Evening star., 1940-03-19
BY DON S. WARREN.

pLoyer experience rating.
BY DON S. WARREN.
Adopting advice given by experts
attached to the Social Security
Board and by labor leaders. the Dis
trlct Unemployment Compensation
Board today proposed an amend
ment to the District jobless insur-
ance law providing for fiat rate
pay roll tax as low as Il of / per
cent as long as a certain reserve
fund is maintained.
The new plan would fix 2.7 per
cent as the maximum pay roll
charge and would apply the tax
only to the first $4,000 of the salary
of any employe covered by the law,
these changes being in line with the
new Federal policy
The revised program also proposes
to raise the maximum benefit pay
ment from SIS to $40 a week and
would make the maximum duration
20 weeks. These were points upon
which business and labor repre-
sentatives previously had agreed,
but the board in its decision will
recommend some other changes
which will make the Districts svs-
tenn more liberal for the lobless than
had been planned in recent con-
ferences with business and labor
SpokeSmen.
Rating System Shelved.
BY vote of 3 to l, with Commits
sioner Hazen not voting. the D. U. c.
Board decided to lay aside proposals
for insertion in the jobless insurance
law a perfected new employer ex-
perience rating system under which
those employers who show stability
in employment would receive pay
roll tax reductions down to one-halt
of l per cent.
Employer experience rating sys-
TENS now are envisioned in the Fed
eral Act and are embodied in the
laws of 80 States, including the Dis
trict. and so far the use of them
has gone into effect in four States,
notably Wisconsin.
As reported in articles in The Star,
officials of the Social Security Board
staff have been backing away" from
the employer experience rating svs-
tenn on the argument that jobless in
surance is a social measure and the
cost should be borne equally by all
elements of industry rather than to
provide for differentials in the rates.
On the other hand advocates Of
the system have maintained it is
necessary to give employers real
incentive to strive to keep a steady
pay roll.
According to the best available
information at the District Build
ing, the proposed substitute plan
will require an amendment of the
Federal Social Security Act as we'll
as of the District law. 1t was pointed
out that no State now has such a
system as is proposed here.
Federal Boards Assent Seen.
On the other hand. it is reported
in reliable quarters that the substi-
tute plan has been suggested by
experts attached to the staff of the
Federal Board John A. Marshall.
director of the D. U. c. Board said
he was convinced spokesmen for the
Federal Board would not oppose the
new plan.
Before the decision was reached
today. the D. y. c. Board con-
suited with Representative Dirksen.
Republican, of Illinois. member
of the House District Committee.
He told the board he would cooper
ate in any way possible and that,
while he held no brief for any par
ticular type of program, he was
doubtful as to whether members of
Congress would readily approve the
suggested new plan, since it would
give the District benefits not now
available to the States.
Members of the D. U. C. Board
were told by John Locher its labor
representative. that William Green,
president of the American FEEDER
alton of Labor. was opposed to the
principles embodied in employer
experience rating and would be op-
posed to the plan suggested by the
Washington Board of Trade and
about dozen other Washington
business groups.
New Rating Plan Suggested.
After the boards decision had
been announced, spokesman for
the Board of Trade said:
I'VE have suggested a perfected
new plan for employer experience
rating. Regardless of what plan
Congress sees fit to adopt, there is
urgent need for amendment of the
present law, since we now ARE COL
lecting very much more than the
District needs to pay the present
benefit load or even the increased
Load that would come from the pro-
posed liberalization of the act.
THE proposed substitute plan for
reduced fiat rate pay roll contribu-
tions Is good one, if it can meet
with the approval of Congress"
The proposed new plan would re-
volve around requirement that
| the District board maintain a bene-
| fit reserve fund of no less than four
times the amount of the annual
benefit payments-and if this were
the case all Washington employers
subject to the law would get a rate
of one-half of per cent. The pres
ent District rate is 3 per cent.
The benefit reserve fund of the
D. U. c. board now amounts to more
than S17,000,000, and it is estimated
that by the end Of his calendar year
lCaa aAX pOI rAX rana A . 1