Other places and occupations Ohio-Crossing watchman, section hand, express driver, metal molder, bellhop, taxi driver except between hours of 6 a. m. and 9 p. m., gas- or electric-meter reader; in shoeshining parlors; in bowling alleys as pinsetters, or poolrooms; in delivery service on motor-propelled vehicles of over 1-ton capacity; in operating freight or baggage elevators if doors not controlled, in baggage handling, freight handling, trucking, and handling by means of hand trucks heavy materials of any kind; in operating wheels or belts Pennsylvania-Dangerous or injurious occupa tions Industrial Homework Nineteen States and Puerto Rico have laws or regulations governing industrial homework. The laws apply to all persons except in Colorado and Oregon; in these two States the laws apply to women and minors only. California Colorado Connecticut Illinois Indiana Maryland Massachusetts Employment Before and After Childbirth Six States and Puerto Rico have laws prohibiting the employment of women immediately before and after childbirth. The six States merely prohibit employment. Puerto Rico, in addition, requires the employer to pay to the working mother during an 8-week period onehalf of her regular salary or wage and provides for job security during the required absence. The following list shows periods during which women may not be employed in the States indicated: Connecticut Massachusetts Missouri New York Vermont Washington Puerto Rico 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after. 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after. 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after. 4 weeks after. 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after. *4 months before and 6 weeks after. **4 weeks before and 4 weeks after. 4 weeks before and 4 weeks after. *Under minimum-wage and welfare orders for manufacturing, food-processing industry, and fresh fruit- and vegetable-packing industry; prohibition may be waived by special permit. **Under the order for laundry, dry-cleaning and dyeworks industry. Rhode Island's Temporary Disability Insurance Act expressly provides that employed women are entitled to cash benefits for 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after childbirth. Laws Affecting Household Employees Although declining in importance, household employment in private homes is still one of the major occupations for women. It employs about a tenth of all women workers, and is an occupation in which practically all the workers are women. On the whole, legislation has tended to exclude this group. However, a major gain was made in recent years through amendment of the old-age and survivors insurance provisions of the Federal Social Security Act to cover a large proportion of household workers. 6 POLITICAL AND CIVIL as of January 1, 1953 Political Status Nationality Citizenship in the United States is acquired in the same way by men and women; that is, by birth within the domain, by birth abroad of a parent who is a citizen, or by being naturalized. Mothers, as well as fathers, confer citizenship on their minor children. A married woman's citizenship does not automatically follow that of her husband. An alien wife may become a citizen whether or not her alien husband desires or qualifies for that privilege. If a woman citizen marries an alien, she retains her citizenship until she renounces it by declaring allegiance to another government. Voting and Public Office Federal. Any woman who has the qualifications required for voting in the State of her residence has full right of suffrage in the election of National Government officials and on proposals for change in the Federal Constitution. Likewise, any woman who meets the established qualifications for official positions in the National Government is eligible either for election or appointment to posts in the executive and legislative branches or for appointment to the judiciary. State. Any woman who meets the general qualifications established for voting in the State in which she has legal residence has full right of suffrage in the election of State and local officials and in determination of public issues within the State. Also, any woman who has the qualifications required for elected officials of State and local governments is eligible for election to these positions. Civil service positions.-Appointive positions in both Federal and State civil service are open generally to qualified women. Appointing agencies for the Federal Government may designate whether men or women employees are preferred when requesting a list of eligibles from the Civil Service Commission. Some States by statute specify the sex of appointees for certain positions, such as superintendents, wardens, matrons, or attendants in institutions. Courts-Jury service.-Women are eligible by law to serve on juries in 45 States, the District of Columbia, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Canal Zone, and the Virgin Islands. The 3 States in which women cannot serve on juries are Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina. 1 There are 2 types of jury-service legislation: compulsory, which requires jury duty from all qualified persons, subject to grounds for exemption or release by the presiding judge; and voluntary or optional service laws, which permit a woman to be excused solely on the basis of sex. Twenty-five States, Hawaii, and the Canal Zone have compulsory-type laws; and 20 States,3 the District of Columbia, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have voluntary-type laws. Domicile 2 Private domicile.-A married woman's private domicile generally depends on that of her husband. The rule is that when the interests of husband and wife are hostile and result in dissolution of the marriage, an aggrieved wife may establish a separate domicile. Separate existence, interests, and rights are recognized in these cases. Public domicile.-Most States limit husband and wife to the same marital domicile during marriage for voting, jury service, and holding of public office. However, some States permit a married woman to establish a separate domicile for voting; * five permit a separate domicile for eligibility to public office; and three recognize separate domicile for personal property tax obligation." Marriage Civil Status-Family Relations The marriage laws of the various States generally do not differentiate between the sexes, except in establishing minimum ages. Most States set a lower marriage age for women. The same minimum age applies to both sexes in 7 States when parental consent is required and 1 As of December 1956. 7 Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming. 3 Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin. California, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin. 5 Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York. Nevada, New Jersey, Virginia. Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee. 8 in 16 States when parental consent is not required. All but 8 States 9 and the District of Columbia require a premarital health examination for both applicants for a marriage license; Louisiana requires such examination for men only. Divorce All States permit either husband or wife to secure a divorce on at least one ground. The grounds are generally the same for either husband or wife, although some States recognize nonsupport as a ground for granting the wife a decree. The most usual grounds for divorce in State laws are adultery, desertion, cruelty, alcoholism, impotency, felony conviction, insanity and neglect to provide. Other grounds which appear frequently in State laws are drug addiction, pregnancy by another man at marriage, imprisonment, violence against the other party, and commission of an infamous crime. All States give the court discretionary power to grant alimony to the wife on divorce because of the fault of the husband, and 15 States 10 authorize the court to grant a husband alimony when the need is established and the wife is at fault. Parent and Child 11 All but six States 11 give both parents the same rights of natural guardianship. In those six jurisdictions the father is preferred as natural guardian during the marriage, giving him the first right to custody of his minor child's person, services, and earnings. However, there is no law in any State which prohibits a mother, if capable, from being the guardian of her minor child. If the marriage is broken by divorce or legal separation, neither parent has any legal advantage over the other as to custody of a minor child. The best interests of the child guide the court's disposition of his custody. Three States 12 and the District of Columbia by statute prefer the father when a guardian of property is to be appointed for a child. Unmarried parents.-The mother is considered the natural guardian entitled to the custody of the child. The father becomes the natural guardian only if he legally acknowledges his relationship to the child. Inheritance by parents from children.-No distinction exists be 8 Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming. Arizona, Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina. 10 California, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia. 11 Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Texas. 12 Alabama, Louisiana, Texas. |