Review of payments by board.

Fees subject to

board's approval.

Assessment of costs.

Optional procedure.

Questions determined by board, etc.

Employees of independent contractor, etc.

SECTION 12. Any weekly payment under this act may be reviewed by the industrial accident board at the request of the association or of the employee; and on such review it may be ended, diminished or increased, subject to the maximum and minimum amounts above provided, if the board finds that the condition of the employee warrants such action.

SECTION 13. Fees of attorneys and physicians for services under this act shall be subject to the approval of the industrial accident board.

SECTION 14. If the committee of arbitration, industrial accident board, or any court before whom any proceedings are brought under this act determines that such proceedings have been brought, prosecuted, or defended without reasonable ground, it shall assess the whole cost of the proceedings upon the party who has so brought, prosecuted or defended them.

SECTION 15. Where the injury for which compensation is. payable under this act was caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person other than the subscriber to pay damages in respect thereof, the employee may at his option proceed either at law against that person to recover damages, or against the association for compensation under this act, but not against both; and if compensation be paid under this act, the association may enforce in the name of the employee, or in its own name and for its own benefit, the liability of such other person.

SECTION 16 [as amended by section 15 of chapter 571, Acts of 1912]. All questions arising under this act, if not settled by agreement by the parties interested therein, shall, except as otherwise herein provided, be determined by the industrial accident board. The decisions of the industrial accident board shall for all purposes be enforcible under the provisions of Part III, section eleven.

SECTION 17. If a subscriber enters into a contract, written or oral, with an independent contractor to do such subscriber's work, or if such a contractor enters into a contract with a subcontractor to do all or any part of the work comprised in such contract with the subscriber, and the association would, if such work were executed by employees immediately employed by the subscriber, be liable to pay compensation under this act to those employees, the association shall pay to such employees any compensation which would be payable to them under this act if the independent or sub-contractors were subscribers. The association, however, shall be entitled to recover indemnity from any other person who would have been liable to such employees independently of this section, and if the association has paid compensation under the terms of this section, it may enforce in the name of the employee, or in its own name and for the benefit of the association, the liability of such other person.

This section shall not apply to any contract of an independent or sub-contractor which is merely ancillary and incidental to, and is no part of or process in, the trade or business carried on by the subscriber, nor to any case where the injury occurred elsewhere than on, in, or about the premises on which the contractor has undertaken to execute the work for the subscriber or which are under the control or management of the subscriber.

report all

SECTION 18. Every employer shall hereafter keep a record Employers to of all injuries, fatal or otherwise, received by his employees injuries. in the course of their employment. Within forty-eight hours, not counting Sundays and legal holidays, after the occurrence of an accident resulting in personal injury a report thereof shall be made in writing to the industrial accident board on blanks to be procured from the board for the purpose.

Upon the termination of the disability of the injured em- Supplemental ployee, or, if such disability extends beyond a period of sixty report. days, at the expiration of such period the employer shall make

a supplemental report on blanks to be procured from the board

for that purpose.

The said reports shall contain the name and nature of the Form of report business of the employer, the location of the establishment, the of injury. name, age, sex and occupation of the injured employee, and shall state the date and hour of the accident, the nature and cause of the injury, and such other information as may be required. by the board.

Any employer who refuses or neglects to make the report Penalty. required by this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars for each offence.

PART IV.

THE MASSACHUSETTS EMPLOYEES INSURANCE ASSOCIATION. [SEE

CHAPTER 721, ACTS OF 1912.]

Employees

SECTION 1. The Massachusetts Employees Insurance Asso- Massachusetts ciation is hereby created a body corporate with the powers Insurance provided in this act and with all the general corporate powers Association. incident thereto.

SECTION 2. The governor shall appoint a board of directors Directors. of the association, consisting of fifteen members, who shall serve for a term of one year, or until their successors are elected by ballot by the subscribers at such time and for such term as the by-laws shall provide.

by-laws.

SECTION 3. Until the first meeting of the subscribers the Powers of board of directors shall have and exercise all the powers of the directors and subscribers, and may adopt by-laws not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, which shall be in effect until amended or repealed by the subscribers.

Officers.

Quorum and vacancies.

Any employer may become subscriber.

First meeting of subscribers.

Subscribers'

voting power.

Minimum standard.

Other requirements.

When further policies not to be issued.

License.

SECTION 4. The board of directors shall annually choose by ballot a president, who shall be a member of the board, a secretary, a treasurer, and such other officers as the by-laws shall provide.

SECTION 5. Seven or more of the directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Vacancies in any office may be filled in such manner as the by-laws shall provide.

SECTION 6. Any employer in the commonwealth may become a subscriber.

SECTION 7. The board of directors shall, within thirty days of the subscription of twenty-five employers, call the first meeting of the subscribers by a notice in writing mailed to each subscriber at his place of business not less than ten days before the date fixed for the meeting.

SECTION 8. In any meeting of the subscribers each subscriber shall be entitled to one vote, and if a subscriber has five hundred employees to whom the association is bound to pay compensation he shall be entitled to two votes, and he shall be entitled to one additional vote for each additional five hundred employees to whom the association is bound to pay compensation, but no subscriber shall cast, by his own right or by the right of proxy, more than twenty votes.

