disclose such information in cases in which the Board finds that such disclosure is clearly in furtherance of the interest of the employee or his estate; and (iii) any claimant of benefits under this Act shall, upon his request, be supplied with information from the Board's records pertaining to his claim.

(e) The Board shall provide for the certification of claims for benefits and refunds and may arrange total or partial settlements at such times and in such manner as may appear to the Board to be expedient. The Board shall designate and authorize one or more of its employees to sign vouchers for the payment of benefits and refunds under this Act. Each such employee shall give bond, in form and amount fixed by the Board, conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties. The premiums due on such bonds shall be paid from the fund and deemed to be a part of the expenses of administering this Act.

(f) The Board may cooperate with or enter into agreement with the appropriate agencies charged with the administration of State, Territorial, Federal, or foreign unemployment-compensation laws or employment offices, with respect to investigations, the exchange of information and services, the establishment, maintenance, and use of free employment service facilities, and such other matters as the Board deems expedient in connection with the administration of this Act, and may compensate any such agency for services or facilities supplied to the Board in connection with the administration of this Act. The Board may enter also into agreements with any such agency, pursuant to which any unemployment benefits provided for by this Act or any other unemployment-compensation law, may be paid through a single agency to persons who have, during the period on the basis of which eligibility for and duration of benefits is determined under the law administered by such agency or under this Act, or both, performed services covered by one or more of such laws, or performed services which constitute employment as defined in this Act: Provided, That the Board finds that any such agreement is fair and reasonable as to all affected interests.

(g) In determining whether an employee has qualified for benefits in accordance with section 3 (a) of this Act, and in determining the amount of benefits to be paid to such employee in accordance with sections 2 (a) and 2 (c) of this Act, the Board is authorized to consider as employment (and compensation therefor) services for hire other than employment (and remuneration therefor) if such services for hire are subject to an unemployment-compensation law of any State, provided that such State has agreed to reimburse the United States such portion of the benefits to be paid upon such basis to such employee as the Board deems equitable. Any amounts collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be credited to the account.

If a State, in determining whether an employee is eligible for unemployment benefits under an unemployment compensation law of such State, and in determining the amount of unemployment benefits to be paid to such employee pursuant to such unemployment compensation law, considers as services for hire (and remuneration therefor) included within the provisions of such unemploymentcompensation law, employment (and compensation therefor) after June 30, 1939, the Board is authorized to reimburse such State such portion of such unemployment benefits as the Board deems equitable; such reimbursements shall be paid from the account, and are included within the meaning of the word "benefits" as used in this Act.

(h) The Board may enter into agreements or arrangements with employers, organizations of employers, and railway-labor organizations which are duly organized in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, for securing the performance of services or the use of facilities in connection with the administration of this Act, and may compensate any such employer or organization therefor upon such reasonable basis as the Board shall prescribe, but not to exceed the additional expense incurred by such employer or organization by reason of the performance of such services or making available the use of such facilities pursuant to such agreements or arrangements. Such employers and organizations, and persons employed by either of them, shall not be subject to the Act of Congress approved March 3, 1917 (39 Stat. 1106, ch. 163, sec. 1).

(i) The Board may establish, maintain, and operate free employment offices, and may designate as free employment offices facilities maintained by (i) a railway labor organization which is duly authorized and designated to represent employees in accordance with the Railway Labor Act, or (ii) any other labor organization which has been or may be organized in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, or (iii) one or more employers, or (iv) an organization of employers, or (v) a group of such employers and labor organizations, or (vi) a State, Territorial, foreign, or the Federal Government. The Board may also enter into agreements or arrangements with one or more em

ployers or railway labor organizations organized in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, pursuant to which notice of the availability of work and the rights of employees with respect to such work under agreements between such employers and railway labor organizations may be filed with employment offices and pursuant to which employees registered with employment offices may be referred to such work.

The Board shall prescribe a procedure for registration of unemployed employees at employment offices. Such procedure for registration shall be prescribed with a view to such registration affording substantial evidence of the days of unemployment of the employees who register. The Board may, when such registration is made personally by an employee, accept such registration as initial proof of unemployment sufficient to certify for payment a claim for benefits.

