An Act to amend the District of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act, and for other purposes
PL 83-721 (S.3482), enacted 08/31/1954

988 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
[68 S T A T . 
Public Law 721 
CHAPTER 1139 
. , , 
IOC. 
A N A C T 
August 31, 1954 
\^*3^^2] 
To amend the District of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act, and for 
other purposes. 
301. 
Service 
State. 
within a 
Service on v e s -
sels. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
lumbfi^*^* of Co- United States of America in Congress assemhled^ That the District 
Unemployment of Columbia Unemployment Compensation Act, approved August 
''T7'lt"at!"i°oo*. 
28, 1935 (49 Stat. 946), as amended (title 46, ch. 3, D. C. Code, 1951 
D. c. Code 46- edition), is further amended as follows: 
Section 1 (b) (2) (B) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following: 
"Service shall be deemed to be localized within a State if— 
"(i) the service is performed entirely within such State; or 
"(ii) the service is performed both within and without such 
State, but the service performed without such State is incidental 
to the individual's service within the State, for example, is tem-
porary or transitory in nature or consists of isolated transac-
tions." 
Section 1 (b) (4) is amended to read as follows: 
"(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, the 
term employment shall also include all service performed after the 
effective date of this amendment by an officer or member of the crew 
of an American vessel on or in connection with such vessel, provided 
that the operating office, from which the operations of such vessel 
operating on navigable waters within or within and without the 
United States are ordinarily and regularly supervised, managed, 
directed, and controlled, is within the District." 
Section 1 (b) (5) is amended by adding at the end thereof the fol-
lowing subsections: 
" (Q) service performed on or in connection with a vessel not an 
American vessel by an individual if he performed service on and 
in connection with such vessel when outside the United States; 
"(R) service performed by an individual in (or as an officer or 
member of the crew of a vesssel while it is engaged in) the catch-
ing, taking, harvesting, cultivating, or farming of any kind of 
fish, shellfish, Crustacea, sponges, seaweeds, or other aquatic forms 
of animal and vegetable life (including service performed by any 
such individual as an ordinary incident to any such activity), ex-
cept (A) service performed in connection with the catching or tak-
ing of salmon or halibut, for commercial purposes, and (B) serv-
ice performed on or in connection with a vessel of more than ten 
net tons (determined in the manner provided for determining 
tlie register tonnage of merchant vessels under the laws of the 
United States)." 
Section 1 (b) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
subsections: 
"(7) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of subsection 1 (b) (5) 
of this Act, services shall be deemed to be in employment if with re-
spect to such services a tax is required to be paid under any Federal 
law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions 
required to be paid into a State unemployment compensation fund. 
"(8) (i) Any service performed for an employing unit, which is 
excluded under the definition of employment in section 1 (b) (5) and 
with respect to which no payments are required under the employment 
security law of another State or of the Federal Government may be 
^vine^Slit''^ *""" ^^emed to constitute employment for all purposes of this Act: Pro-
vided^ That the Board has approved a written election to that effect 
filed by the employing unit for which the service is performed, as of 
Services in em 
ployment. 
ploying unit. 
68 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
(he date stated in such approval. 
No election shall be approved by the 
Board unless it (A) includes all the service of the type specified in 
each establishment or place of business for which the election is made, 
and (B) is made for not less than two calendar years. 
"(ii) Any service which, because of an election by an employing 
unit under section 1 (b) (8) (i),is employment subject to this Act 
shall cease to be employment subject to the Act as of January 1 of any 
calendar year subsequent to the two calendar years of the election, only 
if not later than March 15 of such year, either such employing unit has 
filed with the Board a written notice to that effect, or the Board on its 
own motion has given notice of termination of such coverage." 
Section 1 (c) is amended by repealing subsection (1) and renumber-
ing subsection (2) to be subsection (1) and subsection (3) to be sub-
section (2) and subsection (4) to be subsection (3). 
