Pennsylvania Act 1905-222 — COAL MINES, EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS REGULATED

Act text

COAL MINES, EMPLOYMENT OF MINORS REGULATED
                  Act of May 2, 1905, P.L. 344, No. 222               Cl. 52
                                  AN ACT

     Regulating the employment of minor children in or about any
        anthracite coal mine or colliery; prohibiting the employment
        of any child under the age of sixteen years inside of any
        anthracite coal mine; prohibiting the employment of any child
        under fourteen years of age in or about any anthracite coal-
        breaker or colliery, or the outside workings thereof;
        prohibiting the employment of any minor child, of any age, in
        or about either the inside workings of any anthracite coal
        mine or in or about any anthracite coal-breaker or colliery,
        or the outside workings thereof, unless the person, firm, co-
        partnership or corporation, employing said minor child, shall
        first obtain and file the employment certificate, as provided
        for by this act, and carry out the other duties provided by
        this act; fixing the duties of the common school
        superintendents, or, in the absence of such an officer, then
        that of the principal teacher of any city, borough or
        township, as relates to the issuance of said employment
        certificates and the other duties provided by this act;
        declaring what said employment certificate shall contain;
        providing for the form and wording of said employment
        certificates and the issuance of the blank-forms by the
        Department of Mines of this Commonwealth; making false
        swearing to any certificate provided for by this act to be
        perjury, and punishable as such; providing that the failure
        of any employer of minor children to produce the certificate
        required by this act, upon demand of the proper persons,
        shall be prima facie evidence of the illegal employment of
        said minor children; fixing the duty of truant or school
        attendance officers, as to carrying out the provisions of
        this act; giving to the common school superintendent, or, in
        the absence of such an official, then to the principal
        teacher of any city, borough or township, the same power to
        administer oaths or affirmations as is now given to notaries
        public, in all matters connected with the proper enforcement
        of this act; providing a penalty for the violation of the
        provisions of this act.

        Section 1.  Be it enacted, &c., That it shall be unlawful for
     any person, firm, copartnership or corporation to employ any
     minor child, under the age of sixteen years, inside of any
     anthracite coal mine, or to employ any minor child, under the
     age of fourteen years, in any anthracite coal breaker or
     colliery, or around the outside workings of any anthracite coal
     mine.
        Section 2.  It shall be the duty of the Chief of the
     Department of Mines of this Commonwealth, and the right of any
     citizen of this Commonwealth, in the name of the Commonwealth of
     Pennsylvania, upon any violation of the provisions of section
     one of this act, to bring suit in the court of common pleas of
     the county wherein said offense or violation occurred; and if,
     upon the trial of the case, the jury shall find that such
     violation did occur, they shall render a verdict against the
     offending party or parties, to an amount equal to ten dollars
     for each and every day said minor child or children were
     employed contrary to the provisions of this act; said amounts,
     when collected, to be paid into the State Treasury, for the use
     of the Commonwealth; and the State Treasurer shall return one-
     half of the fine or fines so collected to the school-district in
     which the child, so illegally employed, resided.