AGO 1951-53 No. 24.

Case DateApril 25, 1951
CourtWashington
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...

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