Section 1 (h) is amended to read as follows: 
"(h) 'Benefit year' with respect to any individual means the fifty-
two consecutive-week period beginning with the first day of the first 
week with respect to which the individual first files a valid claim for 
benefits, and thereafter the fifty-two consecutive-week period begin-
ning with the first day of the first week with respect to Avhich the indi-
vidual next files a valid claim for benefits after the termination of his 
last preceding benefit year. Any claim for benefits made in accordance 
with section 11 of this Act shall be deemed to be a 'valid claim' for the 
purposes of this subsection if the individual has during his base period 
been paid wages for employment by employers as required by the pro-
visions of section 7 of the Act." 
Section 1 (m) is amended to read as folloAvs: 
"(m) 'Employment office' means a free public employment office or 
branch thereof operated by this or any other State as a part of a State-
controlled system of public employment offices or by a Federal agency 
or any agency of a foreign government charged with the administra-
tion of an unemployment-insurance program or free public employ-
ment offices." 
Section 1 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-
sections : 
"(t) The term 'American vessel' means any vessel documented or 
numbered under the laws of the United States; and includes any vessel 
which is neither documented or numbered under the laws of the United 
States nor documented under the laws of any foreign country, if its 
crew performs service solely for one or more citizens or residents of 
the United States or corporations organized under the laws of the 
United States or of any State. 
" (u) The term 'principal base period employer' means the employer 
that paid a claimant the greatest amount of wages used in the com-
putation of his claim. In the event two or more employers paid the 
claimant identical amounts, the employer in such group for whom the 
claimant most recently worked shall be the principal base period em-
ployer." 
Section 3 (c) (1) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following: 
"Each year the Board shall credit to each of such accounts having a 
positive reserve on the computation date, the interest earned by such 
accounts from the Federal Government. This shall be done by averag-
ing the interest rate paid for the four quarters ending on the computa-
tion date and crediting to each such account the amount which the 
reserve on such computation date would earn at such average rate of 
interest." 
Section 3 (c) (2) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following: 
D. C. Code 46-
301. 
'Benefit year." 
D. C. Code 4 6-
311. 
"Valid claim." 
Poat, p. 993. 
"E m p l o y t n e n t 
office." 
"American ves-
s e l . " 
"Principal base 
period employer,." 
D. C. Code 46-
303. 
Interest on r(s-
serve. 
990 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
[68 S T A T 
Notice of p a y -
ment. 
60 Stat. 527. 
D. C. Code 46-
303. 
Transfer of busi-
ness; successor. 
Benefit charge-
ability. 
Successor's rate 
of contributions. 
"The principal base period employer shall be notified of each pay-
ment of benefits to a claimant at the time of such payment." 
Sections (c) (7) (a) is amended to read as follows: 
"(a) If 25 per centum or more of the business of any employer is 
transferred, the transferee shall be determined a successor for the 
purposes of this section. 
"(i) If the Board is unable to get information upon which to deter-
mine whether or not 25 per centum of the business has been transferred, 
it may, in its discretion, make such determination based upon the 
quarterly payrolls of the employers involved for the last complete 
calendar quarter prior to the transfer and the first complete calendar 
quarter after such transfer. 
"(ii) In the event of a transfer of 25 per centum or more of the 
assets of a covered employer's business by any means whatever, other-
wise than in the ordinary course of trade, such transfer shall be deemed 
a transfer of business and shall constitute the transferee a successor 
hereunder, unless the Board, on its own motion or on application of an 
interested party, finds that all of the following conditions exist: 
"(1) The transferee has not assumed any of the transferor's 
obligations; 
"(2) The transferee has not continued or resumed transferor's 
goodwill; 
"(3) The transferee has not continued or resumed the business 
of the transferor, either in the same establishment or elsewhere; 
and 
"(4) The transferee has not employed substantially the same 
employees as those the transferor had employed in connection 
with the assets transferred." 
Section 3 (c) (7) (c) is amended to read as follows: 
"(c) The successor shall take over and continue the employer's 
account, including its reserve and all other aspects of its experience 
under this section, in proportion to the payroll assignable to the trans-
ferred business as determined for the purposes of this section by the 
Board. 
