Hoosier Wire Die, Inc. v. Review Board of Indiana Employment Security Division

370 N.E.2d 1343, 175 Ind. App. 274, 1978 Ind. App. LEXIS 783
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 5, 1978
DocketNo. 2-877A348
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 370 N.E.2d 1343 (Hoosier Wire Die, Inc. v. Review Board of Indiana Employment Security Division) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoosier Wire Die, Inc. v. Review Board of Indiana Employment Security Division, 370 N.E.2d 1343, 175 Ind. App. 274, 1978 Ind. App. LEXIS 783 (Ind. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

LOWDERMILK, J. —

This case was transferred to this office from the Second District in order to help eliminate the disparity in caseloads among the Districts.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Hoosier Wire Die, Inc. (Hoosier) seeks review of a decision of the Review Board (Review Board) of the Indiana Employment Security Division (the Division), in which it held that a retroactive payment of wages made by Hoosier to Phyllis A. Sorg (Sorg), as ordered by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), amounted to deductible income only in the week Sorg received the payment.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

Hoosier is an Indiana corporation engaged in the manufacture and sale of wire dies and related products. Hoosier discharged employee Sorg. The NLRB ultimately ruled that Hoosier discharged Sorg because of her activities on behalf of a union which [276]*276was attempting to organize Hoosier’s employees. The NLRB ordered Hoosier to “[o]ffer Phyllis Sorg immediate reinstatement to her former position ... and make her whole for any loss of pay due to the violations against her... .” The NLRB computed back pay, on a quarterly basis, for the period beginning February 16, 1976, and ending December 6,1977, based upon Sorg’s rate of pay and the average number of hours worked during the period by other employees in the office where Sorg had worked. Hoosier tendered its check, dated March 8, 1976, payable to Sorg, in an amount based upon the computation made by the NLRB.

Sorg had collected unemployment compensation benefits from February 21, 1976, through December 4, 1976. On April 4, 1977, Hoosier notified the Division that Sorg had received a retroactive payment of wages for period for which Sorg had received unemployment compensation benefits. Hoosier requested that its experience account be relieved of the charges for the benefit overpayment, in accordance with the provisions of IC 1971, 22-4-13-l(d) (Burns Supp. 1977).

On April 15,1977, a deputy of the Division found that Sorg had received an overpayment of benefits for the period of February 21,1976, through December 4,1976, and that Sorg owed a refund for those weeks. The referee, while officially affirming and modifying the decision of the deputy, held that Sorg. received deductible income only within the calendar week during which she actually received the check from Hoosier:

“FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: The evidence in this case establishes that pursuant to a decision dated November 4, 1976, of an administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board the employer in this matter was ordered to make the claimant whole for any loss of pay due to the violations against her in accordance with the formula setforth [sic] in F. W. Woolworth Co., 90 NLRB 289, (1950), and Isis Plumbing and Heating Company, 138 NLRB 716, (1962).
These cases make it necessary that the back pay be computed by a calendar quarter. The computed gross back pay is figured on the basis of what a claimant would earn at the employer during each calendar quarter during the back pay period. The back pay is not allocated to any week by week computation.
[277]*277The evidence in this case establishes that on March 8, 1977, claimant received a lump sum wage payment without any specified week by week allocation. The evidence in this case establishes that the order of the administrative law judge does not specify the weeks for which the back pay is to be made. The evidence in this case establishes that the company’s check did not allocate the back pay on a week by week basis.
It is provided in Chapter 5-2 of the Indiana Employment Security Act that awards by a National Labor Relations Board of back pay for loss of employment shall be deemed to constitute deductible income with respect to the week or weeks for which such payments are made: Provided, however, that if such payments made pursuant to the provisions of the National [Labor] Relations Act are not, by the terms of the order or agreement under which said payments are made, allocated to any designated week or weeks, then and in such cases such payments shall be considered as deductible income in and with respect to the week in which the same is actually paid.
Because the evidence in this case establishes that by the terms of the order of the administrative law judge dated November 4, 1976, the payments made pursuant to that order are not by that order allocated to any designated week or weeks it is concluded that the claimant had deductible income in and with respect to the week in which she received the payment which week ended March 12,1977, in accordance with the UC benefit calendar.
DECISION: The deputy’s determination is affirmed and modified to read that the claimant received deductible income only within and with respect to the calendar week ending March 12,1977. If claimant was eligible for benefits during the week ending March 12, 1977, claimant would have received deductible income over her weekly benefit amount.” (Our inserts)

On July 22, 1977, the Review Board adopted the findings and conclusions made by the referee and affirmed the decision of the referee.

ISSUE

Did the Review Board err in affirming the referee’s decision applying the retroactive payment of wages only to the week in which Sorg actually received the check?

[278]*278DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Hoosier argues that its retroactive payment of wages results in Sorg’s having received an overpayment of unemployment compensation benefits. Hoosier asks the Division to relieve its experience account of the benefits charges resulting from such overpayment.

IC 1971, 22-4-13-1, supra, provides, in pertinent part:

“(b) Any individual who, for any reason other than misrepresentation or nondisclosure as specified in IC 22-4-13-l(a), has received any amount as benefits to which he is not entitled under this article or because of the subsequent receipt of income deductible from benefits which is allocable to the week or weeks for which such benefits were paid becomes not entitled to such benefits under this article shall be liable to repay such amounts to the director for the employment security fund or to have such amount deducted from any benefits otherwise payable to him under this article, within the three [3] year period following the date of payment to such individual of such amount, if the existence of such reason has become final by virtue of an unappealed determination of a deputy, or a decision of a referee, or the review board, or by a court of competent jurisdiction.
* * *
(d) Where it is finally determined by a deputy, a referee, the review board, or a court of competent jurisdiction, that an individual has received benefits to which he is not entitled under this article, the board, or its representative, shall relieve the affected employer’s experience account of any benefit charges directly resulting from such overpayment.

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Bluebook (online)
370 N.E.2d 1343, 175 Ind. App. 274, 1978 Ind. App. LEXIS 783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoosier-wire-die-inc-v-review-board-of-indiana-employment-security-indctapp-1978.