Sick Bene- fits - eupplemental.'
"Thus,two types of benefitisare'avallableto.the employees: (1) benefitspaid in accordancewith the plan, and (2) the sup- plementalbenefitspaid in accordancewith the.CompanY'spolicy. This plan 'ispresentedl,ndetail in the'attached,four-pagemimeo- graphedinstrument.
"DismiesalWages . .>
HonorableOrvilleS. Carpenter,Page 3 (o-2248)
"'Dismissalwages' are amountsof money paid to employees of the companyupon the terminationof their employment. The companypays a dischargedindividual,upon his discharge,a sum of money over and above his regularwages, which varies in amount directlywith the lengthof his servicerecordwith the company. There is no legal obligationon the part of the com- pany, contractualor otherwise,to pay these dismissalwages."
Section(0) of Article5221b-17of the Texas UnemploymentCompensa- tion Act, same being Acts 1936, 44th Legislature,3rd C.S., Page 1993, Ch. 482, definesthe word "wages"as follows:
fl'Wages' means all remunerationpayablefor perso&l serv- ices, includingcommissions and bonusesand cash value of all remunerationpayablein any medium other then cash. Gratuities customarilyreceivedby an individualin the course of his em- ploymentfrom personsother than his employingunit shallbe treatedas wages payableby his employingunit. The reasonable cash'value.ofremunerationpayablein any medium other than cash, and the reasonableamountof gratuities,shall be estimat'ed and determinedin accorrlqn.ce with rules prescribedby the~Commiesion."
Under the above definitionof gg@s the'Commi$sion,on July 2, 1937, adoptedRe&.ation No. .36 which reads, in-part,as.follows:
"(2) DiemissalWages. Paymentto an employeeof so-called dismissalwages, vacationallowance,or sick pay, constitutes Wages.
"(4) Premiumson Life Insurance. Geneiallyppemiumapaid by en employeron a policy of life.ins!xanFecoveringthe life of en employeeconstitute,wages If the emplpyeris not a bene- ficiaryunder the policy. However,premiumapaid by an employer on policiesof group life l.qumnce covering the lives of his .employeesare not wages, if the employeehas no tiption to take the amount of the premiumainsteadof acceptingth6 insurance end has no'equityin the pol$cy {su& aB the right of assign- ment or the right to the surrendervalue on termi+ationof his employment."
RegulationNo. 36 was supersededby RegulationNo:38 on September 5, 1939. RegulationNo.,38, contraryto Regulation.36,is silentupon.thesub- ject of whether or not.accidentand sick benefits,diemissa!$ wages, or premiums paid on insurancepoliciesare wages.
Under the Annuities,Instiance~andSavingsProgramwe fitidthat upon terminationof employment,en empioyeereceivesa paid-up deferredannuitywhich was paid for with the.employee'sown contribution,or the employee.mayelect to
. HonorableOrvilleS..Carpenter,Page 4 (0-2248)
receive in lieu thereof cash equal to the sum of the employee'sown contribu- tion: With respectto the employer'scontribution, the employeereceivesa paid-up deferredannuitywhich has no cash surrendervalue and which is not assignable.
To the extentthat an employee'screditbalance in his savingsac- count permits,it may all be used by him-topurchaseinsuranceor it may be withdrawnin cash; provided,however,that the cash withdrawaldoes not exceed one-half(l/2) of the amount in his savingsaccount.
As is seen from the above quoted statute,wages includesall remunera- tion payablefor personalservices. Even though the employerimposescertain additionalconditionsto enablethe employeeto receivethe benefitsfrom the employer'scontributionto the trust fund, nevertheless,in view of the broad definitionof wages as definedby statute,we are of the opinionthat the em- ployer'scontributions to the trust fund are wages within the meaningof the above quoted statuteand such contributions are subjectto thexnemployment compensation+x+x.
It seems that the employer,In additionto matchingthe employee's contribution, may from time to time make additionalcc+trlbutionsto the trust fund. We are unable to determinedefinitelywhetherthis contributionwould be wages since we do not know the particularspertainingto such contributions; If the employeereceivesadditionalannuities,insurance, or savingsfrom