fees are highest, the employer must pay $200 for his
origi,nal permit regardless of the number of employees.
The laws of California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico require
the ,e mployer to keep not only a list of all home workers and their
addresses but a record of all articles manufactured and the wages
paid to each worker. In California a record of piece rates is required.
Connecticut also requires a record of the wage rate for each kind
of processing and a description of the kind and amount of materials
.distributed. New York makes the latter requirement and, in special
industry orders requires also a record of the date and amount of work
returned by the home worker.
In California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania,
Texas, \'Vest Virginia, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico the industrial
'home-work laws require the employer to place a label bearing his
·name and address on articles or materials delivered for home manufacture.
In a number of States other requirements for women and minors
:apply to home as well as factory work. Child-labor regulations apply
in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Penn-sylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Wisconsin, and Puerto Rico; maximumhour laws apply in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, and Puerto Rico. Factory wage rates must be paid to home
workers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. In New
York the same requirement appears in industry orders issued under
the home-work law. Minimum-wage rates in Massachusetts and Wis,consin apply to home workers, and minimum rates set for the washdress industry in Illinois and for light manufacturing and wearing
·a pparel in New Jersey are applicable to home workers in those industries. In the manufacturing and wholesaling industries in the
District of Columbia the established minimum wage is required for
home as well as plant workers and like records must be kept for all.


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TYPES OF LABOR LAWS,1 BY STATE
Alabama:
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Alaska:
60-hour week.
Minimum wage.
Arizona:
8-hour day.
48-hour week .
Day of rest.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
eeats.
Minimum wage.
Arkansas:
9-hour day.
54-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
. Minimum wage.
California:
8-hour day.
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Colorado:
8-hour day.
48-hour week. 2
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Connecticut:
8-hour day.
9-hour day.
48-hour week.
52-hour week.
58-hour week.
Day of rest.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
1

Delaware:
10-hour day.
55-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Seats.
District of Columbia:
8-hour day.
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Home work.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Florida:
Seats.
Georgia:
10-hour day.
60-hour week.
Seats .
Idaho:
9-hour day.
~eats.
Illinois:
8-hour day.
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Indiana:
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Iowa:
Seats.
Kansas:
8-hour day.
9-hour day.
48-hour week.
49½-hour week.
54-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Seats.
Minimum wage.

For summary and analy~is of minimum-wage Jaws see Women's Bureau Bulletin 167 and Supplement.
specified in law. See 8-bour day and day of rest,

2 Not

15


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16

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOMEN

Kentucky:
IO-hour day.
6O-hour·week. ·
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
. Seats.
Minimum wage.
Louisiana:
8-hour day.
9-hour day.
48-hour week.
54-hour week.
6O-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Prohibited or regulate d ·ocfohpations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Maine:
9-hour day.
54-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Maryland:
IO-hour day.
6O-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night •work . .,.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Massachusetts:
9-hour day.
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home ·work. ~
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Michigan:
9-hour day.
54-hour week.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minnesota:
54-hour week.
Prohibited or regulated occupations;•
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Mississippi:
10-hour day.
6O-hour week.
Missouri:
9-hour day.
54-hour week.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.


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Montana:
8-hour da,y.
48-hour week.
Seats.
Nebraska:
9-hour day .
54-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Seats.
Nevada:
8-hour day.
48-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Seats.
Minimti.:tn 'wage:'"
New Hampshire:
IO-hour day.
IO¼-hour day.
48-hour week.
54-hour week.
Day of rest.
Night work.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
New Jersey:
IO-hour day.
54-hour week.
Day of rest. ·
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
New Mexico:
8-hour day.
9-hour day.
48-hour week.' '
54-hour week.
56-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Seats.
New York:
8-hour day .
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated 'occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
North Carolina:
9-hour day.
IO-hour day.
11-hour day.
48-hour week.
55-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Seats.

TYPES OF LABOR LAWS, BY STATE

North Dakota:
8½-hour day.
9-hour day.
48-hour week.
54-hour week.
58-hour week.
· Day of rest.
Time for meal~, rest periods.
Night work.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Ohio:
8-hour day.
45-hour week.
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Oklahoma:
8-hour day.
9-hour day.
10-hour day.
11-hour day.
48-hour week.
51-hour 'w eek.
54-hour week.
57-hour week.
58-hour week.
62-hour week.
Day of rest.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Oregon:
8-hour day.
9-hour day.
10-hour day.
44-hour week. ·
48-hour week.
60-hour week.
Dav of rest.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
' Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Pennsylvania:
8-hour day.
10-hour day.
44-hour week.
48-hour week.
Day of rest.
Time for meals,· rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimum wage.


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17

Philippine Islands:
Time for meals, rest periods.
Seats.
·
Puerto Rico:
8-hour day.
48-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Night work.
Home work.
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Rhode Island:
9-hol,lr day.
48-hour week.
Home ..work.,,,
Seats.
Minimum wage.
South Carolina:
8-hour day.
12-hour day.
40-hour week.
60-hour week.
Day of rest.
Night work.
Seats.
South Dakota:
10-hour day.
54-hour,-:.-we~k,., ,, .
Seats.
Minimum wage.
Tennessee:
10½-hour day.
57-hour week.
Home work.
Seats.
Texas:
9-hour day.
11-hour day.
54-)1.our week.
Home work.
Seats.
Utah:
7}~-hour day.
8-hour day.
45-hour week.
48-hour week.
Time for meals, rest periods.
Home .work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Minimu:rp. wage. ,
Vermont:
9-hour day.
50-hour week.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.
Virginia:
9-hour day.
48-hour week.
Prohibited or regulated occupations.
Seats.

18

STATE LABOR LAWS FOR WOME "

Wisconsin- Con tinned.
Washington :
50-hour week.
8-hour day.
55-hour week.
48-hour week. 2
56-hour week.
60-hour week.
60-hour week .
Day of rest.
Time for meal , rest periods.
D ay of rest.
Time for meal. , rest periods.
Night work.
Prohibited or regulated occupations .
ight work.
Home work.
eat . .
Prohibited or regulated occupations .
Minimum wage.
Seat.
West Virginia :
Minim um wage.
Home work .
Wyoming :
Seat .
8-hour day.
Wisconsin:
48-hour week.
9-hour day.
Prohibited or regulated occupations .
9½-hour day.
Seats.
10-9-our day.
: Not specified in law.

See 8-hour day and day of rest.

0


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