Evening star., 1940-01-10
Board Backs
|Cut in Tax on
dc Employers
Increased Benefits
For JobIess Also
Proposed
By DON s. WARREN.

Liberalization of the District Un-
employment Compensation Act
for the benefit of both the un.
employed and the tax-paying em-
ployer-will be proposed to Congress
in the near future under recon-
mendation adopted today by the
District Unemployment Compensa-
ton Board, meeting in the Office of
Commissioner Melvin c. Hazen, its
ex-off1cio chairman.
The board decided to propose a
reduction in the employers tax from
the present per cent on the pay
roll to 81 per cent, to conform to
the revised Federal Social Security
policy, and to recommend an ex-
tension of the period during which
benefit payments are made and an
increase in the maximum weekly
benefit paymnet.
Under the program proposed to-
day the maximum weekly payments
TO the unemployed who qualify for
benefit payments would be raised
from SIS to $40. John A. Marshall,
executive officer of the board, said
the new maximum would be higher
than that of most of the States.
20-Week Period Urged.
The board proposed that the max
imum period of payment of unem-
ployment benefits be raised from l6
weeks to 20 weeks. Mr.. Marshall
said the average payment period
during 1898, the first year during
which payments were made, was IL
weeks, and that the average for the
past calendar year was IA weeks.
He said he believed the proposed
new maximum would be as much or
more than that of most of the
States.
officials of the board said they
would consult Representative Nc
Gehee, Democrat, of Mississippi q
member of the House District Com.
mittee, in the preparation of the
proposed new legislation Mr.. Nc
Gehee said at the last regular ses-
sion he sponsored bill dealing with
the same subject. but the proposals
dIc SOIilcWIldt ul1eTeIlU.
Mr.. Marshall said today that as of
January 2 the District board had a
trust account, or balance in its
funds at the Treasury, of $16.091 900.
He said that during the past calen-
dar year the District board paid out
in benefits some s1,400,00O.
Civil Service System Asked.
Apparently the District still would
be able to maintain q very large
balance at the Treasury if the
changes were adopted, since the tax
rate would be reduced by only 3 per
cent and since Mr.. Marshall's rough
calculation was that liberalization
of the period of benefit payments
and the higher maximum payments
probably would cause disbursements
to increase by but some $3.50 900 a
year.
Another proposal included in the
boards program would call for q
full-f1edged civil service system for
the employees of the board. Board
officials said this would be placed
under the proposed District of CO.
lumbia civil service system if Con-
gress at this session decides to give
the District full-fedged merit
system, as is proposed in the Com
missioners' plan for reorganization
of the municipal establishment. If
this is not done, it was said, the
proposal would be to place the
board employees under Federal civil
service.
Tax Only on First $4,000.
Another change proposed by the
board would be to exempt from
the employers tax salaries or wages
which exceed $1,000. It was said
this would be in conformity with
Federal practice.
At the present time District en-
ployers are required to pay the
per cent pay roll contribution on
the full amount of salaries of all
covered employees, even though some
employees may be paid much more
than $1,000 a year. Under the pro-
posed plan an employer would pay
the tax only on the first $1,000 of an
employees salary.
Another change proposed by the
District board would strike from the
act the requirement that an unem-
ployed person to be eligible for bene-
fit payment must show that he had
worked 13 weeks during the 80
weeks preceding application. In
stead, the board proposes a substi-
tute requiring the applicant to show
that he has earned $50 or more in
the preceding So weeks.