"^"Ma^Yg^o:}       Employee  Insurance  Conditions.  335 
PAYMENT  01^  SAI^ARIKS  DURING  ABSENCE. 
Of  those  companies  which  have  no  plan  of  insurance  for  em- 
ployees, six  pay  full  salaries  unconditionally  during  absence  due  to 
illness.  The  general  tendency  of  the  majority,  however,  is  to  be 
governed  by  the  conditions  of  each  individual  case,  and  the  feeling 
seems  to  be  that  any  hard  and  fast  rule  is  liable  to  inflict  a  certain 
amount  of  injustice.  Full  salaries  are  paid  by  five  companies  to 
salaried  employees,  office  workers,  heads  of  departments,  etc.,  but 
in  all  except  one  of  these  cases,  laboratory  employees  or  others 
ivorking  on  an  hourly  basis  of  payment,  receive  no  pay  whatever 
during  absence.  Two  companies,  while  not  paying  full  salaries 
during  absence,  pay  all  doctors'  bills  for  the  employee  who  is  sick. 
In  another  company,  each  office  employee  is  allowed  thirty  days' 
sick  leave  throughout  the  year,  and  receives  extra  pay  for  what- 
ever time  is  not  used  out  of  this  allowance,  there  being  no  pay  during 
the  actual  time  of  absence.  One  company  in  a  State  which  requires 
State  compensation  insurance,  pays  the  difference,  in  cases  of  sick- 
ness, between  the  amount  allowed  by  the  State,  which  is  two-thirds 
of  the  weekly  salary,  and  full  pay.  Only  one  company  makes  no 
provision  at  all  for  absent  employees. 
Of  those  companies  which  do  not  pay  full  salary  during  absence, 
one  pays  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  weekly  salary,  one  pays  one-half, 
one  makes  absolutely  no  allowance,  three  pay  half  or  full  salary, 
dependent  upon  conditions,  and  eight  are  governed  by  circum- 
stances as  to  what  portion  of  the  weekly  salary  is  paid  during  such 
absence. 
In  regard  to  the  length  of  time  during  which  some  sort  of  pay  is 
given  by  the  companies  to  absent  employees,  there  was  a  wide 
variation.  Here  again,  the  individual  case  governed  the  course 
followed  by  many,  and  length  of  employment,  value  of  the  employee 
to  the  company,  and  the  amount  of  salary  received  are  determining 
factors.  Fourteen  companies  replied  that  they  were  influenced  by 
these  considerations.  Two  companies  continue  to  pay  salaries  in- 
definitely, so  long  as  conditions  justify  their  doing  so.  Two  com- 
panies pay  no  longer  than  a  period  of  two  weeks;  two  pay  no  longer 
than  three  to  four  weeks,  unless  unusual  conditions  warrant  it;  the 
Mutual  Aid  Society  above  referred  to  allows  compensation  for  a 
period  of  not  more  than  eight  weeks  during  each  consecutive  twelve 