However, his successor shall take over only the reserve actu-
ally credited to the account of the transferor or for which the trans-
feror has filed a claim with the Board at the date of transfer. 
The 
successor shall be secondarily liable for any amounts owed by the 
employer to the fund at the time of such transfer; but such liability 
shall be proportioned to the extent of the transfer of business and 
shall not exceed the value of the assets transferred." 
Section 3 (c) (7) (d) is amended to read as follows: 
"(d) The benefit chargeability of a successor's account under sec-
tion 3 (c), if not accrued before the transfer date, shall begin to accrue 
on the transfer date in case the transferor's benefit chargeability was 
then accruing; or shall begin to accrue on the date otherwise appli-
cable to the successor, or on the date otherwise applicable to the trans-
feror, whichever is earlier, in case the transferor's benefit charge-
ability was not accruing on the transfer date. 
Similarly, benefits 
from a successor's account, if not chargeable before the transfer date, 
shall become chargeable on the transfer date, in case the transferor 
was then chargeable for benefit payments; or shall become charge-
able on the date otherwise applicable to the successor or on the date 
otherwise applicable to the transferor, whichever is earlier, in case 
the transferor was chargeable for benefit payments on the transfer 
date." 
Sections (c) (7) (f) is amended to read as follows: 
"(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, if the 
successor employer was an employer subject to this Act prior to the 
date of transfer, his rate of contributions the remainder of the calendar 
68 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
m 
year shall be his rate with respect to the period iimiiediately preceding 
his date of acquisition. If the successor was not an employer prior to 
the date of transfer, his rate shall be the rate applicable to the trans-
feror or transferors with respect to the period immediately preceding 
the date of transfer: Provided, That there was only one transferor or 
there were only transferors with identical rates; if the transferor rates 
were not identical, the successor's rate shall be the highest rate appli-
cable to any of the transferors with respect to the period immediately 
preceding the date of transfer. 
The rate of the transferor, if still 
subject to the Act, will not be redetermined and shall remain the rate 
with respect to the period innnediately preceding the date of transfer. 
"For future years, for the purposes of section 3 (c), the Board shall 
determine the 'experience under this section' of the successor em-
ployer's account and of the transferring employer's account by allo-
cating to the successor employer's account for each period in question 
the respective proportions of the transferring employer's payroll, 
contributions, and the benefit charges which the Board determines to 
be properly assignable to the business transferred." 
Section 3(c) (7) (^) is hereby repealed. 
Section 3 (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 contribution rate for the ensuing 
calendar year or part thereof shall be— 
"(A) 2.7 per centum if such reserve is less than 0.9 per centum 
of his average annual payroll; 
"(B) 2 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 0.9 per 
centum but is less than 1.4 per centum of his average annual pay-
roll; 
"(C) 1.5 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 1.4 per 
centum but is less than 1.9 per centum of his average annual pay-
roll; 
"(D) 1 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 1.9 per 
centum but is less than 2.9 per centum of his average annual pay-
roll; 
"(E) 0.5 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 2.9 per 
centum but is less than 3.4 per centum of his average annual pay-
roll; 
" ( F ) 0.1 per centum if such reserve equals or exceeds 3.4 per 
centum of his average annual payroll." 
Section 3 (c) (10) is amended by substituting the word "thirty" for 
the word "fifteen" in the second and seventh sentences thereof. 
Section 3 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 
subsections: 
"(e) From December 31, 1939, to January 1, 1955, wages, for the 
purpose of section 3, shall not include any amount in excess of $3,000 
paid by an employer to any person arising out of his or her employment 
during any calendar year. After December 31, 1954, wages shall not 
include any amount in excess of $3,000 (or in excess of the limitation 
on the amount of taxable wages fixed by the Federal Unemployment 
Tax Act (26 U. S. C 1600, 1607), whichever is greater) actually paid 
by an employer to any person during any calendar year. After Decem-
ber 31, 1954, the term 'employment' for the purpose of this subsection 
shall include services constituting employment under any employment 
security law of another State or of the Federal Government. 
