New York State Department of Social Services v. Dublino Onondaga County Department of Social Services v. Dublino 8212 792, 72 8212 802 17 8212 18, 1973

• Decision Date: 21 June 1973
• Docket Number: Nos. 72,s. 72
• Citation: 413 U.S. 405,93 S.Ct. 2507,37 L.Ed.2d 688
• Parties: NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES et al., Appellants, v. Dolores DUBLINO et al. ONONDAGA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES et al., Appellants, v. Dolores DUBLINO et al. —792, 72—802. Argued April 17—18, 1973
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

413 U.S. 405

93 S.Ct. 2507

37 L.Ed.2d 688

NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES et al., Appellants,

v Dolores DUBLINO et al.

ONONDAGA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES et

al., Appellants,

v. Dolores DUBLINO et al.

Nos. 72—792, 72—802.

Argued April 17—18, 1973.

Decided June 21, 1973.

Syllabus

The 1967 amendments to the Social Security Act included the Federal Work Incentive Program (WIN), designed to help individuals on welfare become wage-earning members of society. The States were required to incorporate this program into their Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) program, to provide that certain 'employable' individuals, as a condition for receiving aid, shall register for manpower services, training, and employment. In 1971 New York enacted provisions of its Social Welfare Law, commonly referred to as the New York Work Rules, which similarly required cooperation by employable individuals to continue to receive assistance. Appellees, New York public assistance recipients subject to the Work Rules, challenge those Rules as having been pre-empted by the WIN provisions of the Social Security Act. The three-judge District Court ruled that 'for those in the AFDC program, WIN pre-empts the New York Work Rules.' Held:

1. The WIN provisions of the Social Security Act do not pre-empt the New York Work Rules of the New York Social Welfare Law. Pp. 412—423.

(a) There is no substantial evidence that Congress intended, either expressly or impliedly, to pre-empt state work programs. More is required than the apparent comprehensiveness of the WIN legislation to show the 'clear manifestation of (congressional) intention' that must exist before a federal statute is held 'to supersede the exercise' of state action. Schwartz v. Texas, 344 U.S. 199, 202—203, 73 S.Ct. 232, 234—235, 97 L.Ed. 231. Pp. 412 417.

(b) Affirmative evidence exists to establish Congress' intention not to terminate all state work programs and foreclose future state cooperative programs: WIN is limited in scope and application; it is a partical program, with state supplementation, as illustrated by New York; and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, responsible for administering the Social Security Act, has never considered WIN as pre-emptive. Pp. 417 421.

(c) Where coordinate state and federal efforts exist within a complementary administrative framework in the pursuit of common purposes, as here, the case for federal pre-emption is not persuasive. Pp. 421—422.

2. The question of whether some particular sections of the Work Rules might contravene the specific provisions of the Social Security Act is not resolved, but is remanded to the District Court for consideration. Pp. 422—423.

348 F.Supp. 290, reversed and remanded.

Jean M. Coon, Albany, N.Y., for appellants.

Dennis R. Yeager, New York City, for appellees.

Mr. Justice POWELL delivered the opinion of the Court.

The question before us is whether the Social Security Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 620, as amended, bars a State from independently requiring individuals to accept employment as a condition for receipt of federally funded aid to families with dependent children. More precisely, the issue is whether that part of the Social Security Act known as the Federal Work Incentive Program (WIN) pre-empts the provisions of the New York Social Welfare Law, McKinney's Consol. Laws, c. 55, commonly referred to as the New York Work Rules. A brief description of both the state and federal programs will be necessary.

The Work Rules were enacted by New York in 1971¹ as part of Governor Rockefeller's efforts to reorganize the New York Welfare Program. Their aim, as explained by the Governor, is to encourage 'the young and able-bodied, temporarily in need of assistance through no fault of their own, to achieve the education and the skills, the motivation and the determination that will make it possible for them to become increasingly self-sufficient, independent citizens who can contribute to and share in the responsibility for their families and our society.'²

To achieve this, the Work Rules establish a presumption that certain recipients of public assistance are employable³ and require those recipients to report every two weeks to pick up their assistance checks in person; to file every two weeks a certificate from the appropriate public employment office stating that no suitable employment opportunities are available; to report for requested employment interviews; to report to the public employment office the result of a referral for employment; and not to fail willfully to report for suitable employment, when available. In addition to establishing a system of referral for employment in the private sector of the economy, the Work Rules permit the establishment of public works projects in New York's social service districts.⁴ Failure of 'employable' persons to participate in the operation of the Work Rules results in a loss of assistance.⁵

