Evening star., 1940-02-29
D. {. Board Weighs
6 Key Changes in
JobIess lax Bill
lobor-Trode PorIey
Agreement Includes
Experience Rotins Plan
BY DON S. WARREN.

ment Compensation Board today
considered six major proposals for
revision of the McGehee bill to
amend the Districts jobless insur-
ance law which were agreed upon
late yesterday at . conference be-
tween spokesmen for employers and
the Central Labor Union, meeting
with a committee of the D. U. G.
Board.
One of the principal changes
agreed upon calls for adoption of
new and specific plan for use of an
employer experience rating system,
to be effective next year, by which
the individual employer may earn a
decrease in his pay roll tax accord
ingH as he maintains stability of
employment for his workers.
Another change in the McGehee
bill, agreed upon by the group. pro-
vides for sliding scale plan by
which the pay roll tax rates would
be increased horizontally should the
reserve fund for payment of benefits
to the eligible jobless ever fall below
$4,000, 900, or for horizontal de-
crease In rates when the reserve
fund rises above $12, 100000.
Prompt Consideration Forecast.
Col. David McCoach, jr., the engi-
neer Commissioner and a member of
the D. U. c. Board, who conducted
yesterdays joint conference, an
nounced the subjects would be con-
sidered promptly by the District
Commissioners, who constitute ma
jority Of the D. u. c. Board, and
that their report to Congress would
be forwarded soon to Budget Bureau
for approval. Chairman Randolph
of the House District Committee has
asked the Commissioners for report
Of the pending McGehee bill
The joint conference yesterday
agreed upon the terms of the Nc
Gehee bill which call for an increase
In the maximum benefit payments
from SIS to $40 week, and for an
increase in the duration of benefit
term Of 16 weeks to fiat maximum
of 20 weeks, Under the present law,
If past regular employment has been
extended over as long a period as
five years, the maximum duration
could be as long as Is weeks.
Other points upon which the con-
ference group agreed yesterday were:
That the basic eligibility require
ment for a person to become eligible
for benefit payments would be that
he had earned as much as 5000 in
the past year Under present law
the worker must have been employed
at least 13 of the previous So weeks.
The present form of the McGehee
bill provides that the applicant must
have earned no less than $3.50 in the
past year. Spokesman for the Board
of Trade and other Washington busi-
ness groups yesterday suggested the
minimum be $3.50, but a compromise
Of $500 was agreed upon.
Provides for Auditing.
That the new law should require
that all pay roll taxes assessed
against the employers and collected
by the board should be audited by
the auditor OF the District govern
ment Maj. Daniel J. Donovan. /.
Discussion of this point has brought
out that while the District auditor
has checked all administrative ex-
penses of the board and its disburse-
ments to the eligible jobless, none
OF the tax receipts has been sub
jected to an independent audit, al
though the board so far has collected
more than 19,00o, 900 in pay roll
taxes.
That benefit payments for partial
unemployment should range from 81
to $40 q week, with the maximum
not to exceed 80 per cent of the full
time benefit payment, which would
otherwise have amounted to $40 a
week. Under this present wording
Of the McGehee bill, a claimant for
benefits could earn $40 a week in
partial employment and be given
$50 a week in benefit payment,
making a total of $40 a week.
Under the present law there is q
deduction from the benefit payment
II the claimant earns more than 81
In partial employment.
Employer representatives who at
tended yesterdays meeting were
Lawrence E. Williams, president of
the Board of Trade; William Press
Of the staff of the Board of Trade,
Charles H. Tompkins, j. j. Hasley
and Arthur j. Sundlun, president of
the Merchants and Manufacturers
Association; Arthur L. Schoenthal,
Fred S. Walker and James Holden,
representing the Central Labor
Union, and Col. McCoach, John
Locher, labor representative for the
D. y. c. Board; Daniel j. Callahan,
employer representative on the
board, and John A. Marshall, the
boards director.
Reduces Maximum Rate Also.
The proposed employer experience
rating system. which would permit
the pay roll tax rate to be reduced
as low as one-half of per cent for
the employer having the most stable
pay roll, but which would not pro-
vide for q higher rate than 81 per
cent, the proposed new fiat rate
for the District, is based upon the
plans embodied in the laws Of four
States, Texas, Delaware, Illinois and
Massachusetts,.
The present District tax provides
for an employer experience rating
plan which is supposed to go into
effect next January l, providing for
q low rate of ~ per cent and a
maximum of per cent, the board
being directed to maintain an aver
age Of 3 per cent-the present fiat
rate. The pending draft of the Nc
Gehee bill provides merely for
further study of the advisabihty Of
employer experience rating. whereas
the laws of SO other jurisdictions
calls for the use of such a rating
plan. and these have gone into effect
so far In four States.
The whole question as to whether
the District or other Jurisdictions