"(f) In the event the District of Columbia should* elect to cover 
employees under this Act under the provisions of section 1 (b) (8) 
60 Stat. 528. 
D. C. Code 4(5-
303. 
57 Stat. 107. 
C o n t r i b u t i o n 
rate. 
Application 
review. 
for 
Wage limitation. 
68A Stat. 439. 
D. C. payments. 
Ante, p. 988. 
992 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
[68 
S T A T . 
D. C. Code 46-
304. 
Penalty for non-
payment, etCa 
Death, dissolu-
tion, etc., of em-
ployer. 
P r i o r i t y 
of 
claims. 
Charging off of 
accounts. 
Escrow account. 
(i) in lieu of contributions required of employers under this Act, the 
District of Columbia shall pay into the fund an amount equivalent 
to the amount of benefits paid to individuals based on wages paid by 
the District. 
If benefits paid an individual are based on wages paid 
by both the District of Columbia and one or more other employers, 
the amount payable by the District to the fund shall bear the same 
ratio to total benefits paid to the individual as the base-period wages 
paid to the individual by the District of Columbia bears to the total 
amount of the base-period wages paid to the individual by all of his 
base-period employers. 
"The amount of payment required under this section shall be ascer-
tained by the Board quarterly and shall be paid from the general 
funds of the District at such time and in such manner as the Commis-
sioners of the District of Columbia may prescribe except that to the 
extent that benefits are paid on wages paid by the District from spe-
cial administrative funds, the payment by the District into the unem-
ployment fund shall be made from such special funds. 
"(g) Contributions due under this Act with respect to wages for 
insured work shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed to have 
been paid to the fund as of the date payment was made as contribu-
tions therefor under another State or Federal employment security 
law if payment into the fund of such contributions is made on such 
terms as the director finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected 
interests. Payments to the fund under this subsection shall be deemed 
to be contributions for purposes of section 3." 
Section 4(c) is amended to read as follows: 
"(c) (1) If contributions are not paid when due, there shall be added, 
as part of the contributions, interest at the rate of one-half of 1 per 
centum per month or fraction thereof from the date the contributions 
became due until paid. 
" (2) If contributions or wage reports are not filed when due or con-
tributions are not paid when due, there shall be added as part of the 
contributions a penalty of 10 per centum of the contributions, but such 
penalty shall not be less than $5 nor more than $25 and for good cause 
such penalty may be waived by the Board with the approval of the 
Commissioners of the District of Columbia." 
Section 4 (d) is amended to read as follows: 
"(d) In the event of the death, dissolution, insolvency, receivership, 
bankruptcy, composition, or assignment for benefit of creditors of any 
employer, contributions then or thereafter due from such employer 
under this section shall have priority over all other claims, except taxes 
due the United States or the District, and wages (not exceeding $600 
with respect to any individual) due for services performed within the 
three months preceding such event." 
Section 4 (j) is amended by substituting the following: 
"(j) The Board in its discretion, whenever it may deem it adminis-
tratively advisable, may charge off of its books any unpaid account due 
the Board or any credit due an employer who has been out of business 
for a period of more than three years. Whenever an account is 
charged off by the Board, there shall be placed in the minutes of the 
Board a reason for such action." 
Section 4 (1) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: 
"There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a 
special escrow account into which the Board shall deposit all funds re-
ceived in connection with an offer of compromise. 
Such funds shall be 
kept in such escrow account until final action is had upon the offer of 
compromise and shall not be subject to offset for any indebtedness 
whatsoever. 
In the event the compromise is approved, the funds shall 
be transferred to the District Unemployment Compensation Funds. In 
68 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
993 
the event the compromise is disapproved, the funds shall be immedi-
ately returned to the individual who made the offer of compromise." 
Section 7 is amended to read as follows: 
D. 
