Jensen v. Atlantic Refining Co.

Citations

• 262 Pa. 374
• 105 A. 545
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 654

Syllabus

<p>Worhmen’s Compensation Law — Death—Wage scale of deceased —Compensation—Buie of hoard — Act of June 2, 1916, P. L. 786, Sec. 809.</p> <p>1. Under Section 309 of the Workmen’s Compensation Law of June 2, 1915, P. L. 736, providing that, in eases of continuous employments, if immediately prior to an accident the rate of wages was fixed by the day or hour or by the output of the employee, his weekly wages shall be taken to be five and one-half times his average earnings at such rate for the working day of ordinary length, excluding earnings from overtime, and using as a basis of calculation his earnings during so much of the preceding six months as he worked for the same employer, it is not unlawful for the Workmen’s Compensation Board to provide by rule that working days shall be considered to mean the total number of days in the period of employment covered, according to the calendar, less Sundays, legal holidays, half-holiday for each week, and days employee was prevented from working through no fault of his own, as a guide to facilitate the determination of the weekly wage upon which the allowance of proportionate compensation is based.</p> <p>2. It was not the legislative purpose to give any fixed definite meaning to the phrase “working day”; it was, on the contrary, the legislative intent to leave open for the compensation board to determine what, between the parties in interest, under the circumstances of the various kinds of cases likely to arise, should properly be, accounted a “working day.”</p> <p>3. Where a workman was injured, after being employed thirty-eight calendar days, during which time there were six Sundays, two holidays and six half-holidays, and it further appeared that deceased was prevented from working eight days by illness, the Workmen’s Compensation Board, deducted such eight days from the number of days on which said workman could otherwise have worked, for the purpose of determining his average daily wage.</p> <p>4. In such ease the que