United States Employees' Compensation Commission

285 Madison Avenue, New York 17, N.Y.
514 Tenth Street NW., Washington 25, D.C.
Washington telephone, NAtional 7177

MEMBERS
Chairman Mrs. Jewell W. Swofford
     Albert H. Ladner, Jr.      Mrs. Hattie W. Caraway
OFFICIALS
Secretary William McCauley
Chief Counsel Ward E. Boote
Medical Director Dr. Franklin J. Halpin
Chief Claim Examiner Daniel M. Goodacre
Chief, Accounting Division Esther G. Struthers
Safety Engineer Edward P. Herges
Chief, Statistical Division Edward F. Brayer
Deputy Commissioner, District of Columbia Workmen's Compensation Act Frank A. Cardillo


Creation and Authority.--The United States Employees' Compensation Commission was created by the act of Congress approved September 7, 1916 (39 Stat. 742; 5 U.S.C. 751), to administer the provisions of that act. Its authority was subsequently extended by the acts of March 4, 1927 (44 Stat. 1424; 15 U.S.C. 432), May 17, 1928 (45 Stat. 600; 33 U.S.C. 901 note), August 16, 1941 (55

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Stat. 622; 42 U.S.C. 1651), and December 2, 1942 (56 Stat. 1028; 42 U.S.C. 1651, 1701-1717). The status of the Commission as an independent establishment was continued by the act of April 3, 1939 (53 Stat. 561; 5 U.S.C. 133-33b).

Purpose.--The Commission was originally created for the purpose of administering the act providing workmen's compensation benefits for civil employees of the United States suffering personal injuries while in the performance of official duties. Subsequent enactment of workmen's compensation legislation covering private employments within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government increased the scope of the Commission's authority by placing upon it responsibility for the administration of such legislation. The Commission was created, and its status as an independent agency exercising quai-judicial functions has been recognized and continued, for the purpose of administering the Federal laws relating to workmen's compensation benefits.

Organization.--The Commission is a bipartisan body composed of three members, not more than two of whom may be members of the same political party. Members of the Commission are appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The term of office for a member of the Commission is 6 years. The administrative staff of the Commission at its offices temporarily located in New York City is divided into 6 units, each engaged in specialized work. In addition to this staff, the Commission maintains 13 district offices, in the field, created primarily for the local administration of the longshoremen's and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act.

Activities.--The Commission administers the act of September 7, 1916, which provides workmen's compensation benefits for civil employees of the United States who suffer personal injuries while in the performance of duty. The benefits of this act extend to (1) all civil employees of the Federal Government; (2) employees of the Government of the District of Columbia, exclusive of members of the police and fire departments; (3) members of the Naval Reserve force while on authorized training duty in time of peace; (4) members of the Officers' Reserve Corps and of the Enlisted Reserve Corp of the Army while on authorized training duty in time of peace; (5) members of the Coast Guard Reserve while on authorized training duty in time of peace and temporary members of the Reserve while performing active Coast Guard service; (6) members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps for injuries sustained prior to establishment of the Women's Army Corps; (7) evacuees in the War Relocation Camps; (8) persons employed on Federal relief projects created under the provisions of the several Federal Emergency Relief Appropriation Acts; and (9) commissioned officers of the United States Public Health Service.

The Commission is required to determine all questions arising under this law, and there is no statutory provision for review of its decisions. Among other functions, the Commission is required to determine what employment come within the scope of the law, whether the injury for which compensation is claimed occurred while in the performance of official duty, the period for which compensation may be paid, the amount thereof and, in case of death, the persons entitled to receive such compensation. The Commission is required to make arrangements to provide prompt and competent

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medical and hospital service for employees injured in the Federal service, irrespective of the place of their employment. It is also required to make studies and investigations of the causes of injuries to employees in the Federal service and recommend means for the prevention of such injuries.

All administrative duties connected with this law with certain exceptions are performed in the offices of the Commission in New York City. The administration of this law, so far as it applies to employees of the Panama Canal, the Panama Railroad, and the Alaska Railroad, has been transferred by Executive order to the Governor of the Panama Canal and the General Manager of the Alaska Railroad, respectively. The decision of the General Manager of the Alaska Railroad upon a claim for compensation may be reviewed by the Commission. District offices outside the Continental United States located at Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, are authorized to make local payment of initial installments of compensation to injured beneficiaries residing in such districts. All benefits authorized by this law, and the cot of administration, are paid from funds appropriated annually from the Federal Treasury. Compensation extended to certain emergency employments and the cost of administering such benefits are paid from special funds set aside in the Treasury from emergency relief appropriations.

The Commission is responsible for the administration of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act of March 4, 1927 (44 Stat. 1424; 33 U.S.C. 901-50), providing workmen's compensation benefits for employees in private enterprise while engaged in maritime employment on navigable waters of the United States.

The Commission, through its administrative offices in New York City, handles all matters of a general administrative character connected with this law. Among these are the establishment of compensation districts, the authorization of insurance carriers to write insurance to secure the payment of compensation, the authorization of employers to act as self-insurers, the preparation of opinions on questions of law for the guidance of deputy commissioners until such questions are finally settled by judicial determination, the supervision of the defense arising out of these laws, and studies as to the causes of accidents and means for their prevention. Decisions upon claims for compensation under this act, and local supervision of the enforcement of the act, are under Deputy Commissioners appointed by the Commission who have jurisdiction within the respective compensation districts to which they are assigned. The decision of the deputy commissioner in respect to a claim for compensation is subject to review by Federal District Courts on questions of law.

