1s required to file with the Board a transcript of the
testimony taken before him. The Board lists all
appeals for hearing so as to afford opportunity to
both parties to present arguments either oral or by
arief or both, after which the records are reviewed
by members of the Board and the decision of the
referee is affirmed, reversed, or a further hearing
ordered.
The referees travel within their districts and hold
hearings at points most convenient for the litigants.
The Board likewise travels and holds hearings in
various cities of the Commonwealth.
In case of default in payment of compensation by
an employer a judgment may be secured by filing a certified copy of a
claim petition, agreement for compensation or award with the prothono-
tary. Such judgment then becomes a lien against the property of the
smployer or other party liable and execution may issue forthwith.
Any document on file in the Bureau of Workmen’s Compensation
or with the Board or any referee or any proceedings before the Board
or a referee may be proved by a copy thereof certified by the Chairman
of the Board and attested by the Secretary of the
Board under the Board’s seal.
Certain petitions such as petitions on agreed facts,
petitions for commutation of payments, petitions for
allowance of attorney’s fee and petitions to authorize
persons other than a guardian to collect compensa-
tion of minors must be heard bv the Workmen's
{Compensation Board.
COMMUTATION OR. LUMP-SUM PAYMENTS
Compensation payable to non-resident alien de-
pendents may be commuted by the employer without
first securing permission from the Board. oy Lo Le ery
Commutation in all other cases is subject to order
of the Workmen’s Compensation Board upon petition of either employe
or employer. All such petitions are heard by the Board exeept in cases
where it would be inconvenient, because of distance, for the petitioners
to appear before the Board. Such cases are referred to a referee, who
takes testimony and returns transeript with his recommendation to the
Board for final action.
When application is made for commutation for the purchase of prop-
erty, payment of a mortgage or other indebtedness or to finance a busi-
ness, an investigation is made by a representative of the Department of
Labor and Industry, so that the Board, when passing upon the appli-
cation, has before it the report of the investigation as well as the facts
developed at the hearing. In most cases where commutation is granted,
the order includes the condition that the money be applied by the em-
ployer or the insurance carrier to make certain nroner application of
‘he funds.
The calculations, when compensation payments are commuted, are
made from a table of present values which shows the present value at
five per cent, compounded annually, of $1.00 per week, payable at the
end of each week for any period up to twenty years. Copies of this
table and method of application are contained in Volume IV. Court
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