September 7 - The Federal Employees Compensation Act

Labor History in 2:00 · Sep 7, 2026 · 1m

On this day in Labor History the year was 1916.

That was the day that the Federal Employees Compensation Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.

The act was sponsored by Senator John Kern, a Democrat from Indiana, and Daniel McGillicuddy, a Democratic Congressman from Maine.

The act provided compensation for federal civil service employees that lost wages because they were hurt or killed on the job.

There was great debate at the time over whether employees injured at work deserved to be compensated.

Before the turn of the twentieth century, those who sustained workplace injuries…