An Act to amend section 801 of the act entitled ""An Act to establish a code of law for the District of Columbia,"" approved March 3, 1901
PL 87-423 (H.R.5143), enacted 03/22/1962

46 
PUBLIC LAW 87-423-MAR. 22, 1962 
[76 STAT. 
March 22, 1962 
[H. R. 5143] 
Public Law 87-423 
AN ACT 
To amend section <
S
0
1 of the Act entitled "An Act to establish a code of law 
for the District of Columbia", approved March 3, 1901. 
D. c. 
Murder in f i r s t 
and s e c o n d 
de-
grees. 
Punishment. 
D. C. Code 22-
2404. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Bepresentatwes 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That section 801 of 
the Act entitled "An Act to establish a code of law for the District 
of Columbia", approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1189, 1321), is 
amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 801. PUNISHMENT.—The punishment of murder in the first 
degree shall be death by electrocution unless the jury by unanimous 
vote recommends life imprisonment; or if the jury, having determined 
by unanimous vote the guilt of the defendant as charged, is unable 
to agree as to punishment it shall inform the court and the court shall 
thereupon have jurisdiction to impose and shall impose either a sen-
tence of death by electrocution or life imprisonment. 
"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person convicted 
of first degree murder and upon whom a sentence of life imprison-
ment is imposed shall be eligible for parole only after the expiration 
of twenty years frbm the date he commences to serve his sentence. 
"Whoever is guilty of murder in the second degree shall be impris-
oned for life or not less than twenty years. 
"Cases tried prior to the effective date of this Act and which are 
before the court for the purpose of sentence or resentence shall be 
governed by the provisions of law in effect prior to the effective date 
of this Act: Provided^ That the judge may, in his sole discretion, 
consider circumstances in mitigation and in aggravation and make a 
determination as to whether the case in his opinion justifies a sentence 
of life imprisonment, in which event he shall sentence the defendant 
to life imprisonment. 
Such a sentence of life imprisonment shall be 
in accordance with the^provisons of this Act. 
"In any case tried under this Act as amended where the penalty 
prescribed by law upon conviction of the defendant is death except 
m cases otherwise provided, the jury returning a verdict of guilty may 
by unanimous vote fix the punishment at life imprisonment; and there-
upon the court shall sentence him accordingly; but if the jury shall 
not thus prescribe the punishment the court shall sentence the defend-
ant to suffer death by electrocution unless the jury by its verdict indi-
cates that it is unable to agree upon the punishment, in which case 
the court shall sentence the defendant to death or life imprisonment." 
Approved March 22, 1962. 
March 30, 1962 
[H. R. 5968] 
Public Law 87-424 
AN ACT 
To amend the District of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act, as 
amended. 
D. C. Unemploy-
m e n t 
Compensa-
tion A c t , amend-
ment. 
57 Stat. 101. 
Be- it enxxcted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That subsection 
(b)(5)(G) of the first section of the District of Columbia Unemploy-
ment Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-301 (b) (5) (G)) 
is 
amended by striking out "religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or 
educational purposes," and inserting in lieu thereof "religious, or 
charitable purposes,". 
76 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 87-424-MAR. 30, 1962 
47 
SEC. 2. The first section of the District of Columbia Unemployment 
Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-301) is further amended by 
adding at the end thereof the following: 
"(v) The term 'insured work' means employment for employers." 
SEC. 3. Section 3(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Unemployment 
Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-303 (c) (1)) is amended to read 
as follows: 
"(1) The Board shall maintain a separate account for each em-
ployer, and shall credit his account with all of the contributions paid 
by him after June 30, 1939, with respect to employment subsequent 
to May 31, 1939. Each year the Board shall credit to each of such 
accounts having a positive reserve on the computation date, the interest 
earned from the Federal Government in the following manner: Each 
year the ratio of the credit balance in each individual account to the 
total of all the credit balances in all employer accounts shall be com-
puted as of such computation date, and an amount equal to the interest 
credited to the District's account in the unemployment trust fund in 
the Treasury of the United States for the four most recently completed 
calendar quarters shall be credited prior to the next computation date 
on the pro rata basis to all employers' accounts having a credit balance 
on the computation date. Such amount shall be prorated to the 
individual accounts in the same ratio that the credit balance in each 
individual account bears to the total of the credit balances in all such 
accounts. 