The regulations of the Board concerning registration at employment offices by unemployed persons may provide for group registration and reporting, through employers, and need not be uniform with respect to different classes of employees. The operation of any employment facility operated by the Board shall be directed primarily toward the reemployment of employees who have theretofore been substantially employed by employers.

(j) The Board may appoint national or local advisory councils composed of equal numbers of representatives of employers, representatives of employees, and and persons representing the general public, for the purpose of discussing problems in connection with the administration of this Act and aiding the Board in formulating policies. The members of such councils shall serve without remuneration, but shall be reimbursed for any necessary traveling and subsistence expenses or on a per diem basis in lieu of subsistence expenses.

(k) The Board, with the advice and aid of any advisory council appointed by it, shall take appropriate steps to reduce and prevent unemployment and loss of earnings; to encourage and assist in the adoption of practical methods of vocational training, retraining, and vocational guidance; to promote the reemployment of unemployment employees; and to these ends to carry on and publish the results of investigations and research studies.

(1) In addition to the powers and duties expressly provided, the Board shall have and exercise all the powers and duties necessary to administer or incidental to administering this Act, and in connection therewith shall have such of the powers, duties, and remedies provided in section 10 (b) (4) of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, with respect to the administration of said Act, as are not inconsistent with the express provisions of this Act. A person in the employ of the Board under section 205 of the Act of Congress approved June 24, 1937 (50 Stat. 307), shall acquire a competitive classified civil-service status if, after recommendation by the Board to the Civil Service Commission, he shall pass such noncompetitive tests of fitness as the Civil Service Commission may prescribe.

The Board may employ such persons and provide for their remuneration and expenses, as may be necessary for the proper administration of this Act. Such persons shall be employed and their remuneration prescribed in accordance with the civil-service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, except that the Board may fix the salary of a Director of Unemployment Insurance at $10,000 per annum: Provided, That in the employment of such persons the Board shall give preference, as between applicants attaining the same grades, to persons who have had experience in railroad service, and notwithstanding any other provisions of law, rules, or regulations, no other preference shall be given or recognized: And provided further, That certification by the Civil Service Commission of persons for appointment to any positions at minimum salaries of $4,600 per annum, or less, shall, if the Board so requests, be upon the basis of competitive examinations, written, oral, or both, as the Board may request.

(m) The Board is authorized to delegate to any member, officer, or employee of the Board any of the powers conferred upon the Board by this Act, excluding only the power to prescribe rules and regulations.

EXCLUSIVENESS OF PROVISIONS; TRANSFERS FROM STATE UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACCOUNTS TO RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ACCOUNT

SEC. 13. (a) Effective July 1, 1939, section 907 (c) of the Social Security Act is hereby amended by substituting a semicolon for the period at the end thereof, and by adding: "(8) service performed in the employ of an employer as defined in the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and service performed as an employee representative as defined in said Act."

(b) By enactment of this Act the Congress makes exclusive provision for the payment of unemployment benefits for unemployment occurring after June 30,

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1939, based upon employment (as defined in this Act). No employee shall have or assert any right to unemployment benefits under an unemployment compensation law of any State with respect to unemployment occurring after June 30, 1939, based upon employment (as defined in this Act). The Congress finds and declares that by virtue of the enactment of this Act, the application of State unemployment compensation laws after June 30, 1939, to such employment, except pursuant to section 12 (g) of this Act, would constitute an undue burden upon, and an undue interference with the effective regulation of, interstate commerce, In furtherance of such determination, after June 30, 1939, the term "person" as used in section 906 of the Social Security Act shall no. be construed to include any employer (as defined in this Act) or any person in its employ: Provided, That no provision of this Act shall be construed to affect the payment of unemployment benefits with respect to any period prior to July 1, 1939, under an unemployment compensation law of any State based upon employment performed prior to July 1, 1939, and prior to such date employment as defined in this Act shall not constitute "Service with respect to which unemployment compensation is payable under an [or "service under any"] unemployment compensation system [or "plan"] established by an Act of Congress" [or "a law of the United States"] or "employment in interstate commerce, of an individual who is covered by an unemployment compensation system established directly by an Act of Congress," or any term of similar import, used in any unemployment compensation law of any State.

