Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1944 )

OFFICE OF THE A-ITORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
..
Hen. Olauae A. roilliaas
ahairman and ExsoutiTo~Pfreotor
r
departnyaut
pon.thhe
, 1944, rh&oh we quote
8iO raOt8 Md the exact
iA Vermn'a- dioil
ompon@etiotiAot, on
nta.rsade as iollowst
p pgtentlal‘rlght5to beneilts aooumulated
under.-ths:snplojnrarrt opmpeneatlOnLana oi.several States
Or’ andOr i3UOh 8 ~.h?itW
Or the mkfIi aOVOWZUId Or both, ma~r
oenatlt~te.@s~b&s Z&r;the payment OS benet~ts through a
&ngU appropriabe agenay- antler term% whloh the -Commission
ffitde'will be.fair~an&~rsasonableas to all artsctad interests
and~dll not be llabls in any substantialloss to the Fund.*
52
Bon, Cleudk A. Wflliams, page 2
vThls seatlon oontaina two authorisationd~,
the
firet permitting raoiproaalooverege agreementswith
respeot to tar liabilityand the seoond, dealing with
benefit payments, reading aa iollows:
v*The Commissionie hereby authorizedto enter
into arrangenantswith the appropriate agenoise of other
3tatss or the Federal Covernmant . . . whereby potential
rights to benefits eoouavil.ated
under the employmentoompensa-
tion law of several States or under suoh a law of the
Federal Govertient,orboth, any oonstitutathe basis'ror the
paymsnt or benefits through a ringle appropriateagency
under terms whloh.the Cammleei~ Sinds will be fair and
reasonable as to aJ.Laffaotedintarestaand will not result
in any substantial~lossto the FIX&*
"The ~unamploymentoompensatlonlaws of other states
hqve,the sama or stroller provisionsand under euoh provisions
the Intsrstate~Con$!srenoe of EmploymentSeourlty Agenolee
hasprepared,a plan whereby,oleimantswho,here aooumulated
waga are(U.~sin several ciffarent states may be paid benefits
through a single.sgsnoy. This plan will be operativewith
respeot to any particularstate only after the.agenoyof
suoh state subscribes to suoh plan. U&es this arrangement
when e~olaimis filed in one stats; thatstate is to seoure
trausaripte~ of the slaimant.~swage oredlta from other states
in whioh he may have aooumulateii oredits. The state having
the largeat. proportionof his wagaorsdlts will be known es
the 'paying ateta.' On the basis of the olelmant(stotal
wage oredits, the *payingatats' will make a determination
ok %be olalm in eooordanoswith its awn laws and will pay
the oleimant aooordingly. The.other states where the olalmant
had wage oredits will reimburse the 'paying state* for pert
or the benefits paid ta the olelmant on a propr&t+ basle.
That Is, it will transmit that portion OS ths total benerits
paid to olaimant ourrespoading.tothe ratio of olaI.mant*s
wage oreOLts in that state to his total wage oredits.
Wonegs reqtzlaltioned from the aooount of the~stete
of Texas In tha,.UnamploymentTrust Fun& In tha United States
Treesury,aredepoeited vith the Treesurar of th6 State of
Texae to be us&by this Caaunfselon for the -paymentor unem-
ploymsnt benefits.,::r‘e
requaet your edvloe es to whether or
not th.f.s
Gommlasionmay enter gnto suoh reofprooel agreements
as ara outlined above and, if we do enter into suah agreements,
...
