[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 222 (Friday, November 17, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66991-66992]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19426]



[[Page 66991]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    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 (RRB) 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 Investigations 
and Continuing Entitlement; OMB 3220-0025.
    Under Section 1(k) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act 
(RUIA), unemployment and sickness benefits are not payable for any day 
with respect to which 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 question raised as to whether or not remuneration is 
payable or has accrued to a claimant with respect to a claimed day or 
days, 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 are needed to determine whether a claimed days or days 
of unemployment or sickness were improperly or fraudulently claimed: 
Form ID-5I, Letter to Non-Railroad Employers on Employment and Earnings 
of a Claimant; Form ID-5R(SUP), Report of Employees Paid RUIA Benefits 
for Every Day in Month Reported as Month of Creditable Service; Form 
ID-49R, Letter to Railroad Employer for Payroll Information; and Form 
UI-48, Claimant's Statement Regarding Benefit Claim for Days of 
Employment. Completion is voluntary. One response is requested of each 
respondent. The RRB proposes no changes to these forms.
    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 
form(s) to obtain information needed to determine if a claimant has 
sufficient service or compensation to qualify for unemployment or 
sickness benefits. Form UI-9, Applicant's Statement of Employment and 
Wages, Form UI-23, Claimant's Statement of Service for Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Form UI-44, Claim for Credit for 
Military Service (RUIA), Form ID-4F, Advising of Ineligibility for RUIA 
Benefits, Form ID-4U, Advising of Service/Earnings Requirements for 
RUIA 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 Normal Unemployment 
Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted, Form ID-20-2, Advising the 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. The RRB 
proposes a change to Forms ID-4F, ID-4U, ID-4X, ID-4Y, ID-20-1, ID-20-
2, ID-20-4 to request information regarding an employee's military 
service entry and discharge dates. The information will be requested 
because the inclusion of the employee's military service, may give the 
employee enough creditable service months for additional benefits. No 
other changes are proposed.
    The burden associated with the information collection is estimated 
as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual        Completion
                            Form No.                                 responses    time (minutes)   Burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ID-5I...........................................................           4,500              15           1,125
ID-5R(SUP)......................................................             900              10             150
ID-49R..........................................................             250              15              63
UI-48...........................................................             250              12              50
UI-9............................................................             800              10             133
UI-23...........................................................             600               5              50
UI-44...........................................................             150               5              13
ID-4F...........................................................              25               5               2
ID-4U...........................................................             150               5              13
ID-4X...........................................................             100               5               8
ID-4Y...........................................................              25               5               2
ID-20-1.........................................................              50               5               4
ID-20-2.........................................................             100               5               8

[[Page 66992]]

 
ID-20-4.........................................................               5               5               1
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           7,905  ..............           1,622
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 or send an e-mail request to [email protected]. 
Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed to 
Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, 
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or send an e-mail to 
[email protected]. To ensure proper consideration, comments should 
be received within 60 days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-19426 Filed 11-16-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P