Darrell Barnes, and J.J. Schroeder v. Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary of Labor, United States Department of Labor
Opinion
Opinion
Hoffman, J.
Petitioners, Barnes and Schroeder, seek review of the Secretary’s decision to deny their requests for severance benefits under the provisions of the Redwood Employee Protection Program. Petitioners are seasonal employees who were laid off prior to the conclusion of their usual work season. When seeking severance benefits, petitioners included the off-season period in their calculation of the twenty weeks of continuous layoff necessary to qualify under the Act. The Secretary held that off-season periods may not be counted towards entitlement to severance benefits. The validity of this ruling is the sole issue addressed on this appeal.
When Congress decided to expand the Redwood National Park, it was concerned with the adverse economic impact of this expansion on employees of the forest products industry. See H.Rep. No. 95-581, 95th Cong.2d Sess. 28, reprinted in 1978 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad.News 463, 474. Consonant with this concern, Congress enacted the Redwood Employee Protection Program, Pub.L. No. 95-250, §§ 201-213, 92 Stat. 172 (1978) (REPP). Workers covered by REPP receive benefits if they are laid off within the designated period due to park expansion.