In computing the amount to be credited to the account of 
an employer as a result of interest earned by funds on deposit in the 
unemployment trust fund in the Treasury of the United States to the 
account of the District, any voluntary contribution made by an em-
ployer after June 30 of any year shall not be considered a part of the 
account balance of the employer until the next computation date 
occurring after such voluntary contribution was made. 
Nothing in 
this Act shall be construed to grant any employer or individual in his 
service prior claims or rights to the amounts paid by him into the fund 
either on his own behalf or on behalf of such individuals," 
SEC. 4. Section 3(c) (8) (i) of the District of Columbia Unemploy-
ment Compensation Act 
(D.C. Code, sec. 46-303(c) (8) (i)) 
is 
amended to read as follows: 
"(i) If as of the computation date the total of all contributions 
credited to any employer's account, with respect to employment 
since May 31, 1939, is in excess of the total benefits paid after 
June 30, 1939, then chargeable or charged to his account, such 
excess shall be known as the employer's reserve, and his contribu-
tion rate for the ensuing calendar year or part thereof shall be— 
"(A) 2.7 per centum if such reserve is less than 0.8 per 
centum of his average annual payroll; 
"(B) 2 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 0.8 
per centum but is less than 1.3 per centum of his average 
annual payroll; 
"(C) 1.5 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 1.3 
per centum but is less than 1.8 per centum of his average 
annual payroll; 
"(D) 1 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 1.8 
per centum but is less than 2.8 per centum of his average 
annual payroll; 
"(E) 0.5 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 2.8 
per centum but is less than 3.3 per centum of his average 
annual payroll; 
"(F) 0.1 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 3.3 
per centum of his average annual payroll." 
68 Stat. 989. 
•• Insured work.»» 
57 Stat. 106. 
Employer contri-
butions. 
68 Stat. 991. 
Employ er»!} re-
serve. 
48 
PUBLIC LAW 87-424-MAR. 30, 1962 
[76 STAT. 
60 Stat. 528. 
Employer's v o l -
untary c o n t r i b u -
tions. 
68 Stat. 993. 
• • Weekly benefit 
amount.»» 
Oual i f i c a t i o n 
standards. 
SEC. 5. Section 3(c) (8) of the District of Columbia Unemployment 
Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-303(c) (8)) is further amended 
by adding at the end thereof the following: 
"(iv) Any employer, at any time, may voluntarily pay into the un-
employment compensation fund an amount in excess of the contri-
butions required to b3 paid under the provisions of this Act, and 
such amount shall be forthwith credited to his reserve account. 
His 
rate of contribution shall be computed, or recomputed, as the case 
may be, with such amount included in the calculation. 
To affect such 
employer's rate of contribution for any year, such amount shall be 
f
)aid not later than thirty days following the mailing of notice of 
J 
is rate of contribution for such year, and not later than one hundred 
and twenty days after the commencement of such year. 
Such 
amount, when paid as aforesaid, shall not be refunded or used as a 
credit in the payment of contributions in whole or in part." 
SEC. 6. Subsections (b), (c), and (d) of section 7 of the District 
of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-
307 (b), (c), and (d)) are amended to read as follows: 
"(b) An individual's 'weekly benefit amount' shall be an amount 
equal to one twenty-third (computed to the next higher multiple of 
$1) of his total wages for insured work paid during that quarter of 
his base period in which such total wages were highest, with such other 
following limitations. 
