Proposed Data Collection Available for Public Comment and Recommendations

RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD

Proposed Data Collection Available for Public Comment and

Recommendations

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 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 Claims Notification and Verification System

Section 5 (b) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as

amended by the Railroad Unemployment Insurance and Retirement

Improvement Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-647), requires that ``when a claim

for benefits is filed with the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), the RRB

shall provide notice of such claim to the claimant's base year employer

or employers and afford such employer or employers an opportunity to

submit information relevant to the claim before making an initial

determination on the claim.'' The purpose of the claims notification

system is to provide to each unemployment and sickness claimant's base

year employer or current employer, notice of each application and claim

for benefits under the RUIA and to provide an opportunity for employers

to convey information relevant to the proper adjudication of the claim.

Railroad employers receive notice of applications and claims by one of

two options. The first option, Form Letter ID-4K is a computer

generated form letter notice of all unemployment applications,

unemployment claims and sickness claims received from employees of a

railroad company on a particular day. Form Letters ID-4K are mailed on

a daily basis to officials designated by railroad employers. The second

option is an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)

[[Page 56624]]

version of the Form Letter ID-4K notice. EDI notices of applications

are transmitted to participating railroads on a daily basis, generally

on the same day that applications are received. Railroad employers can

respond to RRB notices of applications and claims manually by mailing a

completed ID-4K back to the RRB or electronically via EDI. No changes

are being proposed to Form ID-4K or the electronic equivalent.

Estimate of Annual Respondent Burden

The estimated annual respondent burden is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annual Time Burden

RRB messages responses (min) (hrs)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unemployment Insurance Applications/

Claims:

ID-4K (EDI version)................... 133,700 ** 201

ID-4K (manual)........................ 57,300 2 1,910

Sickness Insurance Applications/Claims:

ID-4K (EDI version)................... 136,500 ** 134

ID-4K (manual)........................ 58,500 2 1,950

-------------------------------

Total............................... 386,000 2 4,195

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**The burden for the 8 participating employers who transmit EDI

responses is calculated at 10 minutes each per day, 251 workdays a

year or 335 total hours of burden. We estimate that 60 percent of the

responses are related to unemployment transactions and 40 percent to

sickness transactions.

additional information or comments: To request more information or to

obtain a copy of the information collection justification, forms, and/

or supporting material, please call the RRB Clearance Officer at (312)

751-3363. Comments regarding the information collection should be

addressed to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 N. Rush

Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. Written comments should be

received within 60 days of this notice.

Chuck Mierzwa,

Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 95-27783 Filed 11-8-95; 8:45 am]

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