§ 150. Referees and secretary. (a) The chair shall appoint as many
persons as may be necessary to be referees to perform the duties
prescribed by this section. All positions of referee now in existence
shall remain in the exempt class of the classified civil service, except
as otherwise provided herein. The term of referees appointed to
positions in the exempt class shall be seven years from the date of
appointment; provided, however, that referees may be removed by the
chair for cause after notice of charges and an opportunity to be heard.
A newly created position of referee, or one that has been vacated, shall
be classified in the competitive class of the classified service, and
the term of office prescribed herein shall not apply to such
appointments; provided, however, that those who are serving in referee
positions on the date that this act becomes effective whose term has
already expired or whose term expires on or after such effective date
may, in the discretion of the appointing authority, be retained in that
position until the expiration of the eligible list established as the
result of the next competitive examination appropriate for such title,
held after January first, nineteen hundred ninety-one or may, before
such time, be appointed from such eligible list.

A referee shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of that
office and shall not hold any other public office or public employment
for which compensation is received, other than necessary travel or other
expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of such office or
employment, and may engage in any employment that does not conflict with
the proper performance of the duties of his or her office and is not
inconsistent with the public officers law. Referees shall receive an
annual salary to be fixed by the chair within the appropriation made
therefor.

(b) It shall be the duty of a referee, under rules adopted by the
board, to hear and determine claims for compensation, and to conduct
such hearings and investigations and to make such orders, decisions and
determinations as may be required by any general or special rule or
order of the board under the provisions of this chapter. The decision of
a referee on such a claim shall be deemed the decision of the board from
the date of the filing thereof in the office of the secretary of the
board unless the board, on its own motion or on application duly made to
it, modify or rescind such decision. Whenever any deaf person is a party
to a hearing conducted before a referee, or a witness therein, the
referee shall in all instances appoint a qualified interpreter who is
certified by a recognized national or New York state credentialing
authority to interpret the proceedings to and the testimony of such deaf
person. The board shall determine a reasonable fee for all such
interpreting services, the cost of which shall constitute an
administrative expense.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section to the
contrary, the chair may establish a list of board employees qualified by
training or experience to serve as acting referees. When the chair or
his or her duly designated representative shall determine that a
temporary emergency exists, he, she or said representative may assign an
employee from such list to serve as an acting referee during such
temporary emergency. Such board employee qualified by training or
experience shall serve without additional compensation and shall have
all the powers and duties of a duly appointed referee.

(d) There shall be a secretary of the board who shall be appointed and
may be removed by the board. The board shall fix his salary within the
limits of the appropriations therefor. The secretary shall perform such
duties in connection with meetings of the board and such other duties as
may be assigned to him by the board. He shall also perform such of the
administrative duties and have such of the administrative powers of the
chairman of the board as may be delegated or assigned to him by the
chairman.