(c) The Social Security Board is hereby directed to determine for each State, after agreement with the Railroad Retirement Board, and after consultation with such State; the total (hereinafter referred to as the "preliminary amount") of (i) the amount remaining as the balances of reserve accounts of employers as of June 30, 1939, if the unemployment compensation law of such State provides for a type of fund known as "Reserve Accounts", plus (ii) if the unemployment compensation law of such State provides for a type of fund known as "Pooled Fund" or "Pooled Account", that proportion of the balance of such fund or account of such State as of June 30, 1939, as the amount of taxes or contributions collected from employers and their employees prior to July 1, 1939, pursuant to its unemployment compensation law and credited to such fund or account bears to all such taxes or contributions theretofore collected from all persons subject to its unemployment compensation law and credited to such fund or account; and the additional amounts (hereinafter referred to as the "liquidating amount") of taxes or contributions collected from employers and their employees from July 1, 1939 to December 31, 1939, pursuant to its unemployment compensation law.

(d) The Social Security Board shall withhold from certification to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment the amounts determined by it pursuant to section 302 (a) of the Social Security Act to be necessary for the proper administration of each State's unemployment-compensation law, until an amount equal to its "preliminary amount" plus interest from July 1, 1939, at 21⁄2 per centum per annum on such portion thereof as has not been used as the measure for withholding certification for payment, has been so withhled from certification pursuant to this paragraph: Provided, however, That if a State shall, prior to whichever is the later of (i) thirty days after the close of the first regular session of its legislature which begins after the approval of this Act, and (ii) July 1, 1939, authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer from its account in the unemployment trust fund to the railroad unemployment-compensation account in the unemployment trust fund an amount equal to its "preliminary amount", no amount shall be withheld from certification for payment to such State pursuant to this paragraph. The Social Security Board shall withhold from certification to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment the amounts determined by it pursuant to section 302 (a) of the Social Security Act to be necessary for the proper administration of each State's unemployment compensation law, until an amount equal to its "liquidating amount" plus interest from January 1, 1940, at 21⁄2 per centum per annum on such portion thereof as has not been used as the measure for withholding certification for payment has been so withheld from certification pursuant to this paragraph: Provided, however, That if a State shall, prior to whichever is the later of (i) thirty days after the close of the first regular session of its legislature which begins after the approval of this Act, and (ii) January 1, 1940, authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer from its account in the unemployment trust fund to the railroad unemployment compensation account in the unemployment trust fund an amount equal to its "liquidating amount", no amount shall be withheld from certification for payment to such State pursuant to this paragraph.

The withholdings from certification directed in each of the foregoing paragraphs of this subsection shall begin with respect to each State when the Social Security Board finds that such State is unable to avail itself of the condition set forth in the proviso contained in such paragraph.

(e) The transfers described in the provisos contained in the several paragraphs of subsection (d) of this section shall not be deemed to constitute a breach of the conditions set forth in sections 303 (a) (5) and 903 (a) (4) of the Social Security Act; nor shall the withdrawal by a State from its account in the unemployment trust fund of amounts, but not to exceed the total amount the Social Security Board shall have withheld from certification with respect to such State pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, be deemed to constitute a breach of the conditions set forth in sections 303 (a) (5) and 903 (a) (4) of the Social Security Act, provided the moneys so withdrawn are expended solely for expenses which the Social Security Board determines to be necessary for the proper administration of such State's unemployment compensation law.

(f) The Social Security Board is authorized and directed to certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment, and the Secretary shall pay, into the railroad unemployment insurance account, such amounts as the Social Security Board withholds from certification pursuant to subsection (d) of this section and the appropriations authorized in section 301 of the Social Security Act shall be available for payments authorized by this subsection. The Secretary shall transfer from the account of a State in the unemployment trust fund to the railroad unemployment insurance account in the unemployment trust fund such amounts as the State authorizes and directs him so to transfer pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.

(g) Section 303 of the Social Security Act is hereby amended by adding thereto the follwoing additional subsection:

"(c) The Board shall make no certification for payment to any State if it finds, after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State agency charged with the administration of the State law

"(1) That such State does not make its records available to the Railroad Retirement Board, and furnish to the Railroad Retirement Board at the expense of the Railroad Retirement Board such copies thereof as the Railroad Retirement Board deems necessary for its purpose; or

"(2) That such State is failing to afford reasonable cooperation with every agency of the United States charged with the administration of any employment insurance law."