If an individual's weekly benefit amount is less 
than $8, it shall be $8. The Director shall determine annually a 
maximum weekly benefit amount by computing 50 per centum of the 
average weekly wage paid to employees in insured work, and shall on 
or before January 1 of the calendar year in which it shall be effective 
announce by publication in at least one newspaper of general circula-
tion in the District, the maximum weekly benefit amount so deter-
mined. Such computation shall be made by determining total wages 
reported as paid for insured work by employers in each twelve-month 
period ending June 30, and dividing said total wages by a figure 
resulting from fifty-two times the average of midmonth employment 
reported by employers for the same period. For the period from the 
effective date oi this Act to December 31, 1962, the maximum weekly 
benefit amount shall be determined and announced by the Director 
in accordance with the foregoing formula on the basis of wages and 
employment in the twelve-month period ending June 30, 1961. The 
maximum weekly benefit amount so determined and announced for 
a calendar year shall apply only to those claims filed in that year 
qualifying for maximum payment under the foregoing formula. All 
claims qualifying for payment at the maximum weekly benefit amount 
shall be paid at the maximum weekly benefit amount in effect when 
the benefit year to which the claim relates was first established, not-
withstanding a change in said amount for a subsequent calendar 
year. If the maximum weekly benefit amount is not a multiple of $1, 
then said maximum weekly benefit amount shall be computed to the 
next higher multiple of $1. 
"(c) To qualify for benefits an individual must have (1) been paid 
wages for employment of not less than $130 in one quarter in his 
base period, (2) been paid wages for employment of not less than 
$276 in not less than two quarters in such period, and (3) received 
during such period wages the total amount of which is equal to at 
least one and one-half times the amount of his wages for the quarter 
in such period in which his wages were the highest. 
Notwithstanding 
the provisions of clause (3), any otherwise qualified individual, the 
total amount of whose wages during such period is less than the 
amount required to have been received during such period under 
such clause, may qualify for benefits if the differences between the 
76 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 87-424r-MAR. 30, 1962 
49 
amounts so required to have been received and the total amount of his 
wages during such period does not exceed $70, but the amount of 
his weekly benefit, as computed under section 7(b), shall be reduced 
by $1 if such difference does not exceed $35 or by $2 if such difference 
is more than $35. Wages received by an individual in the period inter-
vening between the end of his last base period and the beginning of 
his last benefit year and paid by employers who were his base period 
employers in such last base period shall not be available for benefit 
purposes in a subsequent benefit year unless he has, subsequent to 
the commencement of such last benefit year, received remuneration 
for personal services, whether or not such services were performed 
in employment as defined in this Act, in an amount equal to at least 
ten times the weekly benefit amount for which he qualifies in such 
last benefit year. 
Benefits payable to an individual with respect to 
a week shall be reduced, under regulations prescribed by the Board, 
by any amount received with respect to such week as a retirement 
pension or annuity under a public or private retirement plan or system 
provided, or contributed to, by any base period employer. 
An amount 
received with respect to a period other than a week shall be prorated 
by weeks. 
No reduction shall be made under the preceding two 
sentences for (A) any retirement pension or annuity received by 
reason of disability, or (B) any amount received under title I I of 
the Social Security Act. 
"(d) Any otherwise eligible individual shall be entitled during 
any benefit year to a total amount of benefits equal to thirty-four 
times his weekly benefit amount or 50 percent of the wages for em-
ployment paid to such individual by employers during his base period, 
whichever is the lesser. 
Such total amount of benefits, if not a 
multiple of $1, shall be computed to the next higher multiple of $1." 
SEC. 7. Subsection (f) of section 7 of the District of Columbia Un-
employment Compensation Act 
(D.C. Code, sec. 46-307(f)) 
is 
amended by strikmg out "$30" and inserting in lieu thereof "the 
established maximum benefit amount". 
SEC. 8. Clause (b) of section 9 of the District of Columbia Unem-
ployment Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-309) is amended to 
read as follows: 
"(b) that he has during his base period been paid wages for 
employment by employers equal to those required by subsection 
(c) of section 7." 