307. C. Code 46" 
AMOUNT AND DURATION OF BENEFITS 
"SEC. 7. (a) On and after January 1,1938, benefits shall become pay-
able from the benefit account of the District unemployment fund. 
All benefits shall be paid through employment offices, in accordance 
with such regulations as the Board may prescribe. 
"(b) Except as provided in section 7 (c), an individual's weekly bene-
fit amount shall be the amount in column (B) of the table in this sub-
section on the line on which, in column (A), there appears his total 
wages for employment paid to such individual by employers during 
that quarter of his base period in which such wages were the highest. 
"TABLE A 
'High-quarter wages 
(ccl. A) 
$130.00 to $184.. 
$184.01 to $207.. 
$207.01 to $230.. 
$230.01 to $253-. 
$253.01 to $276.. 
$276.01 to $299,. 
$299.01 to $322. _ 
$322.01 to $345.. 
$345.01 to $368.-
$368.01 to $391.. 
$391.01 to $414.. 
$414.01 to $437.-
$437.01 to $460.. 
$460.01 to $483.. 
$483.01 to $506.. 
$506.01 to $529.. 
$529.01 to $552.. 
$552.01 to $575. -
$575.01 to $598-. 
$598.01 to $621.. 
$621.01 to $644.. 
$644.01 to $667-. 
$667.01 and over 
Minimum 
qualifying 
wages 
(col. C) 
$276 
310 
345 
379 
414 
448 
483 
517 
552 
586 
621 
655 
690 
724 
759 
793 
828 
862 
897 
931 
966 
1,000 
1,035 
"(c) To qualify for benefits an individual must have been paid 
wages for employment in his base period totaling not less than the 
amount in column (C) of the table in section 7 (b) on the line on 
which, in column (B), there appears his weekly benefit amount, and 
such wages must have been in at least two calendar quarters in his base 
period: Provided^ That if an individual during his base period has 
not been paid such an amount, but has been paid wages in more than 
one calendar quarter totaling not less than the amount appearing on 
one of the lines in column (C) above, he can qualify for benefits and 
his weekly benefit amount shall be the amount appearing in column 
(B) on the line for which the individual qualifies for benefits in 
column (C). 
"(d) Any otherwise eligible individual shall be entitled during any 
benefit year to a total amount of benefits equal to twenty-six times his 
Aveekly benefit amount or thirty-three and one-third per centum of the 
Avages for employment paid to such individual by employers during 
his base period, whichever is the lesser: Provided, 
That such total 
amount of benefits, if not a multiple of $1, shall be computed to the 
next higher multiple of $1. 
"(e) Any individual who is unemployed in any week as defined in 
section 1 (e) and who meets the conditions of eligibility for benefits of 
section 9 and is not disqualified under the provisions of section 10 shall 
be paid with respect to such week an amount equal to his weekly benefit 
D. C. Code 46-
301(e). 
39777 O—55—pt. 1-
-65 
994 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
[68 S 
T A T 
D i s q u a l i f ica-
tions. 
D. C. Code 46-
310. 
L e a v i n g 
work 
w i t h o u t 
g o o d 
cause< 
D i s c h a r g e for 
mlsconducta 
Failure to apply 
for or accept new 
work* 
amount, less the earnings (if any) payable to him with respect to such 
week. For the purpose of this subsection, the term 'earnings' shall 
include only that part of the remuneration payable to him for such 
week which is in excess of 40 per centum of his weekly benefit amount 
for any week. Such benefits, if not a multiple of $1, shall be computed 
to the next higher multiple of $1." 
"(f) DEPENDENT'S ALLOWANCE.—In addition to the benefits payable 
under the foregoing subsections of this section, each eligible individual 
who is unemployed in any week shall be paid with respect to such week 
$1 for each dependent relative, but not more than $3 shall be paid to an 
individual as dependent's allowance with respect to any one week of 
unemployment nor shall any weekly benefit which includes a depend-
ent's allowance be paid in the amount of more than $30. An individ-
ual's number of dependents shall be determined as of the day with 
respect to which he first files a valid claim for benefits in any benefit 
year, and shall be fixed for the duration of such benefit year. The 
dependent's allowance is not to be taken into consideration in calculat-
ing the claimant's total amount of benefits in subsection (d) of this 
section." 
