Needham Packing Co. v. Iowa Employment Sec. Commission
Citation | 255 Iowa 437,123 N.W.2d 1 |
Decision Date | 16 July 1963 |
Docket Number | No. 51001,51001 |
Parties | NEEDHAM PACKING COMPANY, d/b/a Sioux City Dressed Beef, Inc., Appellee, v. IOWA EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION and Perry Richmond, individually, and as representing all persons composing the class of claimants, Appellants. |
Court | United States State Supreme Court of Iowa |
Don G. Allen, Des Moines, and Harry H. Smith, Sioux City, for appellants.
Shull, Marshall, Mayne, Marks & Vizintos, Sioux City, for appellee.
Equity action to enjoin the Iowa Employment Security Commission from paying compensation benefits to defendant Richmond and others, as provided by section 96.5(1) Chapter 112, sec. 3(3)(g), Acts 58th G.A. effective July 4, 1959. The appeal is from a judgment on the pleadings but is primarily based upon a ruling upon law points under rule 105, R.C.P., 58 I.C.A. The case rests entirely upon the pleadings.
There is no dispute as to the pleaded facts. Defendant Richmond and 190 other persons were employees of the plaintiff company. On May 11, 1961, they voluntarily left such employment and sometime between such date and July 4, 1961, filed claims with the Iowa Employment Security Commission for compensation benefits. In November 1961 the Commission held claimants voluntarily left their work without good cause attributable to their employer and were disqualified from receiving benefits unless individual claimants fall within exceptions set out in section 96.5 of the Code, I.C.A. and amendments thereto. This holding of the Commission was affirmed by the district court on July 20, 1962 and no appeal was taken.
The Commission has announced an intention to pay claimants in accord with the provisions of section 96.5 Chapter 112, section 3(3)(g), Acts 58th G.A., which became effective July 4, 1959. This amendment provided as follows: Section 96.5:
The 59th G.A. by Chapter 84, repealed above quoted division (g) of section 96.5(1) and enacted in its stead, the following:
This became effective July 4, 1961 and is in effect today. It is plaintiff's contention that under section 96.5(1)(g), as it is now and was on July 4, 1961, claimants are not entitled to benefits to be charged against its credit fund and asks that the payments by the Commission be enjoined. The trial court granted the relief prayed and defendant Richmond has appealed.
The point of law presented is as to which amendment is applicable to the present situation. Is it the one in effect at the time the claim was filed or the one at the time the Commission intends to act thereon? While reams have been and could be written as to when a statute is to be considered as retrospective or prospective the answer is found in the intention of the legislature as expressed or as implied from what it has said thereon.
Section 4.1, Code of Iowa, I.C.A., states that
We think the intent of the legislature in the enactment of Chapter 96, Code, I.C.A., Employment Security, was to ease the burden of involuntary unemployment by the creation of unemployment reserves to be used for the benefit of persons unemployed through no fault of their own. By section 96.5(1), persons who left their employment without good cause were disqualified for benefits. This provision was held not inconsistent with the announced purpose of the law, section 96.2. Spence v. Iowa Employment Security Commission, 249 Iowa 154, 86 N.W.2d 154. A disqualification under section 96.5(1) constituted a complete bar to anyone receiving benefits; it meant a complete loss of all credits built up by the employee even though under different employers. By the enactment of ...
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