53
Hohr Claude A. Wllllena, pegs 3
we may transnlt, by aeena or a warrant drawn by the
Uomptraller on the State Treaaorer, to other atatea auoh
amottntaau laay be due them by meson of their having paid
bsnafita to olelmnta, beasd in part on auoh wage oradlta
ea auah olaimtmtsnay have with i&La OcmmIaaion.~
Our raaaeroh dlsoloaea that thea haa baan little,
ii any,judIoial detamin5tlon or oonetruoti~ of Seation 17a,
(Artlola5221~15a, 7. A. 0. 8.) of our Texea Unemploymant
Cam~atlon Aot, or aimiler aota of other states, all er~whloh
era aubatantlallythe eew aa our own. Of oour5et judIoiel
aonatruotionand oonilrnetIonwould be helpful, but wa do hot
daea it aaaantlal to support the oonoluaionawa have hare
reaohedr
Sootion 196 Subaaatloua 1 , (2) and (3) (Artlaio
5221~17g, subaeotion8 3 ) v. d. 0. 8.)‘0r Our
t1,, (21, and 11
uttStE.pl5ymOrlt ~tXitpCUl8&tiOtt Ad dm.ttO8 “Om~~oytwnt”, and it is
Obaemed that Subaeotlona (a) and (3) tharaor~daalprlaurI.ly
with servIoe8 parformed under oartain oo@itIona both wIthIn
and. wltfmut the Stat06 They read aa rollaa, quoting:~~OIQthe
orrioial oopy of the Taxa UnamploymaatOompenaationAott
v(2) The term tamploymant*shall iholude en indI-
viduol’a entire 8er~lo0, perrormedwithin or both within
attadtht this ‘atate, tit
*.(A) The sarvIoe Is looallaed in this etatat or:
v(B) The aervfoe is not looallaad In eny stats but
aone or ths senloe Is puforaed in this state and (I) the
baaa of oparatlona,or if there la 110 base of operations
than the plaos from whi oh au& 8WvIaa la direoted or oon-
trolled, fa in thla state; or (Ii) the baas of operations
or plaoa from whioh suoh seniee la direoted oreaontrolled
Is not in any state In whloh awe part of the aenioe is
petiormad but the lndlvldueltaresIdenos la It~thia stats.
“(3) (A) Servioe not ooverad under Paragraph (2)
of thla sub-5eotion end parfarn89dantirely without this
stats, ulth reapeot to no pert or whioh oontrlbutionsare
required end paid under en,unamploymentoomponaatlonlew
or eny other state shall be deemad to be amployment
subjeot to this Aoi if the Individualperforming auoh
aenIoe8 la a resident of’this atate end tha Commission
approvea the eleotion of the amploylng unit for whom auoh
aervloes are parrormaa that the entire aervioe of suoh
indlviduel shall be deemed to be employmentsub&at to
this Aot.
mm. Claude A. Wuliaas, Page 4
“(B) Sarviaae oovatiadby raalpraaalagreemanta
authartiadbp thle dot batwaen,the CbmaUsion and the
aeana~ aharged with the adminlWu8ion o f any other
a&da of Iaderal tU+aplaymantoompansationlaw, pursuant
to whloh all sartiaes perfarmed by an individualtar an
amplaying unit ara deamad to ba perform&dantirely within
this (Ibute,shall be daamed to ba anploymqnt, if th.
Cammilralonhaa approved an aleotion of the amplow
unit for whom suoh earrioasware
uhioh the ~nntitimrvloe of suoh ~~~lp~~‘t~
pariod oovarad by suoh bleation is deemed to be smploymant
subjaat to thla Aot.”
It im to be noted that Subsaotfon (3)‘ipi Qi+idad
into psrsgraphsA and B, reclpsotfoely. ParagrQh A is obviously
daaignad to oo?er eerrtcraspurformadantiralywithout tha State
by a’reddant oi this State, but with respectt to whioh oontribu-
tiona ere not.raquirad 0.tkapaid under an amploymantoonpan8atian
aot or anj othar &ate, In other worda it is designed to provide
that a rbs%didefit or this State is not ta ba.daprivadof the benefits
OS the law, although ~a.1of the serviooa perrormad by him may ba
in another state* Paragraph B of Sub$aotlon (.3) apaoifi~ally
owers aerrioas pariormad under reoiprooalagreamanteauthoriaad
by Saotion L7a, auprn, or our State UnampleymantGampansationAet,
and under this may rall oarvioaa performed in two or mere states,
and in euoh ouaes a8 the amployaa dose not qua$lfy under any of
the praoading oonditions,that is, the errvioa”ia not looalixad
in this Stats there la no base or operation or plaoa from whioh
said eenfaa 1s oontraotadin this Statej tha base oiloperation
or plaoe from whiiahsuch servioes am direotad la not in any
abate, but the amp&oyaa is a resiaant of thle State; that tha
I)eMiOe is~peri'omdd ~tiral~ Without thi8 .State bUtZwith ra-
spaob to whloh oantributionaare not required uu& paid under the
laua of any other state, buttha employee 16 a rasidant of this
State. To exprase it another way, the raaiprooalprovision pro-
ridad In Saatian l7a and paragraph B of 178, Subeaotion3, supra,
affords a math&d OS aooording banafite to employeeanat OthaXWiSa
prwided for in the other defined tlefinitionsl of aamploymenta
oontained in the Aot.
