Opinion
December 29, 1972
Appeal from a decision of the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board, filed February 2, 1972. Claimant retired from the Air Force by reason of physical disability. Thereafter he was employed as manager of Officers' Open Mess at Niagara Falls International Airport on a salary basis. His employment was terminated, and he applied for benefits. The board has determined that his last employment was in Federal civilian service, and, as a result, his benefits are reduced from $75 per week to $22 per week since the same employer is paying his pension, i.e., the Federal Government (Labor Law, § 600). Claimant contends that the Officers' Open Mess is a private club and is not an arm of the Federal Government but a self-supporting voluntary organization, thus entitling him to full benefits. We need not reach this issue since the board has made a finding that claimant "was permanently retired by reason of a physical disability" and therefore claimant is entitled to full benefits (Labor Law, § 600, subd. 6). Decision reversed, and matter remitted for further proceedings not inconsistent herewith, with costs. Herlihy, P.J., Staley, Jr., Sweeney, Simons and Kane, JJ., concur.