Section 10 (a) is amended to read as follows: 
"(a) An individual who has left his most recent work voluntarily 
w'ithout good cause, as determined by the Board under regulations pre-
scribed by it, shall not be eligible for benefits with respect to the 
week in which such leaving occurred and with respect to not less than 
four nor more than nine consecutive weeks of unemployment which 
immediately follow such week, as determined by the Board in such 
case according to the seriousness of the case. In addition such 
individual's total benefit amount shall be reduced in a sum equal to the 
number of weeks of disqualification multiplied by the weekly bene-
fit amount." 
Section 10 (b) is amended to read as follows: 
"(b) An individual who has been discharged for misconduct occur-
ring in the course of his most recent work proved to the satisfaction 
of the Board shall not be eligible for benefits with respect to the week 
in which such discharge occurred and for not less than four nor more 
than nine weeks of consecutive unemployment immediately follow-
ing such week, as determined by the Board in such case according to 
the seriousness of the misconduct. In addition such individual's 
total benefit amount shall be reduced in a sum equal to the number of 
weeks of disqualification multiplied by his weekly benefit amount." 
Section 10 (c) is amended to read as follows: 
"(c) If an individual otherwise eligible for benefits fails, without 
good cause as determined by the Board under regulations prescribed 
by it, either to apply for new work found by the Board to be suit-
able when notified by any employment office or to accept any suitable 
work when offered to him by any employment office, his union hiring 
hall, or any employer direct, he shall not be eligible for benefits with 
respect to the week in which such failure occurred and with respect 
to not less than four nor more than nine consecutive weeks of unem-
ployment which immediately follow such week, as determined by the 
Board in such case according to the seriousness of the refusal. In 
addition such individual's total benefit amount shall be reduced in a 
sum equal to the number of weeks of disqualification multiplied by the 
weekly benefit amount. In determining whether or not work is suit-
able within the meaning of this subsection the Board shall consider 
(1) the physical fitness and prior training, experience and earnings 
of the individual, (2) the distance of the place of work from the 
individual's place of residence, and (3) the risk involved as to health, 
safety, or morals." 
68 STAT.] 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG. 31, 1954 
995 
Section 10 (f) is amended to read as follows: 
D. C. code 46-
"(f) An individual shall not be eligible for benefits with respect ^^Labor disputes, 
to any week if it has been found by the Board that such individual 
is unemployed in such week as a direct result of a labor dispute still 
in active progress in the establishment where he is or was last 
employed: Provided^ That this subsection shall not apply if it is shown 
to the satisfaction of the Board that— 
" (1) he is not participating in or directly interested in the labor 
dispute which caused his unemployment; and 
"(2) he does not belong to a grade or class of workers of which, 
immediately before the commencement of the dispute, there were 
members employed at the premises at which the dispute occurs, 
any of whom are participating in or directly interested in the dis-
pute : Provided^ That if in any case separate branches of work 
which are commonly conducted as separate businesses in separate 
premises are conducted in separate departments of the same prem-
ises, each such department shall, for the purposes of this subsec-
tion, be deemed to be a separate factory, establishment, or other 
premises." 
Section 10 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
subsection: 
"(h) An individual shall not be eligible for benefits for any week 
chudbirth. 
within the six weeks prior to the expected date of such individual's 
childbirth and within the six weeks after the date of such childbirth. 
In determining the expected date of childbirth the Board in its dis-
cretion may rely solely upon a doctor's certificate." 
Section 13 (c) is amended to read as follows: 
3i^* ^* *^'^* ^^' 
"(c) The Board shall each year, not later than May 1, submit to 
Report to con-
Congress a report covering the administration and operation of this ^Pos't, p. 996. 
i\.ct during the preceding calendar year, and containing such recom.-
mendations as the Board wishes to make." 
