(vii) any day in any period with respect to which the Board finds that he is receiving, has received, or has a right to receive compensation or other wages in lieu of notice, annuity payments, or pensions under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1935 or the Railroad Retirement Act of 1937, or old-age benefits under title II of the Social Security Act or payments for similar purposes under any other Act of Congress; or he is receiving or has received unemployment benefits under an unemployment compensation law of any State or of the United States other than this Act;

(viii) any day in any half-month with respect to which the Board finds that he performed at least 25 per centum of the maximum employment allowable to him for a calendar month pursuant to a contract of employment providing for the determination of his compensation, wholly or partially, on a mileage basis;

(ix) any day in any calendar month with respect to which the Board finds that he had prior to such day performed at least 50 per centum of the maximum employment allowable to him during such calendar month pursuant to a contract of employment providing for the determination of his compensation, wholly or partially, on a mileage basis.

(b) The disqualification provided in section 4 (a) (v) of this Act shall not apply if the Board finds that—

(i) the employee is not participating in or financing or directly interested in the strike which causes the stoppage of work: Provided, That payment of regular union dues shall not be construed to constitute financing a strike or direct interest in a strike within the meaning of this and the following paragraphs; and

(ii) he does not belong to a grade or class of workers of which, immediately before the commencement of the stoppage, there were members employed in the establishment, premises, or enterprise at which the stoppage occurs, any of whom are participating in or financing or directly interested in the dispute: Provided, That if separate types of work are commonly conducted in separate departments of a single enterprise, each such department shall, for the purposes of this subsection, be deemed to be a separate establishment, enterprise, or other premises. (c) No work shall be deemed suitable for the purposes of section 4 (a) (iii) or 4 (a) (iv) of this Act, and benefits shall not be denied under this Act to any otherwise qualified employee for refusing to accept work if—

(i) the position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;

(ii) the remuneration, hours, or other conditions of work offered are substantially less favorable to the employee than those prevailing for similar work in the locality, or the rate of remuneration is less than the union wage rate, if any, for similar work in the locality;

(iii) as a condition of being employed he would be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization;

(iv) acceptance of the work would require him to engage in activities in violation of law or which, by reason of their being in violation of reasonable requirements of the constitution, bylaws, or similar regulations of a bona fide labor organization of which he is a member, would subject him to expulsion from such labor organization; or

(v) acceptance of the work would subject him to loss of substantial seniority rights under any collective bargaining agreement between a railway labor organization, organized in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, and any other employer.

(d) In determining, within the limitations of section 4 (c) of this Act, whether or not any work is suitable for an employee for the purposes of sections 4 (a) (iii) and 4 (a) (iv) of this Act, the Board shall consider, in addition to such other factors as it deems relevant, (i) the current practices recognized by management and labor with respect to such work; (ii) the degree of risk involved to such employee's health, safety, and morals; (iii) his physical fitness and prior training; (iv) his experience and prior earnings; (v) his length of unemployment and prospects for securing work in his customary occupation; and (vi) the distance of the available work from his residence and from his most recent work.

(e) For the purposes of section 4 (a) (i) of this Act, no voluntary leaving of work shall be deemed to have been without good cause if the Board finds that such work would not have been suitable for the purposes of sections 4 (a) (iii) and 4 (a) (iv) of this Act.

CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS

SEC. 5. (a) Claims for benefits and appeals from determinations with respect thereto shall be made in accordance with such regulations as the Board shall prescribe. Each employer shall post and maintain, in places readily accessible to employees in his service, such printed statements concerning such regulations as the Board supplies to him for such purpose, and shall keep available to his employees copies of such printed statements. Such printed statements shall be supplied by the Board to each employer without cost to him.

(b) The Board is authorized and directed to make findings of fact with respect to any claim for benefits and to make decisions as to the right of any claimant to benefits. The Board is further authorized to hold such hearings, to conduct such investigations and other proceedings, and to establish, by regulations or otherwise, such procedures as it may deem necessary or proper for the determination of a right to benefits.

(c) Each claimant whose claim for benefits has been denied upon an initial determination with respect thereto, shall be granted an opportunity for a fair hearing thereon before a district board. The Board shall establish such district boards as it may deem necessary to provide for such hearings. Each district board shall consist of three members, one of whom shall be a representative of the Board, who shall serve as chairman, one of whom shall be appointed by the Board from recommendations made by representatives of employees, and one of whom shall be appointed by the Board from recommenda

tions made by representatives of employers. Each of the latter two members shall not be subject to the civil-service laws or rules and shall be paid a per diem salary of such amount as the Board finds reasonable for each day of active se. vice on such district board, plus necessary expenses. The Board may designate an alternate for each member of a district board to serve in the absence or disqualification of such member. In no case shall a hearing before a district board proceed unless the chairman thereof is present. In the absence or disqualification of any other member and his alternate, the chairman shall act alone as the district board.

(d) The Board shall prescribe regulations governing the filing of cases with and the decision of cases by district boards, and the review of such decisions. The Board may provide for intermediate reviews of such decisions by such bodies as the Board may establish or assign thereto. The Board may (i) on its own motion review a decision of a district board or of an intermediate reviewing body on the basis of the evidence previously submitted in such case, and may direct the taking of additional evidence, or (ii) permit such parties as it finds properly interested in the proceedings to take appeals to the Board. Unless a review or an appeal is had pursuant to this subsection, the decision of a district board or of an intermediate reviewing body shall, subject to such regulations as the Board may prescribe, be deemed to be the final decision of the Board.

