Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society v. Olsen
Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society v. Olsen
Opinion of the Court
Appellee moves to dismiss the appeal of O. M, Olsen, commissioner, Nebraska state department of labor, for the reasons (1) that he is not a real party in interest, (2) that he has no appealable interest, and (8) that the issues determined in the district court are res judicata as to him. A determination of these questions is required by the motion.
The record shows that Grace Radloff left her work with the appellee and filed a claim for benefits under the unemployment compensation law. The deputy commissioner and appeal tribunal allowed the claim. Appellee took án appeal
The unemployment compensation law (Comp. St. Supp. 1939, sec. 48-706) states in part: “(g) * * * The commissioner shall be deemed to be a party to any judicial action involving any such decision, and may be represented in any such judicial action by any qualified attorney employed by the commissioner.” And in subdivision (h) of the same section it is stated: “Within ten days after the decision of an appeal tribunal has become final, any party aggrieved thereby may secure judicial review thereof by commencing an action in the district court.”
The question whether the commissioner of labor could appeal, regardless of claimant’s failure to do so, was raised in In re Foy, 10 Wash. (2d) 317, 116 Pac. (2d) 545, wherein the Washington supreme court said:
“The effect of such a judgment of the superior court is two-fold. In the first place, it denies the right of claimants to unemployment benefits; in the second place, it in effect denies to the state, acting- through the commissioner, the rig-ht to collect contributions from the employer, based upon the salaries of the employees who are held to be without the scope of the statute. It cannot, then, be positively .said that the judgment does not adversely, affect the compensation fund. * * *
“We are convinced that it must be held that the commissioner has the right, as an aggrieved party, to appeal to this court from judgments of the superior court on matters of. construction, interpretation ■ and application of the act, which judgments are contrary to the rulings of the commissioner in construing the act as applied to certain specific cases, and thereby secure a decision of this court upon such questions.”
The commissioner is required to administer the unemployment compensation law in accordance with.its terms.
This does not mean that the commissioner is representing the claimant on the appeal. Ofttimes the claimant has been paid in full and cares nothing about the appeal. It is not the commissioner’s interest in the claim that aggrieves him, —it is the fact that the uniform administration of the benefits to the named class has been interfered with, and the subsequent necessity of debiting the charges against funds not ordinarily used for that purpose, which aggrieves him and gives him an appealable interest. The statute contemplates .that he shall not only administer the act uniformly but that he shall use his best endeavors in the litigation of claims to bring about uniformity of decision in the handling of all claims.
This result necessarily leads to the conclusion that the judgment of the district court is not res judicata of the case. The commissioner of labor, being a proper party, can, when aggrieved by the result of a district court decision, appeal to this court. The necessity for judicial-interpreta
We have come to the conclusion that the state labor commissioner has such an interest in the litigation that he may appeal when he feels aggrieved. The motion of appellee is therefore without merit and it is overruled.
Motion to dismiss appeal overruled.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Society v. O. M. Olsen, Commissioner Nebraska State Department of Labor
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published