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT

SEC. 14. (a) Effective July 1, 1939, section 1 (b) of the District of Columbia Unemployment Insurance Act is amended by substituting a semicolon for the period at the end thereof and by adding: "(8) service performed in the employ of an employer as defined in the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and service performed as an employee representative as defined in said Act." This amendment shall not be construed to affect the payment of unemployment benefits at any time with respect to any period prior to July 1, 1939, based upon employment performed prior to July 1, 1939.

(b) The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to transfer from the account of the District of Columbia in the unemployment trust fund to the railroad unemployment insurance account in the unemployment trust fund, an amount equal to the "preliminary amount" and an amount equal to the "liquidating amount", whenever such amounts, respectively, have been determined, with respect to the District of Columbia, pursuant to section 13 of this Act.

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 15. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1 (n) of this Act, until July 1, 1940, the term "benefit year" as defined in section 1 (n) of this Act means, with respect to any individual, the twelve-month period which begins with either the first day with respect to which benefits are first payable to him under this Act or the first day after July 1, 1938, but before July 1, 1939, with respect to which unemployment benefits are received by him under an unemployment compensation law of any State, whichever is the earlier.

(b) For the purposes of section 2 (c) of this Act, all unemployment benefits paid to an employee pursuant to an unemployment compensation law of any State, with respect to any period prior to July 1, 1939, shall be considered as though they were benefits paid under this Act.

(c) Section 3 (b) of this Act shall not be applicable to an otherwise qualified employee with respect to whom there is, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, current a benefit year beginning before July 1, 1939.

(d) Any employee for whom there is, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, current a benefit year beginning before July 1, 1939, and who, solely by reason of the enactment of this Act, becomes ineligible to continue to receive benefits under the unemployment compensation law of any State with respect to unemployment occurring after July 1, 1939, shall, for the purposes of section 3 (a) of this Act, be deemed to have earned compensation with respect to employment in his base year of not less than $150: Provided, That, nothwithstanding the provisions of section 2 (c) of this Act, the maximum benefits payable to such employee for unemployment within such benefit year shall not exceed the maximum amount to which he would otherwise have been entitled under the unemployment compensation law of such State.

SEPARABILITY

SEC. 16. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, and the remainder of this Act, shall not be affected thereby.

SHORT TITLE

SEC. 17. This Act may be cited as the "Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.' RAILROAD UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE BILL

I. GENERAL CONTENT

The bill creates a national, pooled-fund system of unemployment insurance for railroad workers. To that end Congress asserts its constitutional jurisdiction over this type of interstate employment, and, as of July 1, 1939, requires the States to cease covering this employment under their unemployment compensation laws, and excludes it from coverage under title IX of the Social Security Act. In line with the growing recognition of the necessity for simplification of the social-security program, it is provided that both old age and unemployment insurance for railroad workers will be wholly administered by a single Federal agency, on the basis of a single set of reports, from exactly the same employers, paying what is in effect a single tax because the contributions under this bill are levied on exactly the same base as the taxes levied by the Carriers' Taxing Act. Section 1. Definitions.

Section 2. Benefits.

Section 3. Qualifying conditions.

Section 4. Disqualifying conditions.

Section 5. Claims for benefits.

Section 6. Conclusiveness of returns of compensation and of failure to make returns of compensation.

Section 7. Free transportation.

Section 8. Contributions.

Section 9. Penalties.

Section 10. Railroad unemployment insurance account.

Section 11. Railroad unemployment insurance administration fund.

Section 12. Duties and powers of the board.

Section 13. Exclusiveness of provisions; transfers from State unemployment compensation accounts to railroad unemployment insurance account. Section 14. District of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act. Section 15. Transitional provisions.

Section 16. Separability.

Section 17. Short title.

II. SUMMARY OF MAIN PROVISIONS

1. Coverage.-Identical with that of Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, viz, interstate railroads, certain of their operating subsidiaries, sleeping-car and express companies, traffic and similar associations maintained by the railroads, and railroad labor organizations.

2. Contributions.-After July 1, 1939, covered employers will pay 3 percent of wages payable, excluding any amount in excess of $300 per month payable to any employee. The rate is the same as the combined rate under a typical State unemployment compensation law and title IX. The wage exclusion is the same as that in the Carriers' Taxing Act.