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Individual Claims to Social Benefits, II*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013
Extract
Since officers who conduct hearings in benefit procedures are given so much latitude and are so free from any leading-strings of a court process, it is of the essence not only that they possess a judicial attitude of mind but that they be keenly alive to the social implications of their work. In 1929, the New York Industrial Survey Commission wrote: “Referees are in every essential judicial officers; and they should be, so far as is humanly possible, above suspicion of improper practices, political or otherwise. They should be persons of mature judgment and be skilled in law—not alone the Compensation law—for they touch many and various points of law not comprehended within the language of the Compensation law. They should be trained in the value of evidence, and they should know the rules of evidence even though they are not obliged to apply them in compensation hearings.”
It is safe to speculate that if the above had been written in 1941, it would have contained more emphasis on the social viewpoint needed by referees. They must realize that on them depends to a large extent the difficulties accompanying denial of benefits which not only may cause serious hardship to individuals but may even have repercussions of the utmost importance in the community at large. Thus referees conducting hearings are supposed to have a kind of partisanship toward the law, in that they must constantly remember that its aim is to secure payments to all qualified claimants, not merely to decide the merits of a dispute between two opposing parties. Nevertheless, an attitude which is supposed to resolve doubts in favor of a claimant as required by the compensation law does not negate a judicial frame of mind in deciding the merits of a disputed claim.
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- Research Article
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- Copyright © American Political Science Association 1941
References
70 Report of the Industrial Survey Commission, Mar. 9, 1929, p. 58. Cf. Hearings under the New York Workmen's Compensation Law, pp. 20–24, for discussion of qualifications of referees.
71 The Industrial Board of five members is appointed by the governor to serve for overlapping terms of six years each.
72 Cf. Hearings, op. cit., pp. 22–24.
73 The Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board is an independent body of three members appointed by the governor for overlapping terms of six years each. Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 31, Sec. 518.6.
74 Ibid., Sec. 533.1.
75 Laws of Wisconsin, Ch. 108, Sec. 108.09(4).
76 Matschek, op. cit., p. 50 ff.
77 Cf. note 75, supra.
78 Matschek, op. cit., p. 50.
79 Matschek, op. cit., p. 51.
80 Wisconsin Laws, Ch. 108, Sec. 108.09(4).
81 Lansdale, etc., op. cit., p. 312.
82 Quoted from letter from Mr. Henry Sayer, op. cit. Cf. note 59 supra.
83 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 75, Art. II, Secs. 24a, 50; Workmen's Compensation Law Rules and Regulations, Rules 20–21.
84 Ibid.
85 Rule 17. In the case of attorneys, the “nominal fee” provision is omitted, and the fee is arranged only on a basis commensurate with the service and with regard to the financial status of the claimant. Some lawyers have tried to impose on compensation cases the old liability system of contingent fees. Cf. Matter of Fisch, 188 App. Div. 525.
86 Hearings, op. cit., p. 26. Cf. pp. 26–27 for discussion of fees in general.
87 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 31, Sec. 511.2. Cf. also Cloe, op. cit., p. 1163, note 56, where it is stated that referees and the Appeal Board seldom inquire as to the fee arrangement with an appearing attorney, but claim reviewers do and when requested usually allow $5.00. Cf. Claim Reviewer, no. 4399c.
88 Cloe, op. cit., p. 1163.
89 New York State Bar Association, Lawyer Service Letter No. 39, Nov. 29, 1939, p. 156. The committee suggested that any unauthorized practice is capable of elimination where, upon knowledge of the facts and a presentation of public injury, the rules of practice and procedure of the agency in question be suitably amended and enforced.
