Lower Vein Coal Co. v. Industrial Bd. of Ind.

Citations

• 255 U.S. 144
• 41 S. Ct. 252
• 65 L. Ed. 555
• 1921 U.S. LEXIS 1806

Syllabus

<p>1. There is a sufficient distinction between coal mining and other hazardous employments to justify a state legislature in applying its Workmen’s- Compensation system to the one compulsorily, while leaving it permissive or not applying it at all as to the others. Pp. 146, 149.</p> <p>2. Neither in this respect nor in applying to all employees of coal mine operators, whether engaged in hazardous work or not, does the Indiana law invade the rights of a coal company under the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. '</p> <p>3. Nor does such .aw offend §§ 21 and 23 of the Indiana Bill of Rights, . in failing to distinguish between those employees of coal operators who are and those who are not in the hazardous part of the business. P. 149.</p> <p>4. The policy of workmen’s compensation acts, unlike that of employers’ liability acts, goes beyond the mere element'-of hazard, and admits of a broader range of reasonable classification in the public interest. P. 150.</p>