[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53174-53175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20979]
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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments
Summary: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding
an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public.
Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate
paperwork burdens.
The RRB invites comments on the proposed collection of information
to determine (1) The practical utility of the collection; (2) the
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the
subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of
collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the
RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper
consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive
them within 30 days of the publication date.
Under Section 1(k) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
(RUIA), unemployment and sickness benefits are not payable for any day
remuneration is payable or accrues to the claimant. Also Section 4(a-1)
of the RUIA provides that unemployment or sickness benefits are not
payable for any day the claimant receives the same benefits under any
law other than the RUIA. Under Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
regulations, 20 CFR 322.4(a), a claimant's certification or statement
on an RRB-provided claim form that he or she did not work on any day
claimed and did not receive income such as vacation pay or pay for time
lost shall constitute sufficient evidence unless there is conflicting
evidence. Further, under 20 CFR 322.4(b), when there is a question
raised as to whether or not remuneration is payable or has accrued to a
claimant with respect to a claimed day or days, an investigation shall
be made with a view to obtaining information sufficient for a finding.
The RRB utilizes the following four forms to obtain information from
railroad employers, nonrailroad employers, and claimants, that is
needed to determine whether a claimed day or days of unemployment or
sickness were improperly or fraudulently claimed: Form ID-5i, Request
for Employment Information; Form ID-5R (SUP), Report of Employees Paid
RUIA Benefits for Every Day in Month Reported as Month of Creditable
Service; Form ID-49R, Railroad Payroll Record Check; and Form UI-48,
Statement Regarding Benefits Claimed for Days Worked. Completion is
voluntary. One response is requested of each respondent.
To qualify for unemployment or sickness benefits payable under
Section 2 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), a railroad
employee must have certain qualifying earnings in the applicable base
year. In addition, to qualify for extended or accelerated benefits
under Section 2 of the RUIA, a railroad employee who has exhausted his
or her rights to normal benefits must have at least 10 years of
railroad service (under certain conditions, military service may be
credited as months of railroad service). Accelerated benefits are
unemployment or sickness benefits that are payable to a railroad
employee before the regular July 1 beginning date of a benefit year if
an employee has 10 or more years of service and is not qualified for
benefits in the current benefit year.
During the RUIA claims review process, the RRB may determine that
unemployment or sickness benefits cannot be awarded because RRB records
show insufficient qualifying service and/or compensation. When this
occurs, the RRB allows the claimant the opportunity to provide
additional information if they believe that the RRB service and
compensation records are incorrect.
Depending on the circumstances, the RRB provides the following
forms to obtain information needed to determine if a claimant has
sufficient service or compensation to qualify for unemployment or
sickness benefits. Form UI-9, Statement of Employment and Wages; Form
UI-23, Statement of Service for Railroad Unemployment Insurance
Benefits; Form UI-44, Claim for Credit for Military Service; Form ID-
4F, Advising of Ineligibility for Unemployment Benefits; Form ID-4U,
Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for Unemployment Benefits;
Form ID-4X, Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for Sickness
Benefits; Form ID-4Y, Advising of Ineligibility for Sickness Benefits;
Form ID-20-1, Advising that
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Normal Unemployment Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted; Form ID-20-2,
Advising that Normal Sickness Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted; and
Form ID-20-4, Advising that Normal Sickness Benefits Are About to Be
Exhausted/Non-Entitlement. Completion of these forms is required to
obtain or retain a benefit. One response is required of each
respondent.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (78 FR 38412 on June 26, 2013) required by 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Title: RUIA Investigations and Continuing Entitlement.
OMB Control Number: 3220-0025.
Forms submitted: UI-9, UI-23, UI-44, UI-48, ID-4F, ID-4U, ID-4X,
ID-4Y, ID-5I, ID-5R (SUP), ID-49R, ID-20-1, ID-20-2, and ID-20-4.
Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Affected public: Private Sector; Businesses or other for profits.
Abstract: The information collection has two purposes. When RRB
records indicate that railroad service and/or compensation is
insufficient to qualify a claimant for unemployment or sickness
benefits, the RRB obtains information needed to reconcile the
compensation and/or service on record with that claimed by the
employee. Other forms in the collection allow the RRB to determine
whether unemployment or sickness benefits were improperly obtained.
Changes proposed: The RRB proposes to add to Items 4a and 5a of
Form UI-48, Statement Regarding Benefits Claimed for Days Worked, two
``go to'' references to improve navigating the form. The RRB also
proposes to remove the following seven forms from the information
collection due to under 10 responses a year: ID-4F, ID-4Y, ID-20-1, ID-
20-2, ID-20-4, ID-49R, and UI-23.
The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:
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Form No. Annual responses Time (minutes) Burden (hours)
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ID-5i............................................... 1,050 15 262
ID-5R (SUP)......................................... 400 10 67
UI-48............................................... 14 12 3
UI-9................................................ 69 10 11
UI-44............................................... 10 5 1
ID-4U............................................... 35 5 3
ID-4X............................................... 25 5 2
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Total........................................... 1,603 .................. 349
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Additional Information or Comments: Copies of the forms and
supporting documents can be obtained from Dana Hickman at (312) 751-
4981 or [email protected].
Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed
to Charles Mierzwa, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street,
Chicago, Illinois, 60611-2092 or [email protected] and to the OMB
Desk Officer for the RRB, Fax: 202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected].
Charles Mierzwa,
Chief of Information Resources Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-20979 Filed 8-27-13; 8:45 am]
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