(e) In any proceeding other than a court proceeding, upon a claim for benefits, the rules of evidence prevailing in courts of law or equity shall not be controlling, but a full and complete record shall be kept of all proceedings and testimony, and the Board's final determination allowing or denying benefits, together with its findings of fact and conclusions of law in connection therewith, shall be communicated to the claimant within fifteen days after the date of such final determination.

(f) Any claimant, and any railway labor organization organized in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, of which such claimant is a member, may, only after all administrative remedies within the Board have been availed of and exhausted, obtain a review of any final decision of the Board with reference to a claim for benefits by filing a petition for review within ninety days after the mailing of notice of such decision to the claimant, or within such further time as the Board may allow, in the United States district court for the judicial district in which the claimant resides, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. A copy of such petition, together with initial process, shall forthwith be served upon the Board or any officer designated by it for such purpose. Service may be made upon the Board by registered mail addressed to the Chairman. Within fifteen days after receipt of service, or within such additional time as the court may allow, the Board shall certify and file with the court in which such petition has been filed a transcript of the record upon which the findings and decision complained of are based. Upon such filing the court shall have exclusive jurisdiction of the proceeding and of the question determined therein, and shall give precedence in the adjudication thereof over all other civil cases not otherwise entitled by law to precedence. It shall have power to enter upon the pleadings and

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transcript of the record a decree affirming, modifying, or reversing the decision of the Board, with or without remanding the cause for rehearing. The findings of the Board as to the facts, if supported by evidence and in the absence of fraud, shall be conclusive. No additional evidence shall be received by the court, but the court may order additional evidence to be taken before the Board, and the Board may, after hearing such additional evidence, modify its findings of fact and conclusions and file such additional or modified findings and conclusions with the court, and the Board shall file with the court a transcript of the additional record. The judgment and decree of the court shall be final, subject to review as in equity cases.

An applicant for review of a final decision of the Board concerning a claim for benefits shall not be liable for costs, including costs of service, or costs of printing records, except that costs may be assessed by the court against such applicant if the court determines that the proceedings for such review have been instituted or continued without reasonable ground.

(g) Findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Board in the determination of any claim for benefits or refund and the determination of the Board that the unexpended funds in the account are available for the payment of any claim for benefits or refund under this Act, shall be, except as provided in subsection (f) of this section, binding and conclusive for all purposes and upon all persons, including the Comptroller General and any other administrative or accounting officer, employee, or agent of the United States, and shall not be subject to review in any manner other than that set forth in subsection (f) of this section.

(h) Except as may be otherwise prescribed by regulations of the Board, benefits payable with respect to any period prior to the date of a final decision of the Board with respect to a claim therefor, shall be paid only after such final decision.

(i) No claimant claiming benefits shall be charged fees of any kind by the Board, its employees or representatives, with respect to such claim. Any such claimant may be represented by counsel or other duly authorized agent, in any proceeding before the Board or its representatives or a court, but no such counsel or agent shall either charge or receive for such services more than an amount approved by the Board or by the court before whom the proceedings of the Board are reviewed. Any person who violates any provision of this subsection shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year.

CONCLUSIVENESS OF RETURNS OF COMPENSATION AND OF FAILURE TO MAKE RETURNS OF COMPENSATION

SEC. 6. Employers shall file with the Board, in such manner and form and at such times as the Board by regulations may prescribe, returns under oath of monthly compensation of employees, and, if the Board shall so require, shall furnish employees with statements of their monthly compensation as reported to the Board. Any-such return shall be conclusive as to the amount of compensation earned by an employee during each month covered by the return, and the fact that no return was made of the compensation claimed to be

earned by an employee during a particular calendar month shall be taken as conclusive that no compensation was earned by such employee during that month, unless the error in the amount of compensation returned in the one case, or the failure to make return of the compensation in the other case, is called to the attention of the Board within four years after the last date on which return of the compensation was required to be made.

FREE TRANSPORTATION

SEC. 7. It shall not be unlawful for carriers to furnish free transportation to employees qualified for benefits or serving waiting periods under this Act.

CONTRIBUTIONS

SEC. 8. (a) Every employer shall pay a contribution, with respect to having employees in his service, equal to 3 per centum of so much of the compensation as is not in excess of $300 for any calendar month payable by him to any employee with respect to employment after June 30, 1939: Provided, however, That if compensation is payable to an employee by more than one employer with respect to any such calendar month, the contributions required by this subsection shall apply to not more than $300 of the aggregate compensation payable to said employee by all said employers with respect to such calendar month, and each such employer shall be liable for that proportion of the contribution with respect to such compensation which the amount payable by him to the employee with respect to such calendar month bears to the aggregate compensation payable to such employee by all employers with respect to such calendar month.

(b) Each employee representative shall pay, with respect to his income, a contribution equal to 3 per centum of so much of the compensation of such employee representative as is not in excess of $300 for any calendar month, paid to him for services performed as an employee representative after June 30, 1939. The compensation of an employee representative and the contribution with respect thereto shall be determined in the same manner and with the same effect as if the employee organization by which such employee representative is employed were an employer as defined in this Act.

(c) In the payment of any contribution under this Act, a fractional part of a cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half cent or more, in which case it shall be increased to one cent.

(d) If more or less than the correct amount of the contribution required by this section is paid with respect to any compensation, then, under regulations prescribed under this Act by the Board, proper adjustments with respect to the contribution shall be made, without interest, in connection with subsequent contribution payments made under this Act by the same employer or employee representative.

(e) If more or less than the correct amount of the contribution required by this section is paid with respect to any compensation and the overpayment or underpayment of the contribution cannot be adjusted under subsection (d) of this section, the amount of the overpayment shall be refunded from the account, or the amount of the underpayment shall be collected, in such manner and at such times (subject to the statute of limitations properly applicable thereto) as may be prescribed by regulations of the Board.