Section 2 of the Railroad Retirement Act provides for the payment of disability annuities to qualified employees and widower(s). In order to determine the effect of a disability on an applicant's ability to work, the RRB needs the applicants work history. The collection obtains the information needed to determine their ability to work.
The Railroad Retirement Board is a small Federal agency with limited staff. Since the retirement of our Management Analyst on January 3, 2019, the Information Collections Officer had to fill-in to administer the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Program as well as perform management, Records Officer, and project officer related duties.
Although we hired a new Management Analyst on June 24, 2019 who is new to the PRA process, the new Analyst helped the Information Collections Officer work with internal staff to identify proposed changes to ICR 3220-0141. We routed the proposed changes through OIG, OGC, and new Board Members. The internal review process experienced delays due to questions about some of the proposed changes. Also, Information Collection Officer Staff needing to take off work for personal family matters. In the end, the Board did not approve the proposed changes to Form G-251. We also informed OMB of the issues with coordinating issue via email and in an official memo request for an Extension of the Expiration Date. However, due to a miscommunication regarding the process, we did not submit a proper request in ROCIS prior to the ICR expiration date.
In addition, the Management Analyst performed the following PRA activities: (1) worked with OMB and internal staff to finalized 4 Information Collection Request (ICRs) that were in the ROCIS cue to facilitate approval, (2) worked with internal staff to finalize and publish 6 Initial and Secondary Notices in the Federal Register, and (3) helped the Information Collection Officer finalize and submit 6 Information Collections to OMB for approval set to expire on December 31, 2019 to avoid a PRA violation.
US Code:
45 USC 231a
Name of Law: Railroad Retirement Act
US Code:
45 USC 231f
Name of Law: Railroad Retirement Act
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.