Woods Bros. Const. Co. v. Iowa Unemployment Compensation Commission

• Decision Date: 11 February 1941
• Docket Number: 45440.
• Citation: 296 N.W. 345,229 Iowa 1171
• Parties: WOODS BROS. CONST. CO. v. IOWA UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION COMMISSION et al.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

296 N.W. 345

229 Iowa 1171

WOODS BROS. CONST. CO. v. IOWA UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION COMMISSION et al.

No. 45440.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

February 11, 1941

Appeal from District Court, Monona County; Miles W. Newby, Judge.

Defendant Iowa Unemployment Compensation Commission, and defendant-claimants-employees of plaintiff, Woods Brothers Construction Company,-appeal from a judgment of the lower court reversing a decision of the commission which held claimants were entitled to benefits under the Iowa Unemployment Compensation Law.

Affirmed.

J Charles Crawley and Homer M. Lyon, both of Des Moines, and George Finch, of Sioux City, for appellant Unemployment Compensation Commission.

Roland E. Tompkins, of Sioux City, for appellants Gray and others.

Woods Aitken & Aitken and R. W. Smith, all of Lincoln, Neb., and Emmert, James, Needham & Lindgren, of Des Moines, for appellee.

STIGER, Justice.

In 1936 and 1937, plaintiff was engaged in the performance of contracts with the United States Government for the improvement of the navigability of the Missouri and other rivers under the supervision of United States Army engineers. The improvement was accomplished by fabricating lumber mats on floating barges and sinking them to the river bed at designated places.

In 1935 Congress passed the Federal Social Security Act which excepted from employment benefits certain groups, among which are members of a crew of a vessel.

Section 1107(c), 42 U.S. C.A., Title IX of the Federal Social Security Act, provides that the term " employment" means any service except (3) " service performed as an officer or member of the crew of a vessel on the navigable waters of the United States."

Subsequently the Iowa Legislature passed the Unemployment Compensation Law. Section 1551.25, subd. G 7(f), 1939 Code, provides that the term " employment" shall not include " service performed as an officer or member of the crew of a vessel on the navigable waters of the United States."

The language of the Federal and State enactments excepting members of a crew from unemployment benefits is identical.

The barges on which the employee-claimants worked are " vessels" . This fact is conceded by the parties and the principal question before us is whether claimants performed services as members of a crew.

The deputy commissioner and appeal tribunal decided that claimants were members of a crew of a vessel and denied their claims for benefits under the Iowa law. The commission reversed the decisions of the deputy and appeal tribunal. The trial court reversed the decision of the commission, held the claimants were members of a crew of a vessel, and were not entitled to share in the benefit funds provided by the Iowa Unemployment Compensation Act.

We reach the conclusion the judgment of the district court is right and must be affirmed.

It is stipulated that the fifty-four claimants are " (1) Members of the mat crew; (2) Members of the rock barge crew; (3) Pile driver crew, including watchman, pile drivers and deck hands; (4) Tow boat deck hands and operators as men employed on tow boats."

The tow boat crew consists of an operator and two deck hands. Their exclusive duties are to navigate and look after the welfare of the boat. These employee-claimants are clearly members of a crew, and appellants do not seriously contend otherwise. We will confine our discussion to the other claimants.

The lumber mats are fabricated on a floating mat barge. One end of the mat is attached to piling near the bank of the river. The weaving of the mat is a continuous process. When the workmen have completed a segment of the mat, perhaps 15 or 20 feet long, it is unloaded into the river by the members of the crew propelling the barge from under the woven mat segment, the end of the mat remaining on the barge so that the process may be continued until it is completed in the designated length. The barges are moved from place to place during the fabrication process solely by man power, the members of the crew pulling on ropes wrapped around capstans, the other end of the ropes being attached to distant anchor points, and pushing against the mat. The crew consists of about 40 men under the direction of a foreman.

As stated by one of the claimants, " the mat barge was absolutely controlled by hand."

