Stabilization Act of 1942

The Stabilization Act of 1942 (Pub.L. 77–729, 56 Stat. 765, enacted October 2, 1942), formally entitled "An Act to Amend the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942, to Aid in Preventing Inflation, and for Other Purposes," and sometimes referred to as the "Inflation Control Act", was an act of Congress that amended the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942. The Act authorized and directed the President to issue an order stabilizing prices, wages and salaries to the levels they had had as of September 15, 1942, and to issue additional regulations related to the Act. The Act excluded from stabilization "insurance and pension benefits in a reasonable amount to be determined by the President".

The Act also extended the expiration date of the Emergency Price Control Act by a year, to June 30, 1944.

As a penalty for violating the Act, the Act provided for a fine of $1000, imprisonment for up to a year, or both.

On October 3, 1942, the day after the statute's enactment, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order no. 9250, fixing wages and salaries in accordance with the Act, and establishing the Office of Economic Stabilization.

One consequence of the wage stabilization under the Act was that employers, unable to provide higher salaries to attract or retain employees, began to offer insurance plans, including health care packages, as a fringe benefit, thereby beginning the practice of employer-sponsored health insurance.

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