[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 14 (Friday, January 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 3581]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1491]



[[Page 3581]]

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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) version of the Form Letter ID-4K notice. EDI notices of 
application 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. Minor non-burden impacting changes are being 
proposed to Form ID-4K.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Annual                    Burden
           RRB messages             responses   Time  (Min)     (Hrs)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ID-4K (EDI version)..............      176,400        (\1\)          377
ID-4K (manual)...................       75,600            2        2,520
                                  --------------------------------------
    Total........................      252,000  ...........        2,897
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The burden for the 9 participating employers who transmit EDI
  responses is calculated at 10 minutes each per day, 251 workdays a
  year or 377 total hours of burden.

    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. 99-1491 Filed 1-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-M