[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 236 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71198-71199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20914]


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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

Application and Claim for Sickness Insurance Benefits; OMB 3220-0039

    Under Section 2 of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), 
sickness benefits are payable to qualified railroad employees who are 
unable to work because of illness or injury. In addition, sickness 
benefits are payable to qualified female employees if they are unable 
to work, or if working would be injurious, because of pregnancy, 
miscarriage or childbirth. Under Section 1(k) of the RUIA, a statement 
of sickness with respect to days of sickness of an employee is to be 
filed with the RRB within a 10-day period from the first day claimed as 
a day of sickness. The RRB's authority for requesting supplemental 
medical information is Section 12(i) and 12(n) of the RUIA. The 
procedures for claiming sickness benefits and for the RRB to obtain 
supplemental medical information needed to determine a claimant's 
eligibility for such benefits are prescribed in 20 CFR Part 335.
    The forms currently used by the RRB to obtain information needed to 
determine eligibility for and the amount of sickness benefits due a 
claimant follows: Form SI-1a, Application for Sickness Benefits; Form 
SI-1b, Statement of Sickness; Form SI-3, Claim for Sickness Benefits; 
Form SI-7, Supplemental Doctor's Statement; Form SI-8, Verification of 
Medical Information; Form ID-7h, Non-Entitlement to Sickness Benefits 
and Information on Unemployment Benefits; Form ID-11a, Requesting 
Reason for Late Filing of Sickness Benefit and ID-11b, Notice of 
Insufficient Medical and Late Filing. Completion is required to obtain 
or retain benefits. One response is requested of each respondent.

[[Page 71199]]

    The RRB proposes the addition an equivalent Internet version of 
Form SI-3, Claim for Sickness Benefits to the information collection. 
The internet equivalent Form SI-3 will essentially mirror the manual 
RRB Form SI-3 currently in use, but will also provide the claimant the 
ability to change their direct deposit information in addition to the 
ability to complete and file the claim via the Internet. Revisions to 
Form ID-11a and ID-11b to add an item requesting information regarding 
why a claimant filed their claim late are also proposed.
    No changes are proposed to Form(s) SI-1b, SI-7, SI-8, and ID-7h. 
Minor, non-burden impacting editorial changes are proposed to Form(s) 
SI-1a and SI-3.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

    The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual
                        Form (s)                            responses      Time  (min)    Burden (hrs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SI-1a...........................................................          22,200              10           3,700
SI-1b(Doctor)...................................................          22,200               8           2,960
SI-3 (manual)...................................................         135,200               5          11,267
SI-3 (Internet).................................................          33,800               5           2,816
SI-7............................................................          33,600               8           4,480
SI-8............................................................              50               5               4
ID-7H...........................................................              50               5               4
ID-11A..........................................................             800               4              53
ID-11B..........................................................           1,000               4              67
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................         248,900  ..............          25,351
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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]. Written comments should be received 
within 60 days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E6-20914 Filed 12-7-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P