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Monday, February 15, 2016

Who was the 1972 National Commission on State Workers' Compensation Laws?

In the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress suggested the need for a federal study of state workers’ compensation. A commission was formed, and met for just over a year. Testimony was taken from a variety of sources. Fifteen members were appointed by the President; the remainder designated by Cabinet officers. In July 1972, The National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation Laws rendered a 25 page summary report of its recommendations. The Commission was composed of twenty members overall, exclusively male.

Scholars/Academics (3)
John F. Burton, (Atty. and Ph.D.) Associate Professor of Industrial Relations and Public Policy, University of Chicago.
John A. Greenlee (Ph.D.), President, California State University, Los Angeles
Samuel B. Horovitz (Atty.), Professor of Law, Suffolk University, Boston, Massachussets.

Federal Government (4)
Hudson B. Drake, Director Bureau of Domestic Commerce (Secretary of Commerce Designee)
John Mulligan, Industrial Relations Officer, Office of Domestic Business Policy (Secretary of Commerce Designee)
Alfred G. Albert (Atty.), Deputy Solicitor (Secretary of Labor Designee)
Eric Feirtag (Atty.), Attorney, Office of the Solicitor (Secretary of Labor Designee)

State Regulators (4)
M. Holland Krise (Atty.), Chairman, the Industrial Commission of Ohio (Second Vice-President of the IAIABC).
Daniel T. Doherty (Atty. and Ph.D.), Chairman, Maryland Workmen’s Compensation Commission (past President of the IAIABC, Executive Committee Member of SAWCA). 
James L. Flournoy (Atty.), Commission for State Workmen’s Compensation Appeals Board, California
Marion E. Martin, Commissioner of Labor and Industry for the State of Maine

Insurance Industry (2)
Melvin B. Bradshaw, Executive Vice President Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.
Andrew Kalmykow (Atty.), Counsel, American Insurance Association

Employers (2)
Clarence E. Caruthers, Administrator, Workmen’s’ Compensation, Ford Motor Company
William J. Moshofsky (Atty.), Vice President, Georgia Pacific Corporation.

Medical Professionals  (3)
Henry F. Howe, (M.D.) Associate Director, Department of Environmental Public and Occupational Health, American Medical Association.
Henry H. Kessler, (M.D. and Ph.D.) Director Professional Education and Research, The Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation.
Marcus Key, (M.D.) Director, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

Organized Labor Representatives (2)
James R. O’Brien, Assistant Director, AFL-CIO Department of Social Security
Michael R. Peevey, Director of Research, California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

According to its report, the Commission was also blessed with 22 professional staff, two expert consultants, and 12 secretarial and support staff, and relied upon 30 contractors. 

The members brought a variety of experiences and backgrounds to the mission of analyzing workers' compensation. The following are organizations which various members listed in their respective biographical descriptions:


Advisory Committee on Workmen's Compensation

Advisory Committee for Self-Insurers to the Chairman of the New
York Workmen's Compensation Board

American Bar Association Committee on Workmen's Compensation and Employer's Liability Law

American Medical Association

Atomic Industrial Forum - Workmen's Compensation Committee

President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped

The Advisory Committee on Occupational Health to the Surgeon General of the United States

The American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds

The Board of Managers of the Self-Insurers Association of New York

The Boston Urban Foundation

The Council of State Governments

The Governor's Advisory Committee on Vocational Rehabilitation

The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions

The International Society for Rehabilitation of the Disabled

The Maryland Governor's Commission to Review the Workmen's Compensation Laws

The National Council on Rehabilitation

The National Council of State Self-Insurers Associations

The Silicosis and Second Injury Funds of Michigan

The Southern Association of Workmen's Compensation Administrators

The United Nations and the World Veterans Federation

Unemployment Benefit Advisors, Inc.


U.S. Department of Labor - Advisory Committee on Workmen's Compensation Studies