All compensation benefits authorized by this law are paid by the employer direct or through his authorized insurance carrier. The cost of administration of this law is paid from a Federal appropriation.

The act of May 17, 1928, extends the provisions of the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to private employments in the District of Columbia. Duties and responsibilities of the Commission in the administration of this law in the District of Columbia are the same as described above in respect to the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Act. The cost of administering

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this law is paid from funds appropriated for the Government of the District of Columbia.

War Activities.--In addition to the administration of the compensation law of September 7, 1916, which is applicable to employees of the Federal Government engaged in war production work, the Commission is responsible for the administration of the act approved August 16, 1941, as amended, and the act approved December 2, 1942. The former extends (with certain modifications) the provisions of the Federal Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to any employment (1) at military, air, and naval bases acquired by the United States from foreign countries, 92) on lands occupied or used by the United States for military or naval purposes outside the continental limits of the United States, including Alaska, the Philippine Islands, the Naval Operating Base, Guantanamo, Cuba, and the Canal Zone, (3) carried on under a contract with the United States for the performance of any public work to be performed outside the continental United States. The latter provides workmen's compensation benefits for persons engaged in the employments listed in the preceding section who suffer injury or death as a result of a war risk hazard and payments to dependents of employees missing from the place of employment due to the belligerent action of an enemy or who is known to have become a prisoner of an enemy. It also provides for reimbursement to employers, insurance carriers, and State compensation funds for payments on account of disability or death from war risk hazards made under the workmen's compensation law of a State, Territory, or possession of the United States or other jurisdiction, or payment made pursuant to a contract approved by a United States contracting officer for the payment of workmen's compensation benefits or other benefits in lieu thereof. The act of August 16, 1941, concerns all workmen employed at defense bases outside the continental United States. Both laws are applicable to workmen sent from the United States to work at defense bases acquired from foreign countries and also to aliens employed locally for such work. District offices have been established at San Juan, P.R., and Honolulu, T.H., and sub-offices at other locations outside the United States, for the administration of such act. The act of September 7, 1916, is applicable to all civil employees of the United States regardless of the place of employment and therefore administration of such legislation relates to war activity in the United States and practically throughout the world.

District Offices--United States Employees' Compensation Commission
District Deputy Commissioner Address
No. 1. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut.
(Under act of August 16, 1941, Newfoundland and Greenland).
Patrick J. Monahan Room 756, 10 Post Office Square, Boston 9, Mass.
No. 2. The Port of New York (including that part of New Jersey legally included in the Port of New York and the State of New York, except that part of New York State north and west of a line 30 miles from the shore of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers).
(Under act of August 16, 1941, Bermuda.)
Samuel S. Lowe 641 Washington Street at Christopher, New York 14, N.Y.

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District Offices--United States Employees' Compensation Commission--Continued
District Deputy Commissioner Address
No. 3. New Jersey (except that part legally including in the Port of New York), Delaware, Pennsylvania (except that part of the State north and west of a line 30 miles from the shore of Lake Erie.) Charles T. Branham 1515 Market Street National Bank Building, Market and Juniper Streets, Philadelphia 7, Pa.
No. 4. Maryland and the District of Columbia, including the Potomac River. Edgar V. Parker 1261 Calvert Building, Baltimore 2, Md.
No. 5. Virginia (except the Potomac River), North Carolina. Edgar V. Parker 303 Adams Building, City Hall at Bank Street, Norfolk 10, Va.
No. 6. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida Richard P. Lawson 404 Lynch Building, Jacksonville 2, Fla.
No. 7. Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas (but excluding that part of the Mississippi River between Arkansas and Tennessee.) Joseph H. Henderson 600 Maritime Building, 203 Carondelet Street, New Orleans 12, La.
No. 8. Texas (including that part of the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma.) Gabe Sheppeard 502 U.S. Post Office Building, Galveston, Tex.
No. 9. That part of the lake district in the States of Pennsylvania and New York extending 30 miles inland from the shore line of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and the Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers, the lower peninsula of the State of Michigan (except that part west and north of a line 30 miles from the shore of Lake Michigan and the Strait of Mackinac), West Virginia, Ohio (including the Wabash River between Indiana and Illinois), Kentucky (including that part of the Ohio River between Kentucky and Illinois and that part of the Mississippi Rover between Kentucky and Missouri), Tennessee (including that part of the Mississippi Rover between the States of Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas.) Kenneth P. McManigal 1341 Terminal Tower BUilding, Cleveland 13, Ohio
No. 10. An area 30 miles wide along the shore of Lake Michigan in the lower peninsula of Michigan, all the northern peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois (excluding that part of the Wabash River between Illinois and Indiana, and that part of the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky), Missouri (excluding the Mississippi River between Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee), Kansas, Oklahoma (excluding the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas). Leonard C. Brown 804 U.S. Post Office, 433 W. Van Buren Street, Chicago 7, Ill.
No. 13. California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado Warren H. Pillsbury Room 318, 417 Market Street, San Francisco 5, Calif.
No. 14. Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Territory of Alaska Clarence M. Whipple 300 Colman Building, Seattle 4, Wash.
No. 15. Territory of Hawaii Jeremiah J. O'Leary 407-408 Hawaiian Trust Building, Honolulu 48, T.H.
Caribbean District, West Indies, British Guiana Peter J. Donovan Building "L", PRRA Building, Stop 8, San Juan, P.R.
Pacific District, all land areas south of the 45th degree North Latitude Jeremiah J. O'Leary 407-408 Hawaiian Trust Building, Honolulu 48, T.H.

Approved.

Jewell W. Swofford
Chairman

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Table of Contents

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