In the last analyaie, the purpose of thane inter&ate
raolprooal provisiona,oommoa to moat all the atatas* unemployment
oompensationaota, IO to prwitla a feasible and workable method
by whioh one state my pay benefits aooruing in one or Bulre other
55
lion.Olauda A. WULlanua, page 9
I &ate6 through a efmtrallg oonstituted agsnop
I
i
both as to
ooteiage'&aamant8 with respaot taY i?%%%ty
and in the papant of bmeitt liabilitJr, thus iaoilltatiug
and ~~iE~llfyl6g the aUmh56tmtlon af the law where interstate
ralatiaf#hipbeaamas sn imports& fuator.
I
We have tien at S&IW pains to 6mdysa what we oon-
oeiva to be t.hapartinant provisionsof ouy UnamployaantCoa-
ensstlon Aat defining a~loynauzt~, not with the thought that
% ey are not as r6ll undarrtood by you as by 06, but 66 a pr6d.b
oate for our oonolu8ionsupondab we oonoaiva to be the two
Pain qua6tlono firru6 to deeida,, Even ii we should be mistaken
in some detail ih our 6milpl6 bf our st6tutea defining wasu&oy-
aant", es they are samewhsb lntriaste,~itw4J.lnot neoessarkly
! datrsot frastha two asin quastisnswe~must!daaide and the oan-
elusions we have raaohad. These qwstioxu are:
Flrat '- Bass tha’raeipraoalplan proposed run oountar
in sny psrtloulsr to.Saatfon303a of the Sooial Saourity Aot and
Seotion 16O’)a of the IdhrnaX R~vmua 60607
Seoand“- 18 thera 6 osnfliot, or passlbilityor
oonfliot,rith,.fxir law prariding isr the ohargingof unaaplop
ment benefits against amployers~aooounts for experlanoe rating
pprpOSOS?
1
We shsll iirst oonslder whether or not Saotioa 301s \
of tha.SooialSaourlty Aot and Sastion 1603a of the Internal
Revenue Oods oontsin provisionsuhioh night present lagsl
bsrriars to entering into suoh oooparatlresnd interstateplan.
Thasa tuo protl6le~ set but the requirement6 to be inoorpixstad
in state lsws in onier that the state may raoaive htieral funds
for unemploymantoampansstionadministration,and in order that
the employers of the state msy qtmlify for the ninety per oant
iadarsl oredit. An examinationof the Sooisl SsOtLrityAot snd
of the Internal Ravanua Oode will not in our view di601066 eny
prohlbitarylimitation6that would disqualifyour State by the
adoption of a multi-statearrsngsmantundar the authority speoifl-
oslly oanfarreaupoqthe Oasunission by Seation 17a, auprs, oi our
Unamployraant OsmpsnsationAot.
Tha second question is more diffioult to salve fsr
there is aoma laok of uniformity under the various State sots
as to the order in whish the employers'aooounta sra ohargad
for axpsrianoarating purpoa~as.We believe, however, that thie
Olasde A. ~Wi$liams, psga 6
may be obdatad and 6afaguarded by the &~mi6si6n in aedcing
raoi ootd agraeimnts+ith aa6tJur state or 6tate6 by that
portr on 13sSbotlon 17a, sup~m; cd iOilOW6Z
". . . under taras whioh the hI5ai66ion finds
will be fair &sd r6aeosmbla q to all affeotad 1ntara6ts
and will not result in any rub686ntialloss $6 the Fund.*
That part of the apprapsiatlcmbill oovarlng the
payaant of b6nefits enaoted by the 48th Le&alatwe reads as
fOl3.*lorS1
"It;i6 6pOOifiOSuF grwided th6t 6ll money8 now
on deposl~ to the oradlti of the Uneaployll)snt hapan6ati~n
Bpltd, and 'aai stoneye r66eir6d ior the,areilit o? suoh fun!,
sr& hereby appropflatedfsr tl&a Qsymsnt of bansiits and
refunds as autthoriaed
by the prwf6ion6 of the 'Dnaaploywnt
Uaapensatian Law.*
Z'romthe foregolo&it tollaws thstwa hale resohad
the oonolwion that the Texas ~nes@~oymentfhupeneationOode-
sioa is authoriced to enter into reotproaslagraanant6with
othar states, suoh 66 outlinad'lnyollrletter, and that the.
Comptrsllarof Publio A666u686 would be autharieadto issue
warrants, .uponproper oertirioate from the U~mi1i6sion,ta reim-
burse'suah oooparatingstates, for:thci pro rata sbsra paid by
thea in our beheli, aoting as the da6lgu6tadoentr6.land alasring
agoner, ma you are aooordis& 66 ad*lsed.
_ ;”P7-Lollar
Aeeistant