Administering Unemployment Compensation Benefit Claims

Abstract

The discussion in this article is based on the assumptions that state laws may constitutionally be enacted to conform to the Federal Social Security Act and that this act will be held to be a valid exercise of Congressional power. Nothing herein is to be construed as expressing concurrence either with the federal legislation or with the assumption that it is constitutional. The only issue here discussed is that as to methods of administration of state laws. This primarily involves the organization for the purpose of administering the law, and the procedure from the time a claim is filed under the law, although the problems of administration cannot, of course, be severed from the substantive provisions of law that are to be administered. The form of administrative organization is, of course, conditioned by the task to be performed. The things to be done with respect to unemployment compensation are in many respects similar to those in workmen's compensation, and it is therefore to be expected that the administrative organization and procedure should be in large part copied from workmen's compensation laws. But in the enactment of the new laws, the legislatures are not disturbed by certain problems which faced the draftsmen of the original workmen's compensation laws, and are in a position to profit by experience in the administration of such laws. It is natural, therefore, to find in the unemployment compensation laws no use of trial by jury, and greater use of finality of fact determination by administrative bodies. It is natural also to find repeated the provisions of workmen's compensation laws as to compulsion to produce testimony, self-incrimination, the avoidance of technical rules of evidence and of procedure, and judicial review of administrative determinations. In both unemployment compensation and workmen's compensation there is (i) a large task of administrative supervision which may be termed ministerial in character; (2) the examination and approval or disapproval of the great bulk of claims where there will be no contest of the claim or of the action denying a claim; the problem here is largely ministerial, but involves also a wide discretionary power, and