The Origin of Workers’ Compensation in the United States

A graduate of the University of New Mexico, Judge Shanon Riley holds a bachelor of arts and a juris doctor. Since 2011, Judge Shanon Riley has worked with the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration. In the United States, the push for workers’ compensation law was inspired by The Jungle, a 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair that unveiled the horrors present in Chicago slaughterhouses. That same year and then two years later, Congress passed the Employers’ Liability Act, which removed restriction on contributory negligence.

Around this time, Montana, Maryland, New York, and Massachusetts all attempted to pass workers’ compensation acts but failed. Wisconsin became the first state to pass comprehensive workers’ compensation laws in 1911. Mississippi was the last state to pass similar legislation in 1948.

The earliest workers’ compensation laws had employers pay medical expenses and replace lost wages in the event of injury. In return, employees forfeited any right to sue for dangerous working conditions. Today, the backbone of these laws has stayed the same although the details have become more complicated. In most states, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.