SECTION 9. No policy shall be issued by the association until not less than one hundred employers have subscribed, who have not less than ten thousand employees to whom the association may be bound to pay compensation.

SECTION 10. No policy shall be issued until a list of the subscribers, with the number of employees of each, together with such other information as the insurance commissioner may require, shall have been filed at the insurance department, nor until the president and secretary of the association shall have certified under oath that every subscription in the list so filed is genuine and made with an agreement by every subscriber that he will take the policies subscribed for by him within thirty days of the granting of a license to the association by the insurance commissioner to issue policies.

SECTION 11. If the number of subscribers falls below one hundred, or the number of employees to whom the association may be bound to pay compensation falls below ten thousand, no further policies shall be issued until other employers have subscribed who, together with existing subscribers, amount to not less than one hundred who have not less than ten thousand employees, said subscriptions to be subject to the provisions contained in the preceding section.

SECTION 12. Upon the filing of the certificate provided for in the two preceding sections the insurance commissioner shall make such investigation as he may deem proper and, if his

findings warrant it, grant a license to the association to issue policies.

SECTION 13. The board of directors shall distribute the Subscribers to be distributed subscribers into groups in accordance with the nature of the into groups. business and the degree of the risk of injury.

Subscribers within each group shall annually pay in cash, or notes absolutely payable, such premiums as may be required to pay the compensation herein provided for the injuries which may occur in that year.

SECTION 14. The association may in its by-laws and policies fix the contingent mutual liability of the subscribers for the payment of losses and expenses not provided for by its cash funds; but such contingent liability of a subscriber shall not be less than an amount equal to and in addition to the cash premium.

Contingent

liability.

SECTION 15. If the association is not possessed of cash funds Assessments. above its unearned premiums sufficient for the payment of incurred losses and expenses, it shall make an assessment for the amount needed to pay such losses and expenses upon the subscribers liable to assessment therefor in proportion to their several liability.

Every subscriber shall pay his proportional part of any assessments which may be laid by the association, in accordance with law and his contract, on account of injuries sustained and expenses incurred while he is a subscriber.

SECTION 16. The board of directors may, from time to time, Dividends, etc. by vote fix and determine the amount to be paid as a dividend

upon policies expiring during each year after retaining sufficient sums to pay all the compensation which may be payable on account of injuries sustained and expenses incurred.

All premiums, assessments, and dividends shall be fixed by and for groups as heretofore provided in accordance with the experience of each group, but all the funds of the association and the contingent liability of all the subscribers shall be available for the payment of any claim against the association.

SECTION 17. Any proposed premium, assessment, dividend Approval and withdrawal of or distribution of subscribers shall be filed with the insurance approval by insurance department and shall not take effect until approved by the commissioner. insurance commissioner after such investigation as he may See page 21. deem necessary. [See chapter 666, Acts of 1912.]

SECTION 18. The board of directors shall make and enforce Rules for the reasonable rules and regulations for the prevention of injuries Injuries. prevention of on the premises of subscribers, and for this purpose the inspectors of the association shall have free access to all such premises during regular working hours.

Any subscriber or employee aggrieved by any such rule or regulation may petition the industrial accident board for a review, and it may affirm, amend, or annul the rule or regulation.

False oath by officer of association.

Notice to

employees of insurance.

Further notice.

Subscriber indemnified from actions at law.

Application
of regular
insurance laws.

Expenses of directors.

SECTION 19. If any officer of the association shall falsely make oath to any certificate required to be filed with the insurance commissioner, he shall be guilty of perjury.

SECTION 20. Every subscriber shall, as soon as he secures a policy, give notice, in writing or print, to all persons under contract of hire with him that he has provided for payment to injured employees by the association.

SECTION 21 [as amended by section 16 of chapter 571, Acts of 1912]. Every subscriber shall give notice in writing or print to every person with whom he is about to enter into a contract of hire that he has provided for payment to injured employees by the association. If an employer ceases to be a subscriber he shall, on or before the day on which his policy expires, give notice thereof in writing or print to all persons under contract with him. In case of the renewal of the policy no notice shall be required under the provisions of this act. He shall file a copy of said notice with the industrial accident board. The notices required by this and the preceding section may be given in the manner therein provided or in such other manner as may be approved by the industrial accident board.

SECTION 22. If a subscriber, who has complied with all the rules, regulations and demands of the association, is required by any judgment of a court of law to pay to an employee any damages on account of personal injury sustained by such employee during the period of such subscription, the association shall pay to the subscriber the full amount of such judgment and the cost assessed therewith, if the subscriber shall have given the association notice in writing of the bringing of the action upon which the judgment was recovered and an opportunity to appear and defend the same.

SECTION 23. The provisions of chapter five hundred and seventy-six of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and seven and of acts in amendment thereof shall apply to the association, so far as such provisions are pertinent and not in conflict with the provisions of this act, except that the corporate powers shall not expire because of failure to issue policies or make insurance.

SECTION 24. The board of directors appointed by the governor under the provisions of Part IV, section two, may incur such expenses in the performance of its duties as shall be approved by the governor and council. Such expenses shall be paid from the treasury of the commonwealth and shall not exceed in amount the sum of fifteen thousand dollars.