[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12858-12859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04341]


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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

[[Page 12859]]

automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    1. Title and purpose of information collection: Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Act Applications; 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 Railroad Retirement Board's (RRB) 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 follow: 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; and Form ID-11A, Requesting Reason for Late Filing 
of Sickness Benefit. Completion is required to obtain or retain 
benefits. One response is requested of each respondent. The RRB 
proposes no changes to any of the forms in the information collection.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
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                                                                      Annual           Time           Burden
                            Form No.                                 responses       (minutes)        (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SI-1a (Employee)................................................          15,700              10           2,617
SI-1b (Doctor)..................................................          15,700               8           2,093
SI-3 (Manual)...................................................         131,600               5          10,967
SI-3 (Internet).................................................          61,350               5           5,113
SI-7............................................................          20,830               8           2,777
SI-8............................................................              26               5               2
ID-11A..........................................................             518               4              35
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
    Total.......................................................         245,724  ..............          23,604
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    2. Title and purpose of information collection: Job Information 
Report, OMB 3220-0193. The Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) occupational 
disability standards allow the RRB to request job information from 
railroad employers to determine an applicant's eligibility for an 
occupational disability.
    To determine an occupational disability, the RRB must obtain the 
employee's work history and establish if the employee is precluded from 
performing his or her regular railroad occupation. This is accomplished 
by comparing the restrictions caused by the impairment(s) against the 
employee's ability to perform his or her job duties.
    To collect the information needed to determine the effect of a 
disability on an employee applicant's ability to work, the RRB utilizes 
Form G-251, Vocational Report (OMB 3220-0141) which is completed by the 
applicant.
    Form G-251A, Railroad Job Information, requests railroad employers 
to provide information regarding whether the employee has been 
medically disqualified from their railroad occupation; a summary of the 
employee's duties; the machinery, tools and equipment used by the 
employee; the environmental conditions under which the employee 
performs their duties; all sensory requirements (vision, hearing, 
speech) needed to perform the employee's duties; the physical actions 
and amount of time (frequency) allotted for those actions that may be 
required by the employee to perform their duties during a typical work 
day; any permanent working accommodations an employer may have made due 
to the employee's disability; as well as any other relevant information 
they may choose to include. Completion is voluntary. The RRB proposes 
minor editorial changes to Form G-251A.

                                      Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Annual
                           Form No.                               responses     Time  (minutes)  Burden  (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-251A.......................................................             500               60              500
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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 Brian Foster, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 
North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275 or emailed to 
[email protected]. Written comments should be received within 60 
days of this notice.

Brian D. Foster,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2017-04341 Filed 3-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7905-01-P