SEC. 9. Subsections (d) and (e) of section 10 of the District of 
Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act (D.C. Code, sec. 46-310 
(d) and (e)) are amended to read as follows: 
"(d) (1) Benefits shall not be denied to any otherwise eligible indi-
vidual for refusing to accej)t new work under any of the following 
conditions: (A) If the position offered is vacant due directly to a 
strike, lockout, or other labor dispute; (B) if the wages, earnings, 
hours, or other conditions of the work offered are less favorable to 
the individual than those prevailing for similar work in the locality; 
(C) if as a condition of being employed the individual would be 
rwjuired to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from 
Joining any bona fide labor organization. 
"(2) Compensation shall not be denied to any otherwise eligible 
individual for any week during which he is attending a training or 
retraining course with the approval of the Board, and such individual 
shall be deemed to be otherwise eligible for any such week despite the 
provisions of section 9(d) and subsection (c) of this section. 
"(e) If any individual otherwise eligible for benefits fails, without 
good cause as determined by the Board under regulations prescribed 
70 Stat. 8:i7. 
42 u s e 401-425. 
68 Stat. 994. 
57 Stat. 114. 
P i squaliflcation 
for benefit!}, ex-
ceptions. 
Training (j r re-
training 
c o u r s e , 
eligibility c o n d i-
78135 0-63—7 
s
o 
PUBLIC LAW 87-425-MAR. 30, 1962 
[76 STAT. 
Effective date. 
by it, to attend a training or retraining course when recommended by 
the manager of the employment office or by the Board and such course 
is available at public expense, he shall not be eligible for benefits with 
respect to any week in which such failure occurred." 
SEC. 10. The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 
first day of the first calendar quarter which begins after the date of 
enactment of this Act. 
Approved March 30, 1962. 
March 30,1962 
Public Law 87-425 
AN ACT 
[s. 2533] 
To amend the requirements for participation in tlie 1962 feed grain program. 
Agriculture. 
F e e d grain pro-
gram, 1962. 
72 Stat. 994; 
75 Stat. 301. 
7 u s e 1441 note. 
49 Stat. 1151; 
75 Stat. 302. 
16 u s e 590p. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That section 105 
(c) (4) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended by changing the 
parenthetical statement in the first sentence to read as follows: 
"(except in the case of a producer of malting barley as hereinafter 
described and except in the case of a producer of barley on a summer-
fallow farm as hereinafter described)", and by changing the period 
at the end of such section to a colon and adding the following: ^''Pro-
vided further^ That no producer of barley on a farm where summer 
fallow is the normal practice shall be required to participate in the 
special agricultural conservation program for 1962 for barley if he 
(i) does not knowingly devote an acreage on the farm to barley in 
excess of the average acreage devoted on the farm to barley in 1959 
and 1960 plus the acreage devoted to summer fallow in 1961 which is 
diverted from the production of wheat under the special 1962 wheat 
program, and (ii) does not knowingly devote an acreage on the farm 
to corn, grain sorghums, and barley in excess of 80 per centum of 
the average acreage devoted on the farm to com, grain sorghums, and 
barley in 1959 and 1960." 
SEC. 2. Section 16(d) (1) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic 
Allotment Act is amended by changing the parenthetical statement in 
the second sentence to read as follows: "(other than a producer of 
malting barley as described in section 105(c) (4) of the Agricultural 
Act of 1949, or a producer of barley on a summer-fallow farm as 
described in such section)", and by inserting after the second sentence 
a new sentence reading as follows: "The excess, if any, of the acreage 
devoted to barley in 1962 on a summer-fallow farm as decribed m 
section 105(c) (4) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 over the average 
acreage devoted to barley on such farm in 1959 and 1960 shall be 
considered as planted to com and grain sorghums for the purpose of 
determining extent of participation and payments under the special 
agricultural conservation program for 1962 for corn and grain 
sorghums." 
Approved March 30, 1962. 
•ar