336  Employee  Insurance  Conditions.      j^""-  ■^°May^^9'2o; 
months;  the  employees  of  another  company  are  protected  by  them- 
selves for  twenty-six  weeks.  One  company  continues  to  pay  salaries 
for  three  months,  but  no  longer,  while  two  others  pay  for  a  reason- 
able time.  Two  companies  continue  to  pay  salaries  until  the  re- 
recovery  of  the  employee,  and  only  one  makes  no  provision  at  all. 
There  was  a  marked  difference  of  opinion  as  to  how  long  an  em- 
ployee must  have  been  with  a  company  before  he  is  entitled  to  pay 
during  absence.  Five  companies  make  no  requirement  of  such 
previous  service  whatever.  Eleven  replies  state  that  there  is  no 
general  rule,  although  length  of  service  is  a  determining  factor  in 
their  course  of  procedure.  There  is  a  requirement  of  thirty  days' 
membership  in  the  Mutual  Aid  Society,  and  the  company  whose 
employees  have  organized  this  society  requires  an  office  worker  to 
have  been  employed  for  six  months  before  any  allowance  is  made 
for  absence.  Two  firms  require  employees  to  be  with  them  for  three 
months  before  paying  salaries;  three  firms  have  a  requirement  of  one 
year's  service.  Two  years'  service  is  required  by  another  company 
while  five  years  or  more  are  required  by  still  another,  although  ex- 
ceptions to  this  unusually  strict  rule  are  made. 
In  conclusion,  five  companies  suggested  that  they  would  be  glad 
to  receive  any  assistance  possible  from  the  Secretary  to  enable  them 
to  work  out  the  problem  of  employees'  insurance,  to  which  they  have 
been  giving  considerable  thought.  One  company  stated  that  in  its 
opinion  any  general  policy  to  govern  such  instances  would  be  unfair, 
as  the  circumstances  of  nearly  every  employee's  absence  are  different, 
and  that  some  injustice  would  probably  follow  an  attempt  to  make 
all  cases  conform  to  the  same  rule.  Another  company  suggested 
some  form  of  insurance  to  which  both  the  employees  and  the  com- 
pany would  contribute,  thus  dividing  the  responsibility  and  in- 
creasing the  feeling  of  mutuality  between  employer  and  employee. 
Group  insurance  covering  death  but  not  sickness  was  the  suggestion 
of  another  company,  as  the  payment  of  salaries  during  the  period  of 
absence  takes  care  of  the  employee  without  developing  the  pater- 
nalistic attitude. 
Harry  B.  Mason,  Chairman. 
F.  M.  BeIvL, 
H.  A.  B.  Dunning, 
E.  H.  Nelson, 
J.  H.  FoY. 