Like the Work Rules, WIN is designed to help individuals on welfare 'acquire a sense of dignity, self-worth, and confidence which will flow from being recognized as a wage-earning member of society . . .', 42 U.S.C. § 630 (1970 ed., Supp. I). The program was enacted as part of the 1967 amendments to the Social Security Act,⁶ whereby States were required to incorporate WIN into their Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) plans. 42 U.S.C. §§ 602(a) (19), 630 et seq. (1970 ed. and Supp. I). Every state AFDC plan must provide that certain 'employable' individuals, as a condition for receiving aid, shall register for manpower services, training, and employment under regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor. 42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(19)(A) (1970 ed., Supp. I).⁷ Available services, to be provided by the State, must include 'such health, vocational rehabilitation, counseling, child care, and other social and supportive services as are necessary to enable such individuals to accept employment or receive manpower training . . ..' 42 U.S.C. § 602(a)(19) (G) (1970 ed Supp. I) After the required services have been provided, the State must certify to the Secretary of Labor those individuals who are ready for employment or training programs, 42 U.S.C. §§ 602(a)(19)(G), 632, 633 (1970 ed. and Supp. I).⁸ Employment consists both of work in the regular economy and participation in public service programs. 42 U.S.C. §§ 630, 632, 633 (1970 ed. and Supp. I). As with the Work Rules, cooperation in WIN is necessary for employable individuals to continue to receive assistance.

In the court below, appellees, New York public assistance recipients subject to the Work Rules, challenged those Rules as violative of several provisions of the Constitution and as having been pre-empted by the WIN provisions of the Federal Social Security Act. The three-judge District Court rejected all but the last contention. 348 F.Supp. 290 (WDNY 1972). On this point, it held that 'for those in the AFDC program, WIN preempts'⁹ the New York Work Rules. Id., at 297.¹⁰ As this holding not only affected the continued operation of the New York Rules but raised serious doubts as to the viability of the supplementary work programs in 22 States, we set the cause for argument, 409 U.S. 1123, 93 S.Ct. 940, 35 L.Ed.2d 255 (1973).¹¹ We now reverse this holding.

I

The holding of the court below affects the Work Rules only insofar as they apply to AFDC recipients. 348 F.Supp., at 297, 300 and n. 5. New York's Home Relief program, for example—a general state assistance plan for which there is no federal reimbursement or support¹²—remains untouched by the court's pre-emption ruling. As to AFDC participants, however, the decision below would render the Work Rules inoperative and hold WIN 'the exclusive manner of applying the carrot and stick' in efforts to place such recipients in gainful employment. Id., at 300.¹³

This is a sweeping step that strikes at the core of state prerogative under the AFDC program—a program which this Court has been careful to describe as a 'scheme of cooperative federalism.' King v. Smith, 392 U.S. 309, 316, 88 S.Ct. 2128, 2123, 20 L.Ed.2d 1118 (1968); Dandridge v. Williams, 397 U.S. 471, 478, 90 S.Ct. 1153, 1158, 25 L.Ed.2d 491 (1970); Jefferson v. Hackney, 406 U.S. 535, 542, 92 S.Ct. 1724, 1729, 32 L.Ed.2d 285 (1972). It could impair the capacity of the state government to deal effectively with the critical problem of mounting welfare costs and the increasing financial dependency of many of its citizens. New York has a legitimate interest in encouraging those of its citizens who can work to do so, and thus contribute to the societal well-being in addition to their personal and family support. To the extent that the Work Rules embody New York's attempt to promote self-reliance and civic responsibility, to assure that limited state welfare funds be spent on behalf of those genuinely incapacitated and most in need, and to cope with the fiscal hardships enveloping many state and local governments, this Court should not lightly interfere. The problems confronting our society in these areas are severe, and state governments, in cooperation with the Federal Government, must be allowed considerable latitude in attempting their resolution.

This Court has repeatedly refused to void state statutory programs, absent congressional intent to pre-empt them.

'If Congress is authorized to act in a field, it should manifest its intention clearly. It will not be presumed that a federal statute was intended to supersede the exercise of the power of the state unless there is a clear manifestation of intention to do so. The exercise of federal supremacy is not lightly to be presumed.' Schwartz v. Texas, 344 U.S. 199, 202—203, 73 S.Ct. 232, 235, 97 L.Ed. 231 (1952).

See also Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers v. Chicago, R.I. & P.R. Co., 382 U.S. 423, 429, 86 S.Ct. 594, 597, 15 L.Ed.2d 501 (1966); Huron Portland Cement Co. v. City of Detroit, 362 U.S. 440, 446, 80...