[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38412-38413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15245]


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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: 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 
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 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. Response is required 
of each respondent. 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.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
                             [The estimated annual respondent burden 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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[[Page 38413]]

 
    Total..............................................              1,603  .................                349
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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, contact 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 emailed to 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Charles Mierzwa,
Chief of Information Resources Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-15245 Filed 6-25-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P