AGO 1951-53 No. 24.
Case Date | April 25, 1951 |
Court | Washington |
Washington Attorney General Opinions
1951.
AGO 1951-53 No. 24.
April 25,
1951[Orig. Op. Page 1]PRIVATELABOR AND
INDUSTRIES --- ELECTIVE ADOPTION COVERAGE.Rem.
Rev. Stat. 7679-1 does not supersede Rem. Rev. Stat. 7696, elective adoption
employers and workers are entitled to the same benefits from Rem. Rev. Stat.
7679-1 as those under compulsory conversion, and the classification of the type
of work engaged in is not changed by election to come under the act.Honorable A. M.
JohnsonDirector of Labor and IndustriesOlympia,
WashingtonCite as: AGO
1951-53 No. 24Dear Sir:
We have your recent letter in which you ask the following
question:
(1) "Does section 7679-1 and the reference therein to
extrahazardous employment take precedence over the provisions of section 7696 *
* *?
(2) "Are elective adoption employers and workmen entitled to the
same rights and privileges under section 7679-1 as those who are subject to the
compulsory provisions of the Act?
(3) "Does an election to come under the Act change the
classification of the employer's work from nonhazardous to extrahazardous in
the eyes of the law?"
Summarized, our conclusions are:
Rem. Rev. Stat. 7679-1 does not take precedence over the
provisions of Rem. Rev. Stat. 7679, giving those workers under elective
adoption coverage under the act. Elective adoption employers and workmen are
entitled to
[Orig. Op. Page 2]
the same rights and privileges under Rem. Rev. Stat. 7679-1 as
those who are subject to the compulsory provisions of the act. Election to come
under the act does not change the classification of the employer's work from
nonhazardous to extrahazardous.
ANALYSIS
Rem. Rev. Stat. 7679-1 begins with the phrase "Within the
contemplation of this act * * *," which indicates the legislative intent to use
the term "extrahazardous employment," which appears at the end of the first
sentence of the quotation, in the same sense as that term is used in other
parts of the act. The first reference to occupational diseases was in chapter
212, Laws of 1937, which amended section 5, chapter 74, Laws of 1911, as
amended by section 2, chapter 132, Laws of 1929, by adding a new section to be
known as section 7679-1. This enactment was amended by chapter 135, Laws of
1939, and reached its present form in chapter 235, Laws of 1941. The words
"This Act" in an amendatory act refer to the...
To continue reading
Request your trial