The 100th anniversary of workers' compensation will not pass unnoticed. The Workers' Compensation Centennial Commission (WCCC) was formed earlier this year to celebrate this milestone and to be a resource for those interested in the evolution of workers' compensation in this country.
As part of its mission, the organization is gathering information on the past, present, and future of workers' compensation and posting the resource material online. Included in its library is a notice that appeared in the Racine (Wis.) Daily Journal in 1911, describing the outcome of the first official workers' compensation death claim, filed less than three weeks after the passage of the May 3, 1911, law. The decision, made by the Wisconsin Industrial Commission, marked the first workers' compensation award in America.
In its entirety, the article reads: "The first decision in the state workingmen's compensation act was won by the city on Wednesday when it was decided that Milwaukee would not have to pay $3,000 for the death of one of its employees. The case is expected to be a precedent.
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