Section 14 is amended to read as follows: 
3j^* ^* *^°*** ^^" 
"SEC. 14. All moneys received by the Board from the United States 
p'ayment of e x-
under title I I I of the Social Security Act or from other sources for *
'
*
4
*
9 stat. 626. 
administering this Act shall, immediately upon such receipt, be 
'^^ ^^^ soi-soa. 
deposited in the Treasury of the United States as a special deposit to 
be used solely to pay such administrative expenses (including expendi-
tures for rent, for suitable office space in the District of Columbia, and 
for lawbooks, books of reference, and periodicals), traveling expenses 
when authorized by the Board, premiums on the bonds of its employees, 
and allowances to investigators for furnishing privately owned motor 
vehicles in the performance of official duties at rates not to exceed $40 
per month. All such payments of expenses shall be made by checks 
drawn by the Board and shall be subject to audit by the Commissioners 
of the District of Columbia in the same manner as are payments of 
other expenses of the District. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of 
this section and the provisions of sections 2 and 8 of this Act, the Board 
^ ' 9^,^^^^ ^^' 
is authorized to requisition and receive from its account in the Unem-
ployment Trust Fund in the Treasury of the United States of America, 
in the manner permitted by Federal law, such moneys standing to the 
District's credit in such fund, as are permitted by Federal law to be 
used for expenses incurred by the Board for the administration of this 
Act and to expend such moneys for such purposes. Moneys so received 
shall, immediately upon such receipt, be deposited in the Treasury of 
the United States in the same special account as are all other moneys 
received for the administration of this Act. All moneys received by 
the Board pursuant to section 302 of the Social Security Act shall be 
^"^ "^^ ^°2* 
expended solely for the purposes and in the amounts found necessary 
by the Department of Laoor for the proper and efficient administration 
996 
PUBLIC LAW 721-AUG, 31, 1954 
[68 S 
T A T . 
53 Stat. 1379. 
4 2 u s e 
503(a) 
(9). 
Ante, p. 995. 
42 u s e 501-503. 
D. C. eode 46-
315(c). 
eotnpensation of 
representatives. 
D. e . eode 46-
319. 
F a l s e 
s t a t e -
ments, etc. 
Penalty. 
D. e . Code 46-
325. 
Performance 
of 
duties. 
66 Stat. 824. 
D.C. Code 1-app. 
of this Act. 
In lieu of incorporation in this Act of the provision 
described in section 303 (a) (9) of the Social Security Act, the Board 
shall include in its annual report to Congress, provided in section 13 (c) 
of this Act, a report of any moneys received after July 1, 1941, from 
the Department of Labor under title I I I of the Social Security Act, 
and any unencumbered balances in the unemployment compensation 
administration fund as of that date, which the Department of Labor 
finds have, because of any action or contingency, been lost or have been 
expended for purposes other than, or in amounts in excess of, those 
found necessary by the Department of Labor for the proper admin-
istration of this Act." 
Section 15 (c) is amended to read as follows: 
"(c) The Commissioners of the District shall serve on the Board 
without additional compensation, but the representatives of employees 
and employers, respectively, shall be paid $25 for each day of active 
service. For the purposes of this subsection, a part of a day shall be 
construed as an entire day." 
Section 19 (a) is amended to read as follow^s: 
"(a) Whoever makes a false statement or representation knowing 
it to be false, or knowingly fails to disclose a material fact, to obtain or 
increase any benefit or other payment provided for in this Act or under 
an employment security laAv of any other State, of the Federal Govern-
ment, or a foreign government for himself or any other individual, 
shall, for each such offense, be fined not more than $100 or imprisoned 
not more than sixty days, or both." 