90 New York Times, Sept. 27, 1939.
91 Dodd, W. F., Administration of Workmen's Compensation (1936), p. 785.Google Scholar
92 For discussion of old age assistance, cf. Lansdale, etc., op. cit., Chap. 14, passim.
93 P. L. 1937, Title XIV, Ch. 99a, Sec. 397d (Conn.); 48 G. A. Iowa (1939, Ch. 140, Sec. 26.
94 Report of the Industrial Commissioner, op. cit., p. 73.
95 Ibid., p. 72.
96 Industrial Board Rules, Rule 13; within twenty days after filing of the referee's decision.
97 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 67, Art. II, Sec. 22. Change in conditions must be in the form of a verified medical report prepared as the result of an examination held after the expiration of a substantial period from the closing of the case, or an affidavit, if an examination cannot be held which would indicate the material change in the degree of disability which has taken place subsequent to the closing of the case. Industrial Board Rules, Rule 14.
98 Ibid., p. 40.
99 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 67, Art. II, Sec. 27.
100 Industrial Board Rules, Rule 13.
101 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 31, Sec. 531.
102 Annual Report of the Industrial Commissioner, op. cit., 1938, p. 156.
103 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 31, Sec. 518.6.
104 Wisconsin Unemployment Compensation Act, Ch. 108, Wisconsin Laws, Sec. 108.09(6).
105 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 67, Sec. 118, and Ch. 50, Secs. 533.2 and 523.1(c).
106 Public No. 803, 69th Cong., 44 Stat. 1424, as amended June 25, 1938.
107 Dodd, op. cit., p. 785.
108 Cf. Cloe, op. cit., p. 1178.
109 Cloe, op. cit., p. 1178.
110 Annual Report of the Industrial Commissioner, for 12 months ended Dec. 31, 1938, New York Legislative Document No. 21.
111 Ibid., p. 154.
112 Cloe, op. cit., p. 1157, note 31.
113 Industrial Board Rules, Rules 13 and 14.
114 Ibid., Application for a rehearing must be made within a reasonable time after the applicant has had knowledge of the facts constituting the grounds on which application is made.
115 Lansdale, etc., op. cit., p. 306.
116 Ibid., p. 307.
117 Industrial Board Rules, Rule 11.
118 Among the voluminous literature on judicial review of administrative action, Cf. Dickinson, J., Administrative Justice and the Supremacy of Law (1927).Google Scholar
119 Morgan v. U. S., 304 U. S. 14 (1938).
120 Consolidated Laws of New York, Ch. 67, Art. II, Sec. 23.
121 Interstate Commerce Commission v. Union Pacific Ry. Co., 222 U. S. 541, 547, 548 (1912); Interstate Commerce Commission v. Louisville & Nashville Ry. Co., 227 U. S. 88 (1913); Helfrick v. Dahlstrom Metallic Door Co., 256 U. S. 199, 204, 205 (1931).
122 Interstate Commerce Commission v. Louisville & Nashville Ry. Co., 227 U. S. 88, 91 (1913).
123 Del Vecchio v. Bowers, 296 U. S. 280, 286 (1935); Merchants Warehouse Co. v. United States, 283 17. S. 501 (1931).
124 Tanzer, L. A., “Adequacy of the Due Process Clause,” Proceedings, New York State Bar Association, 62nd Annual Meeting, 1939, p. 223.Google Scholar Cf. cases listed. For opposite point of view, cf. Duffy, C., “To What Extent Should the Decisions of Administrative Bodies be Reviewable by the Courts?,” Amer. Bar. Assoc. Jour., Oct., 1939, p. 848.Google Scholar
125 United States v. Morgan, 307 U. S. 783, 799 (1939). Cf. note, Columbia Law Rev., Vol. 29, pp. 1406–1411 (Dec., 1939).
126 Federal Communications Commission v. Pottsville Broadcasting Co., 60 Sup. Ct. 440, 441 (1940).
127 Federal Communications Commission v. Pottsville Broadcasting Co., as cited.
128 The record is usually sent to the state attorney-general's office, and there errors may be found which may necessitate return to the administrative organization for further investigation or correction or both. An attorney-general is not apt to proceed with a case if any administrative safeguards have been neglected. In workmen's compensation cases in New York, if a court appeal is taken at the same time as application for review by administrative authorities, procedure is shortened by a denial of administrative review so that formal findings of fact and rules of law may be prepared for court trial. Industrial Board Rules, Rule 16.