[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 217 (Thursday, November 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56623-56624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27783]



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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Proposed Data Collection Available for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

SUMMARY: In accordance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 which provides opportunity for 
public comment on new or revised data collections, the Railroad 
Retirement Board will publish periodic summaries of proposed data 
collections.
    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed information 
collection is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; 
(b) the accuracy of the RRB's estimate of the burden of the collection 
of the information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize 
the burden related to the collection of information on respondents, 
including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology.

Title and Purpose of Information Collection

RUIA Claims Notification and Verification System

    Section 5 (b) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as 
amended by the Railroad Unemployment Insurance and Retirement 
Improvement Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-647), requires that ``when a claim 
for benefits is filed with the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), the RRB 
shall provide notice of such claim to the claimant's base year employer 
or employers and afford such employer or employers an opportunity to 
submit information relevant to the claim before making an initial 
determination on the claim.'' The purpose of the claims notification 
system is to provide to each unemployment and sickness claimant's base 
year employer or current employer, notice of each application and claim 
for benefits under the RUIA and to provide an opportunity for employers 
to convey information relevant to the proper adjudication of the claim. 
Railroad employers receive notice of applications and claims by one of 
two options. The first option, Form Letter ID-4K is a computer 
generated form letter notice of all unemployment applications, 
unemployment claims and sickness claims received from employees of a 
railroad company on a particular day. Form Letters ID-4K are mailed on 
a daily basis to officials designated by railroad employers. The second 
option is an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) 

[[Page 56624]]
version of the Form Letter ID-4K notice. EDI notices of applications 
are transmitted to participating railroads on a daily basis, generally 
on the same day that applications are received. Railroad employers can 
respond to RRB notices of applications and claims manually by mailing a 
completed ID-4K back to the RRB or electronically via EDI. No changes 
are being proposed to Form ID-4K or the electronic equivalent.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Annual      Time     Burden
              RRB messages                 responses     (min)    (hrs) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unemployment Insurance Applications/                                    
 Claims:                                                                
  ID-4K (EDI version)...................      133,700       **       201
  ID-4K (manual)........................       57,300        2     1,910
Sickness Insurance Applications/Claims:                                 
  ID-4K (EDI version)...................      136,500       **       134
  ID-4K (manual)........................       58,500        2     1,950
                                         -------------------------------
    Total...............................      386,000        2     4,195
------------------------------------------------------------------------
**The burden for the 8 participating employers who transmit EDI         
  responses is calculated at 10 minutes each per day, 251 workdays a    
  year or 335 total hours of burden. We estimate that 60 percent of the 
  responses are related to unemployment transactions and 40 percent to  
  sickness transactions.                                                

additional information or comments: To request more information or to 
obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/
or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312) 
751-3363. Comments regarding the information collection should be 
addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush 
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. Written comments should be 
received within 60 days of this notice.
Chuck Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 95-27783 Filed 11-8-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-M