[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 129 (Friday, July 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43403-43404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14352]


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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD


Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program; (RRB and State Agencies)

AGENCY: U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB).

ACTION: Notice of a renewed matching program.

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SUMMARY: As required by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, the RRB is 
issuing public notice of its renewal of an ongoing computer-matching 
program with State agencies regarding individuals who received benefits 
under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.

DATES: Public comments are welcome until August 7, 2023. We will file a 
report of this computer-matching program with the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; the Committee on 
Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives; and 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB). The matching program will continue for 18 months 
after the effective date and may be extended for an additional 12 
months, if the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C. 552a(o)(2)(D) have been 
met.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may comment on this publication by 
writing to Stephanie Hillyard, Secretary to the Board, Railroad 
Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-1275.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Chad Peek, Chief Privacy Officer, 
Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street, Chicago, Illinois 
60611-1275, telephone 312-751-3389 or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. General

    The Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, (Pub. L. 
100-503), amended by the Privacy Act of 1974, (5 U.S.C. 552a) as 
amended, requires a Federal agency participating in a computer matching 
program to publish a notice in the Federal Register for all matching 
programs.
    The Privacy Act, as amended, regulates the use of computer matching 
by Federal agencies when records contained in a Privacy Act System of 
Records are matched with other Federal, State, or local government 
records. It requires Federal agencies involved in computer matching 
programs to:
    (1) Negotiate written agreements with the other agency or agencies 
participating in the matching programs;
    (2) Obtain the approval of the matching agreement by the Data 
Integrity Boards (DIB) of the participating Federal agencies;
    (3) Publish notice of the computer matching program in the Federal 
Register;
    (4) Furnish detailed reports about matching programs to Congress 
and OMB;
    (5) Notify applicants and beneficiaries that their records are 
subject to matching; and
    (6) Verify match findings before reducing, suspending, terminating, 
or denying a person's benefits or payments. The last notice for this 
matching program was published in the Federal Register on January 20, 
2015 (80 FR 2757).

[[Page 43404]]

B. RRB Computer Matches Subject to the Privacy Act

    We have taken appropriate action to ensure that all of our computer 
matching programs comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act, as 
amended.

Participating Agencies

    Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) and agencies of all 50 States and 
the District of Columbia which provide unemployment or sickness 
benefits.

Authority for Conducting The Matching Program

    5 U.S.C. 552a(o); 42 U.S.C. 503(c)(1); 44 U.S.C. 3551-59; 45 U.S.C. 
362(f); 20 CFR 200.8(g); 20 CFR 603.6(b)(2).

Purpose(s)

     The RRB will conduct computer matching activities to determine if 
an individual who received benefits under the Railroad Unemployment 
Insurance Act also received during the designated time period:
    1. Any unemployment or sickness insurance benefits from a State 
agency, or
    2. Any employment or self-employment earnings reported to the 
State. If there is a match, the State will report the amount of 
unemployment or sickness insurance benefits paid or the employment or 
self-employment earnings reported to the RRB.
    1. For individuals who received both benefits under the Railroad 
Unemployment Insurance Act and either unemployment or sickness 
insurance benefits from the State: Depending on arrangements made 
between the two jurisdictions, and, in the case of State sickness 
benefits, on the applicable State law, either the RRB or the State 
agency will attempt to recover the amount of the duplicate payments.
    2. For individuals for whom earnings information was reported to 
the State: the State will notify the RRB and furnish a breakdown of the 
wages, as well as the name and address of each employer who reported 
earnings for the individual. The RRB will then contact each employer 
who reported earnings for the individual for the given period. Only if 
the employment is verified will the RRB take action to recover the 
overpayment. If benefits were paid under the Railroad Unemployment 
Insurance Act, recovery is limited to payments made for those days on 
which the individual was gainfully employed.

Categories of Individuals

    All recipients of benefits under the Railroad Unemployment 
Insurance Act during the period covered by the computer matching 
program who reside in the States the RRB has negotiated a computer 
matching program agreement with.

Categories of Records

    The information received through the computer matching programs may 
consist of either: (1) a report of unemployment or sickness payments 
made by the State for the same period that benefits were paid by the 
RRB, or (2) a report of wages paid to an individual, and the names and 
addresses of employers who reported those wages to the State for the 
same period that benefits were paid by the RRB.

System(s) of Records

    Records furnished by the States are covered under Privacy Act 
system of records RRB-21, Railroad Unemployment and Sickness Insurance 
Benefit System, May 15, 2015 (80 FR 28016).

    Dated: July 3, 2023.

    By authority of the Board.
Stephanie Hillyard,
Secretary to the Board.
[FR Doc. 2023-14352 Filed 7-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P