[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53174-53175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20979]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments

    Summary: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding 
an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information 
and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 
Our ICR describes the information we seek to collect from the public. 
Review and approval by OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate 
paperwork burdens.
    The RRB invites comments on the proposed collection of information 
to determine (1) The practical utility of the collection; (2) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance 
the quality, utility, and clarity of the information that is the 
subject of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of 
collections on respondents, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments to the 
RRB or OIRA must contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper 
consideration of your comments, it is best if the RRB and OIRA receive 
them within 30 days of the publication date.
    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

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Normal Unemployment Benefits Are About to Be Exhausted; Form ID-20-2, 
Advising that 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.
    Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the 
initial 60-day notice (78 FR 38412 on June 26, 2013) required by 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no comments.

Information Collection Request (ICR)

    Title: RUIA Investigations and Continuing Entitlement.
    OMB Control Number: 3220-0025.
    Forms submitted: UI-9, UI-23, UI-44, UI-48, ID-4F, ID-4U, ID-4X, 
ID-4Y, ID-5I, ID-5R (SUP), ID-49R, ID-20-1, ID-20-2, and ID-20-4.
    Type of request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Affected public: Private Sector; Businesses or other for profits.
    Abstract: The information collection has two purposes. When RRB 
records indicate that railroad service and/or compensation is 
insufficient to qualify a claimant for unemployment or sickness 
benefits, the RRB obtains information needed to reconcile the 
compensation and/or service on record with that claimed by the 
employee. Other forms in the collection allow the RRB to determine 
whether unemployment or sickness benefits were improperly obtained.
    Changes proposed: 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.
    The burden estimate for the ICR 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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    Total...........................................               1,603  ..................                 349
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    Additional Information or Comments: Copies of the forms and 
supporting documents can be obtained from 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 [email protected] and to the OMB 
Desk Officer for the RRB, Fax: 202-395-6974, Email address: [email protected].

Charles Mierzwa,
Chief of Information Resources Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-20979 Filed 8-27-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P