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Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110

§4103 Claims of Employees of Contractors

Title 50 › CHAPTER 51 — WAR CLAIMS › SUBCHAPTER I — TITLE I OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1948 › § 4103

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allows the Secretary of Labor to take and decide claims from the people named in section 101(a) of the Act of December 2, 1942 (or their legal representatives). The Secretary must pay any shortfall between what the employer would have paid under the employment contract (not counting overtime) for the period covered by section 101(b) and the total credited to the person’s account plus amounts already paid or recovered from the employer. Claimants must sign a full release of the employer and the United States for contract-based liability, except for workers’ compensation under the Act of August 16, 1941 or detention and related benefits under the December 2, 1942 Act. Approved claims are sent to the Secretary of the Treasury to be paid from the War Claims Fund under section 4110. The Secretary of State must cancel any debt to the United States for amounts the Department of State advanced to these people for food, medical care, transport, or repatriation during internment by the Imperial Japanese Government. The Secretary of Labor may also accept and pay claims for repayment of sums a person already paid to the Department of State for those advances. Approved repayments are certified to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment from the War Claims Fund.

Full Legal Text

Title 50, §4103

War and National Defense, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Payment by Secretary of Labor of certain claims; execution of releases
The Secretary of Labor is authorized to receive, adjudicate according to law, and provide for the payment of any claim filed by any person specified in section 101(a) of the Act entitled “An Act to provide benefits for the injury, disability, death, or enemy detention of employees of contractors with the United States, and for other purposes”, approved December 2, 1942, as amended [42 U.S.C. 1701(a)], or by the legal representative of any such person who may have died, for the amount by which (1) the total sum which would have been payable to such person by his employer (not including any payments for overtime), if such person’s contract of employment had been in effect and he had been paid under it for the entire period during which he was entitled to receive benefits under section 101(b) of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1701(b)], exceeds (2) the entire amount creditable to such person’s account for such period under the provisions of such section plus any amounts paid to such person by such employer for such period or recovered by such person in any legal action against such employer based upon such person’s right against such employer for such period under the contract of employment, including payments in settlement of the liability of the employer arising under or out of such contract. No claim shall be allowed to any person under the provisions of this section unless such person executes a full release to the employer and to the United States in respect to the liability of the employer arising under or out of the contract of employment, except liability for workmen’s compensation benefits under the Act of August 16, 1941, as amended [42 U.S.C. 1651 et seq.] or detention or other benefits paid under the Act of December 2, 1942, as amended [42 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.]. Any claim allowed under the provisions of this section shall be certified by the Secretary of Labor to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment out of the War Claims Fund established by section 4110 of this title.
(b)Cancellation of employees’ obligations; repayment to employees
(1)The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to cancel any obligation to the United States of any person specified in section 101(a) of such Act of December 2, 1942 [42 U.S.C. 1701(a)], to pay any sum which may have been advanced to or on behalf of any such person by the Department of State for the purpose of paying the costs of food and medical services furnished to such person during his period of internment by the Imperial Japanese Government or for the purpose of paying transportation or other expenses of repatriation.
(2)The Secretary of Labor is authorized to receive, adjudicate according to law, and provide for the payment of any claim filed by any person specified in section 101(a) of such Act of December 2, 1942 [42 U.S.C. 1701(a)], for the repayment of any sum which may have been paid by such person to the Department of State in settlement of any obligation of the type referred to in paragraph (1) of this subsection. Any claim allowed under the provisions of this paragraph shall be certified by the Secretary of Labor to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment out of the War Claims Fund established by section 4110 of this title.
(c)Omitted

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of August 16, 1941, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Aug. 16, 1941, ch. 357, 55 Stat. 622, known as the Defense Base Act, which is classified generally to chapter 11 (§ 1651 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1651 of Title 42 and Tables. Act of
December 2, 1942, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Dec. 2, 1942, ch. 668, 56 Stat. 1028, which is classified principally to chapter 12 (§ 1701 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. Codification Section is comprised of section 4 of act
July 3, 1948. Subsec. (c) of section 4 of act
July 3, 1948, amended section 1702 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. Section was formerly classified to section 2003 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

1962—Subsecs. (a), (b)(2). Pub. L. 87–846 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 4110 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

For provisions transferring Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States to Department of Justice, as a separate agency, see section 1622a et seq. of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.

Executive Documents

Transfer of Functions

“Secretary of Labor” substituted in subsecs. (a) and (b) for “Federal Security Administrator” and “Administrator” pursuant to Reorg. Plan No. 19 of 1950, § 1, eff.
May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3178, 64 Stat. 1271, which transferred functions of Federal Security Administrator and Federal Security Agency under this section to Secretary of Labor, with power to delegate, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 89–554, §8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 662. See section 8145 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. War Claims Commission, including offices of its members, abolished and functions and funds transferred to Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States by Reorg. Plan No. 1 of 1954, §§ 2, 4, 6(c), eff.
July 1, 1954, 19 F.R. 3985, 68 Stat. 1279, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. See, also, section 4101 of this title and notes thereunder.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 4103

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110