Schakel v. Review Bd. of Ind. Emp. SEC. Div.

235 N.E.2d 497, 142 Ind. App. 475, 1968 Ind. App. LEXIS 586
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 9, 1968
Docket20,769
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 235 N.E.2d 497 (Schakel v. Review Bd. of Ind. Emp. SEC. Div.) 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
Schakel v. Review Bd. of Ind. Emp. SEC. Div., 235 N.E.2d 497, 142 Ind. App. 475, 1968 Ind. App. LEXIS 586 (Ind. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

Smith, J.

This appeal involves a proceeding before The Review Board of The Indiana Employment Security Division to determine the eligibility of the .claimant-appellant, George F. Sehakel, for benefits under The Indiana Employment Security Act.

The appellant is employed by the Chevrolet Commercial Body Division, General Motors Corporation, but was laid off on July 15, 1966, for inventory and model change in the plant. He remained unemployed until July 25, when he returned to work, and also applied for unemployment compensation benefits for the week ending July 23, 1966. The deputy ruled that the appellant had failed to report to the local office during the week ending July 23, 1966, as required by Regulation 806 and was> therefore, not entitled to unemployment compensation benefits.

The appellant asked that the reporting requirements be waived pursuant to Regulation 805, but the deputy refused to waive the requirements of Regulation 806.

The appellant appealed to the referee, who declined to rule on the question of whether or not there was good cause for granting a waiver. Appellant appealed to The Review Board from the referee’s decision. The Review Board upheld the action of the deputy as follows:

“FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: The Review Board finds that claimant herein filed a .continued claim for benefits for the week ending July 23, 1966.
It further finds that claimant failed to report to the local office during the above-mentioned week as required by Regulation 806.
*477 -It further finds that after claimant reported to the.local office on July. 25, 1966, the deputy ruled that claimant had not met the reporting requirements of Regulation 806 and refused to waive said Regulation.
It further finds that Regulation 805 provides that a representative of the Board (deputy) may waive said reporting requirements upon a showing of good cause.
The Review Board concludes that the deputy acted within his discretionary powers in refusing said waiver and., even though claiihant may have had good .cause for failing to report, the Regulation in question does not contemplate that a deputy must waive the reporting requirements upon a showing of good cause.
DECISION: The decisilon of the referee is hereby affirmed this 27th day of February, 1967. It is held that a deputy has the discretion to waive the reporting 'requirements of Regulation 806 upon a showing of good cause, but; said deputy is not required to waive these requirements even upon a showing of good cause.”

The appellant now maintains that the decision of The Review Board is contrary to law, and in support thereof urges two propositions: (1) The General Assembly did not delegate unbridled, unreviewable discretion to The.Review Board-or a representative of The Board to waive registration or reporting requirements; (2) The Review Board abused its discretion in so holding.

Sec. 1402, as found in Burns’ Sec. 52-1538a provides:

“Sec. 1402. An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits with respect to any week only if: He has registered for work at an employment office or branch thereof, or other agency designated by the Board, within suchi time limits and has subsequently reported with such frequency and in such manner; - either in person ■ or' in writing, as the Board may by regulation prescribe; Provided, That failure to comply with this condition may .be excused by the Director upon á showing of good cause therefor; and Provided, further, That the Board may by regulation'waive or alter the requirements of this section as to such types of cases or situations with respect to which it finds that compliance with such requirements would be oppressive or would be inconsistent with the purposes of this Act” (emphasis supplied).

*478 Pursuant to the above delegated authority, Regulation 806 was adopted. It reads in relevant part as follows:

“Regulation 806. . . . No individual can establish his availability for work with respect to any week claimed unless he has made a personal report during such week at the local office, itinerant office, or special registration point at which his claim is on file; . . . Provided, further, That such requirement for weekly reporting may be waived by a representative of the Board upon a showing of good cause” (emphasis supplied).

In the light of this framework of legislation and regulations the facts of this case and the finding of the Review Board must be considered. The appellant did not register the week for which he claims benefits. He did register the following week. The record is undisputed that he was laid off for lack of work in a mass layoff of temporary duration (less than four weeks); that he failed to register due to worry over the illness of his brother, who subsequently passed away; and that the deputy has, in fact, waived the requirement of reporting in the past.

Without noting the fact that the Director may waive the requirement in cases of mass layoff or temporary layoff, the Review Board held:

“It is held that a deputy has the discretion to waive the reporting requirements of Regulation 806 upon a showing of good cause, but said deputy is not required to waive these requirements upon a showing of good cause.”

The Appellant submits that such an interpretation of the authority delegated in Section 1402 renders the waiver provisions contrary to the intent of the General Assembly, and in violation of Article 3, Section 1 and Article 4, Section 1 of the Indiana State Constitution.

Like other social legislation, the unemployment compensation law should receive a liberal construction in order that it may accomplish its purpose. Legislation designed to accomplish a particular purpose may authorize an administrative agency to provide the details of the *479 operation of the statute through rules and regulations made and promulgated by the agency. This delegation of power is proper if the statute declares a legislative policy, establishes standards for carrying out the policy, or lays down an intelligible principle to which the agency must conform. Under the above criteria, the legislature may authorize an agency to determine whether facts or circumstances exist upon which the law makes its own action depend; but it cannot confer upon any body or person the power to determine what the law shall be. State ex rel. Standard Oil Co. v. Review Bd. (1951), 230 Ind. 1, 101 N. E. 2d 60.

In applying the above tests to the statute and regulations involved, we must conclude that there is an illegal delegation of legislative power. See West v. Egan (1955), 142 Conn. 437, 115 A. 2d 322; State ex rel. Standard Oil Co. v. Review Bd., supra.

Under See. 1402 as found in Sec. 52-1538a Bums’ Anno. Stat., the failure of an applicant to register with the unemployment office may

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

City of Carmel v. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
883 N.E.2d 781 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2008)
Bottone v. Town of Westport
553 A.2d 576 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1989)
Taylor Drug Stores, Inc. v. Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission
497 N.E.2d 932 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1986)
Smith v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division
439 N.E.2d 1334 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1982)
Steup v. Indiana Housing Finance Authority
402 N.E.2d 1215 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1980)
Connell v. City of Logansport
397 N.E.2d 1058 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1979)
Indiana Forge & MacHine Co. v. Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
396 N.E.2d 910 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1979)
Podgor v. Indiana University
381 N.E.2d 1274 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1978)
Indiana University v. Hartwell
367 N.E.2d 1090 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1977)
Reece v. Review Board of the Employment Security Division
360 N.E.2d 1262 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1977)
Indiana Alcoholic Beverage Commission v. McShane
354 N.E.2d 259 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1976)
Hacker v. Review Board of Ind. Emp. Sec. Div.
271 N.E.2d 191 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1971)
Hacker v. REVIEW BOARD OF IND. EMP. SECURITY DIVISION
271 N.E.2d 191 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1971)
Renwanz v. Review Board of Indiana Employment Security Division
267 N.E.2d 844 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1971)
Lapinski v. State
446 P.2d 645 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1968)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
235 N.E.2d 497, 142 Ind. App. 475, 1968 Ind. App. LEXIS 586, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schakel-v-review-bd-of-ind-emp-sec-div-indctapp-1968.