The commission in its finding of facts stated:

" The barges on which the mats were woven were tied to anchor pilings driven into the bed of the stream upstream from the barges, so as to hold the barges stationary in the river at the end of the mat under construction. As the mats were woven on the mat barge, the barges were pushed and pulled sideways from under the mats and the weaving continued so as to make a continuous mat from the shore extending out for a considerable distance into the river.

Beyond and toward midstream from the mat barges, other pilings were driven into the bed of the stream from which lines were run and fastened to the mat barges. As the mats were woven on the barges, they were unloaded from the barges by pulling and pushing the barges from underneath the mats outward from the shore. The barges were moved sideways by the men standing on the barges, pushing against the mats and pulling on the lines fastened to the piling farther out in the stream. The barges were thus moved a few feet at a time from under the mats as the mats were continuously woven on the barges."

When a segment of the mat was unloaded into the river by the crew it floated temporarily. The rock barge crew, apparently the same as the mat barge crew, would then move the vessel into position and unload the rock on the floating mat which would then sink to the bottom of the river. The rock barge is propelled and handled in much the same manner as the mat barge. (We here insert Exhibit " E" which shows the mat barge, the mat and the rock barge.) The barges are apparently about 30 feet wide and 125 feet long.

(Image Omitted)

The pile drivers are built upon barges and are used for driving wooden piling into the bed of the river for purposes connected with the improvement. The crew consists of a foreman, engineer, three deck hands and two winchmen who operate the hoist spools. The vessel is propelled manually by means of a series of lines attached to distant anchor points and wrapped around the hoist spools. The floating pile driver " does considerable moving around from place to place. The winchmen control the floating pile driver through instructions from the foreman." The stipulation makes no reference to floating dredge crews. It appears, however, that the crew of this vessel consists of a foreman and three deck hands who operate the dredging and propelling machinery and keep the vessel as clean as possible and in repair.

In 1936 and prior to the enactment of the Iowa law the Federal Treasury Department promulgated and published Regulation 90 which interpreted and defined the phrase " officers and members of a crew of a vessel" contained in the Federal law as follows:

" The word ‘ vessel’ includes every description of watercraft or other contrivance, used as a means of transportation on water. It does not include any type of aircraft.

The expression ‘ officers and members of the crew’ includes the master or officer in charge of the vessel, however designated, and every individual, subject to his authority, serving on board and contributing in any way to the operation and welfare of the vessel . The exception extends, for example, to services rendered by the master, mates, pilots, pursers, surgeons, stewards, engineers, firemen, cooks, clerks, carpenters, deck hands, porters, and chambermaids, and by seal hunters and fishermen on sealing and fishing vessels." (Italics supplied.)

In 1937 the Bureau of Internal Revenue, authorized to make and publish rules and regulations with the consent of the Treasury Department with reference to Title IX, by Section 1108, 42 U.S. C.A., stated in a letter to plaintiff herein: " It is held by this office that the types of water craft known as piledrivers, mat barges, rock barges, shop barges and quarterboats, which are used as a means of transportation on the navigable waters of the United States, even though not self-propelled, are vessels within the meaning of the Act, and the services performed by the individuals, who compose the crews of such vessels and who perform services in connection with the operation or welfare of these vessels, are excepted under Section 907 (c) (3), Title IX of the act." (Italics supplied.)

The Iowa Unemployment Compensation Law was enacted after the publication of Regulation 90 by the Federal Treasury Department.

The State law does not define the scope and meaning of the words " member of the crew" as used in Section 1551.25, supra.

Plaintiff contends and the trial court held that the legislature intended that " any person contributing in any way to the operation and welfare of a vessel," is a member of a crew. Defendants claim that a person must be " primarily connected with the navigation of a vessel" in order to be classified as a seaman or member of a crew.

In its decision, the commission stated: " The term ‘ officer or members of the crew of a vessel’ includes the master or officer in charge of a vessel and the individuals subject to his authority serving on board and contributing to the operation and welfare of a vessel as an instrumentality of transportation." (Italics supplied.) This statement is in harmony with the common meaning of the words " member of a crew" and the interpretation made by the Federal agencies. However, later in the opinion the commission adopted a narrow restricted definition of a seaman or member of a crew in stating " claimants' employment...