Section 19 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following 
subsection: 
"(e) Any person who the Board finds has made a false statement 
or representation knowing it to be false, or who knowingly fails to 
disclose a material fact, to obtain or increase any benefit or any other 
payment under this Act may be required by the Board to repay to it 
for the fvmd a sum equal to the amount of all benefits received by him 
for weeks subsequent to the date of the offense and falling within the 
benefit year current at the time of the offense. Such claimant may also 
be disqualified for benefits for all or part of the remainder of such 
benefit year and for a period of not more than one year commencing 
with the end of such benefit year and thereafter while any sum payable 
to the Board for the fund under this subsection is still due and unpaid, 
unless the Board in its discretion shall decide, after the disqualification 
imposed has been served, to allow the claimant to file a claim for 
benefits and recoup from such benefits the amount still payable to the 
Board. 
"All findings under this subsection shall be made by an appeals 
tribunal of the Board which shall afford the claimant a reasonable 
opportunity for a fair hearing in accordance with the provisions of 
section 11 of this Act and such findings shall be subject to review in the 
same manner as all other disqualifications decided by an appeals 
tribunal of the Board." 
There shall be added after section 26 the following: 
"SEC. 27. (a) Wherever this Act prescribes the performance of a 
duty by any official or agency of the District of Columbia, such duty 
shall be performed by the Commissioners of the District of Columbia 
or such officer, employee, or agency as the Commissioners may delegate 
to perform the duty for them. 
"(b) Where any provision of this Act, or any amendment made by 
this Act, refers to an office or agency abolished by or under the author-
ity of Reorganization Plan Numbered 5 of 1952, such reference shall 
be deemed to be to the office, agency, or officer exercising the functions 
of the office or agency so abolished." 
68 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 723-AUG. 31, 1954 
997 
TRANSITION PROVISIONS 
SEC. 2. (a) As used in this section, unless the context clearly requires 
otherwise— 
(1) "old law" means the unemployment compensation law prior 
to its amendment by this Act; 
(2) "new law-' means the unemployment compensation law as 
amended by this Act; and 
(3) "eiFective date" means the date upon which the new law 
becomes effective. 
(b) The benefit rights of any individual having a benefit year cur-
rent on or after the effective date shall be redetermined and benefits for 
calendar weeks ending subsequent to the effective date shall be paid in 
accordance with the new law: Provided, That no claimant shall have 
his benefits reduced or denied by redetermination resulting from the 
application of this provision. 
All initial and continued claims for 
benefits for weeks occurring within a benefit year which commences 
on or after the effective date shall be computed and paid in accordance 
with the new law. 
EFFECTIVE DATE 
SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect on January 1,1955. 
Approved August 31, 1954. 
Public Law 722 
CHAPTER 1140 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
To approve the conveyance by the Tennessee Valley Authority of certain public-
use terminal properties now owned by the United States. 
Resolved hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United 
States of America in Congress assemhled., That the Congress, pursuant 
to section 4 (k) (b) of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, 
as amended (55 Stat. 599-600; 16 U. S. C. 831c (k) (b)), hereby 
approves the conveyance by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 
name of the United States, by deed, lease, or otherwise, for the pur-
poses of said section 4 (k) (b) and on the basis of the fair sale or 
rental value determined by the Tennessee Valley Authority, of the 
public-use terminal properties now owned by the United States and 
in the custody of the Tennessee Valley Authority at Knoxville, Chat-
tanooga, and Harriman, Tennessee, and Decatur and Gunterville, 
Alabama. 
Approved August 31, 1954. 
August 31, 1954 
pS.J. Res. 170] 
TVA. 
Conveyance. 
Public Law 723 
CHAPTER 1141 
JOINT RESOLUTION 
To authorize the President to proclaim the week of November 28, 1954, through 
December 4, 1954, as "National Salvation Army Week". 
AVhereas in October of 1879 a lone woman Salvation Army officer. 
Lieutenant Eliza Shirley, encouraged the formation of an official 
party, comprising seven women officers and Commissioner George 
Scott Railton, to extend the work of the Salvation Army in the 
United States; and 
Whereas today the Salvation Army has grown into a huge operation 
with its three thousand nine hundred and ninety-six officers 
August 31, 1954 
[S.J. Res. 173]