CHAPTER 208
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION LAW
AN ACT TO AMEND AN ACT KNOWN AND CITED AS THE "UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION LAW," BEING CHAPTER 258 OF THE LAWS OF DELAWARE, 1937, AS AMENDED, BY CHANGING CERTAIN OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS THEREOF.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That Section 10 (A) Chapter 258 of the Laws of Delaware, Volume 41, as amended (known and cited as the "Unemployment Compensation Law"), be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of the said Section 10 (A) and substituting in lieu thereof a new Section 10 (A) reading as follows :
Section 10 (A). There is hereby created a Commission to be known as the Unemployment Compensation Commission of Delaware. The Commission shall consist of the following four members : Albert Stetser, who shall be Chairman, Ebe H. Chandler, J. Wallace Woodford, and Robert J. Quillen. Albert Stetser shall hold office until April 30, 1947, said date being the expiration of his present term ; Ebe H. Chandler shall hold office until April 30, 1945, said date being the expiration of his present term ; J. Wallace Woodford shall hold office until April 30, 1949, said date being the expiration of his term ; and Robert J. Quillen shall hold office until April 30, 1949, said date being the expiration of his term ; upon the expiration of each of the said terms, the Governor with the advice and consent of a majority of all of the members elected to the Senate, shall appoint a successor who shall hold office for the term of six (6) years, and until his successor is duly appointed and qualified. At the termination of the Chairman's term or upon his death or resignation, the Governor shall designate a new Chairman, being either his successor or some other member of the Commission. Any vacancy occurring during a term shall be filled by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, for the unexpired portion of the term.
The Chairman of the Commission shall receive an annual salary of $4,500.00 while the annual salary of each associate member shall be $2,400.00; the members of the Commission shall devote to the duties of their office such time as is necessary for the satisfactory execution thereof. During his term of member.. ship on the Commission, no member shall serve as an officer or committee member of any political party organization, and not more than two members of the Commission shall be members of the same political party. The Governor may at any time, after notice and hearing, remove any Commissioner for gross inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office.
Section 2. That Section 10 (B) of Chapter 258 of the Laws of Delaware, Volume 41, as amended, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of the said Section 10 (B) and substituting in lieu thereof a new Section 10 (B) reading as follows:
Sec. 10 (B). The Chairman of the Unemployment Compensation Commission of Delaware shall be the Executive Director and Approval Officer of the Commission, and its official agent. He shall devote his full time to the duties of such office. The Commission may designate a suitable employee to act as Secretary of the Commission.
Section 3. That Section 10 (C) of Chapter 258 of the Laws of Delaware, Volume 41, as amended, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of the said Section 10 (C) and substituting in lieu thereof a new Section 10 (C) reading as follows:
Sec. 10 (C). There is hereby established in the Commission two coordinate divisions: The Delaware State Employment Service division hereby transferred to the Commission as a division thereof, pursuant to Section 12 of the Act, and the Unemployment Compensation division. Each division shall be responsible for the discharge of its distinctive function. Each division shall be a separate administrative unit with respect to personnel,
budget and duties, except insofar as the Commission may find that such separation is impracticable. Each Commissioner shall be paid from the unemployment compensation administration fund.
Section 4. That Section 11 (1) (1) of Chapter 258 of the Laws of Delaware, Volume 41, as amended, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out Section 11 (1) (1) of said Chapter and inserting in lieu thereof a new Section to be known as Section 11 (1) (1) in the following words :
Sec. 11 (1) (1). The Commission may delegate to a suitable employee thereof the power to make preliminary determinations on all questions relating to the liability of employing units for the contributions mentioned in this Act, but such administrative rulings shall be subject to the review of the Commission if the employing unit affected thereby shall appeal to the Commission. Such appeals shall be taken in the manner and within the time prescribed by the Commission. The person taking the appeal shall be designated as the complainant. The Commission shall hear such appeals within a reasonable time
Section 5. That Section 14 (d) of Chapter 258 of the Laws of Delaware, Volume 41, as amended, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of said Section 14 (d) and substituting in lieu thereof a new Section 14 (d) reading as follows :
Sec. 14 (d). The contributions, penalties, and interest due from the employer under the provisions of this Chapter, from the time they shall become due, shall be a debt of the employer to the Unemployment Compensation Fund and may be reduced to judgment in accordance with Sections 14 (b) and 14 (e) hereof.
Section 6. That Section 14 (e) of Chapter 258 of the Laws of Delaware, Volume 41, as amended, be and the same is hereby amended by striking out all of said Section 14 (e) and substitu7 ting in lieu thereof a new Section 14 (e) reading as follows :
Sec. 14 (e). As an additional or alternative remedy the Commission may issue, under its seal and the hand of its Executive Director, to the Prothonotary of the Superior Court in and for any county of the State of Delaware, a certificate that any employer is indebted under the provisions of this Chapter in an amount which shall be stated in such certificate; and thereupon the Prothonotary to whom such certificate shall have been issued shall immediately enter upon his record of docketed judgments the name of such employer, the name of the Commission, the amount of the debt so certified, a brief description of the said employer's liability under this Chapter, and the date of making such entries. The making of such entries shall have the same force and effect in all respects as the entries of docketed judgment in the office of such Prothonotary, and the Commission shall have all the remedies and may take all the proceedings for the collection of the said debt which could be had or taken upon a judgment in an action of law upon debt or contract. Such debt, from the time of the docketing thereof, shall be a lien on and bind the lands, tenements, and hereditaments of the debtor. Promptly upon the entry of said debt as a judgment, the Prothonotary shall send by Registered letter to the debtor, at his last known address within this State, notice of the entry of the said judgment together with the amount thereof. Within ten (10) days from the date of said notice, the debtor may file a petition in the Superior Court to review the legality or validity of the indebtedness, and upon the filing of said petition all proceedings on such judgment shall be stayed until the final determination of the cause; providing, however, that such review shall be limited to the correct amount of such indebtedness or the correct identity of the debtors.
This Act shall become effective on and after July first (1), 1943.