Title 5Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-73

§8503 Compensation absent State agreement

Title 5 › Part PART III— - EMPLOYEES › Subpart Subpart G— - Insurance and Annuities › Chapter CHAPTER 85— - UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - EMPLOYEES GENERALLY › § 8503

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must pay unemployment benefits to a federal worker whose federal job and wages were treated as belonging to a State that has no agreement with the Secretary. The payment amount and rules must match what the worker would get under that State’s unemployment law if the federal job and wages were included. If the worker already qualifies for benefits from other jobs that year, payments under this rule must be based only on the federal job and wages. If a claim under this rule is denied, the worker gets a fair hearing, and the Secretary’s final decision can be reviewed by a court under the same federal court-review rules that apply to other agency decisions.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §8503

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In the case of a Federal employee whose Federal service and Federal wages are assigned under section 8504 of this title to a State which does not have an agreement with the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary, under regulations prescribed by him, shall, on the filing by the Federal employee of a claim for compensation under this subsection, pay compensation to him in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as would be paid to him under the unemployment compensation law of the State if his Federal service and Federal wages had been included as employment and wages under that State law. However, if the Federal employee, without regard to his Federal service and Federal wages, has employment or wages sufficient to qualify for compensation during the benefit year under that State law, then payments of compensation under this subsection may be made only on the basis of his Federal service and Federal wages.
(b)A Federal employee whose claim for compensation under subsection (a) of this section is denied is entitled to a fair hearing under regulations prescribed by the Secretary. A final determination by the Secretary with respect to entitlement to compensation under this section is subject to review by the courts in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided by section 405(g) of title 42.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

1966 Act DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 42 U.S.C. 1363.Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1212, § 4(a) “Sec. 1503”, 68 Stat. 1132. Sept. 13, 1960, Pub. L. 86–778, § 542(b)(1)(B), (C), (c)(1), 74 Stat. 986. In subsections (a) and (b), the words “with respect to unemployment after
December 31, 1954” are omitted as obsolete. In subsection (b), the last sentence is added on authority of the last sentence of former section 1362(b), which section is carried into section 8502. In subsection (c), the words “with respect to final decisions of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under subchapter II of this chapter” are omitted as unnecessary. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report. 1967 Act Section of title 5Source (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 8503(b)[Uncodified].Sept. 13, 1960, Pub. L. 86–778, § 542(a)(1), 74 Stat. 985. This section also amends 5 U.S.C. 8503 to eliminate certain provisions that are now obsolete. The obsolete provisions were based on section 542(b)(1)(B) and (C) of the act of
September 13, 1960, 74 Stat. 986, that amended section 1503 (a) and (b) of the Social Security Act effective
January 1, 1961, but only in the case of weeks of unemployment beginning before
January 1, 1966. Any existing rights are preserved by section 7 of this bill.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 94–566, § 116(e)(2), redesignated subsec. (c) as (b) and substituted “subsection (a)” for “subsection (a) or (b)”. Former subsec. (b), which made special provision for Federal employees whose Federal service and Federal wages were assigned to the Virgin Islands, was struck out. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 94–566, § 116(e)(2)(A), struck out subsec. (d) which authorized the Secretary to use the personnel and facilities of the agency in the Virgin Islands cooperating with the United States Employment Service.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–566 applicable with respect to benefit years beginning on or after later of Oct. 1, 1976, or first day of first week for which compensation becomes payable under an unemployment compensation law of Virgin Islands which is approved by Secretary of Labor under section 3304(a) of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code, see section 116(f)(3) of Pub. L. 94–566, set out as a note under section 3304 of Title 26.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 8503

Title 5Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73