[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81381-81383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32720]


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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.
    1. Title and purpose of information collection: Employer Reporting; 
3220-0005.
    Under Section 9 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), and Section 6 
of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA), railroad employers 
are required to submit reports of employee service and compensation to 
the RRB as needed for administering the RRA and RUIA. To pay benefits 
due on a

[[Page 81382]]

deceased employee's earnings records or determine entitlement to, and 
amount of annuity applied for, it is necessary at times to obtain from 
railroad employers current (lag) service and compensation not yet 
reported to the RRB through the annual reporting process. The reporting 
requirements are specified in 20 CFR 209.6 and 209.7. The RRB currently 
utilizes Form G-88A.1, Notice of Retirement and Verification of Date 
Last Worked, Form G-88A.2, Notice of Retirement and Request for Service 
Needed for Eligibility, and Form AA-12, Notice of Death and 
Compensation, to obtain the required lag service and related 
information from railroad employers. Form G-88A.1 is sent by the RRB 
via a computer-generated listing or transmitted electronically via the 
RRB's Employer Reporting System (ERS) to employers. ERS consists of a 
series of screens with completion instructions and collects essentially 
the same information as the approved manual version. Form G-88A.1 is 
used for the specific purpose of verifying information previously 
provided to the RRB regarding the date last worked by an employee. If 
the information is correct, the employer need not reply. If the 
information is incorrect, the employer is asked to provide corrected 
information. Form G-88A.2 is used by the RRB to secure lag service and 
compensation information when it is needed to determine benefit 
eligibility. Form AA-12 obtains a report of lag service and 
compensation from the last railroad employer of a deceased employee. 
This report covers the lag period between the date of the latest record 
of employment processed by the RRB and the date an employee last 
worked, the date of death or the date the employee may have been 
entitled to benefits under the Social Security Act. The information is 
used by the RRB to determine benefits due on the deceased employee's 
earnings record. The RRB proposes no changes to Forms G-88A.1, G-88A.2 
or AA-12.
    In addition, 20 CFR 209.12(b) requires all railroad employers to 
furnish the RRB with the home addresses of all employees hired within 
the last year (new-hires). Form BA-6a, Form BA-6 Address Report, is 
used by the RRB to obtain home address information of employees from 
railroad employers who do not have the home address information 
computerized and who submit the information in a paper format. The form 
also serves as an instruction sheet to railroad employers who submit 
the information electronically by magnetic tape, cartridge, or CD ROM. 
The RRB proposes no changes to Form BA-6a.
    Completion of the forms is mandatory. Multiple responses may be 
filed by respondent.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AA-12...........................................................              60               5               5
G-88A.1.........................................................             100               5               8
G-88A.1 Internet................................................             260               4              17
G-88A.1 Internet (Class 1 railroads)............................             144              16              38
G-88A.2.........................................................             100               5               8
G-88A.2 (Internet)..............................................           1,200             2.5              50
BA-6a Electronic Equivalent*....................................              14              15               4
BA-6a (E-mail)..................................................              30              15               8
BA-6a (File Transfer Protocol)..................................              10              15               3
BA-6a Internet (RR initiated)...................................             250              17              71
BA-6a Internet (RRB initiated)..................................             250              12              50
BA-6a Paper (RR initiated)......................................              80              32              43
BA-6a Paper (RRB initiated).....................................             250              32             133
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           2,748  ..............             438
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    2. Title and purpose of information collection: Employee 
Representative's Status and Compensation Reports; OMB 3220-0014.
    Under Section 1(b)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), the 
term ``employee'' includes an individual who is an employee 
representative. As defined in Section 1(c) of the RRA, an employee 
representative is an officer or official representative of a railway 
labor organization other than a labor organization included in the term 
``employer,'' as defined in the RRA, who before or after August 29, 
1935, was in the service of an employer under the RRA and who is duly 
authorized and designated to represent employees in accordance with the 
Railway Labor Act, or, any individual who is regularly assigned to or 
regularly employed by such officer or official representative in 
connection with the duties of his or her office. The requirements 
relating to the application for employee representative status and the 
periodic reporting of the compensation resulting from such status is 
contained in 20 CFR 209.10.
    The RRB utilizes Forms DC-2a, Employee Representative's Status 
Report, and DC-2, Employee Representative's Report of Compensation, to 
obtain the information needed to determine employee representative 
status and to maintain a record of creditable service and compensation 
resulting from such status. Completion is required to obtain or retain 
a benefit. One response is requested of each respondent. The RRB 
proposes to remove Form DC-2a from the information collection due to 
receiving less than 10 responses a year.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DC-2............................................................              82              30              41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 81383]]

 
    Total.......................................................              82  ..............              41
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    3. Title and purpose of information collection: Survivor 
Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0032.
    Under Section 6 of the Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), benefits that 
may be due on the death of a railroad employee or a survivor annuitant 
include (1) a lump-sum death benefit (2) a residual lump-sum payment 
(3) accrued annuities due but unpaid at death, and (4) monthly survivor 
insurance payments. The requirements for determining the entitlement of 
possible beneficiaries to these benefits are prescribed in 20 CFR 234.
    When the RRB receives notification of the death of a railroad 
employee or survivor annuitant, an RRB field office utilizes Form RL-
94-F, Survivor Questionnaire, to secure additional information from 
surviving relatives needed to determine if any further benefits are 
payable under the RRA. Completion is voluntary. One response is 
requested of each respondent. The RRB proposes the following changes to 
Form RL-94-F:
     Add new Item 8d, Divorced Spouse's Date of Divorce from 
Employee;
     Renumber current Item 8d to 8e, and
     Change ``Address'' to ``Mailing Address'' in Items 6, 7, 
8a, 10, 11, 12, 14.b.2, 15b, and 16 for those applicants who live 
outside the country.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RL-94-F Items 5-10, and 18......................................              50               9               8
RL-94-F, Items 5-18.............................................           7,200              11           1,320
RL-94-F, Item 18 only...........................................             750               5              63
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................           8,000  ..............           1,391
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    4. Title and purpose of information collection: Employer's Deemed 
Service Month Questionnaire; OMB 3220-0156. Section 3 (i) of the 
Railroad Retirement Act (RRA), as amended by P.L. 98-76, provides that 
the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), under certain circumstances, may 
deem additional months of service in cases where an employee does not 
actually work in every month of the year, provided the employee 
satisfies certain eligibility requirements, including the existence of 
an employment relation between the employee and his or her employer. 
The procedures pertaining to the deeming of additional months of 
service are found in the RRB's regulations at 20 CFR 210, Creditable 
Railroad Service.
    The RRB utilizes Form GL-99, Employer's Deemed Service Months 
Questionnaire, to obtain service and compensation information from 
railroad employers to determine if an employee can be credited with 
additional deemed months of railroad service.
    The RRB proposes non-burden impacting editorial changes to Form GL-
99. Completion is mandatory. One response is required for each RRB 
inquiry.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GL-99...........................................................           2,000               2              67
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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. 2015-32720 Filed 12-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7905-01-P