26 September 2008
Related New York Times report:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/nyregion/21lirr.html
Virtually every career employee — as many as 97 percent in one recent
year — applies for and gets disability payments soon after retirement,
a computer analysis of federal records by The New York Times has found. Since
2000, those records show, about a quarter of a billion dollars in federal
disability money has gone to former L.I.R.R. employees, including about 2,000
who retired during that time.
The L.I.R.R.’s disability rate suggests it is one of the nation’s
most dangerous places to work. Yet in four of the last five years, the railroad
has won national awards for improving worker safety.
“Short of the gulag, I can’t imagine any work force that would
have a so-to-speak 90 percent disability attrition rate,” said Glenn
Scammel, long one of Capitol Hill’s top experts on railroads. “That
defies both logic and experience.”
“How is it that somebody is occupationally disabled the day after he
retires when he wasn’t occupationally disabled the day before he
retired?” asked Gary Dellaverson, chief financial officer for the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the railroad’s parent.
The answer, according to government records and dozens of interviews, stems
from a combination of factors, including highly unusual L.I.R.R. contracts
that allow longtime workers to retire with a pension as early as age 50,
federal rules that let railroad retirees claim disability for jobs they no
longer hold, and an obscure federal agency called the Railroad Retirement
Board that almost never says no to a disability claim.
[Federal Register: September 26, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 188)]
[Notices]
[Page 55881-55882]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26se08-94]
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RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
Agency Forms Submitted for OMB Review, Request for Comments
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is forwarding
an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to
request an extension without change of a currently approved collection
of information: 3220-0038, Medical Reports. Our ICR describes the
information we seek to collect from the public. Review and approval by
OIRA ensures that we impose appropriate paperwork burdens.
The RRB invites comments on the proposed collection of information
to determine (1) The practical utility of the collection; (2) the
accuracy of the estimated burden of the collection; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the information that is the subject
of collection; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of collections on
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Comments to RRB or OIRA must
contain the OMB control number of the ICR. For proper consideration of
your comments, it is best if RRB and OIRA receive them within 30 days
of publication date.
Under Sections 2(a)(1)(iv), 2(a)(2) and 2(a)(3) of the Railroad
Retirement Act (RRA), annuities are payable to qualified railroad
employees whose physical or mental condition is such that they are
unable to (1) work in their regular occupation (occupational
disability); or (2) work at all (permanent total disability). The
requirements for establishment of disability and proof of continuance
of disability are prescribed in 20 CFR 220.
Under Sections 2(c)(1)(ii)(c) and 2(d)(1)(ii) of the RRA, annuities
are also payable to qualified spouses and widow(ers), respectively, who
have a qualified child who is under a disability which began before age
22. Annuities are also payable to surviving children on the basis of
disability under Section 2(d)(1)(iii)(C) if the child's disability
began before age 22 and to widow(ers) on the basis of disability under
section 2(d)(1) (i)(B). To meet the disability standard, the RRA
provides that individuals must have a permanent physical or mental
condition such that they are unable to engage in any regular
employment.
Under section 2(d)(1)(v) of the RRA, annuities are also payable to
remarried and surviving divorced spouses on the basis of, inter alia,
disability or having a qualified disabled child in care. However, the
disability standard in these cases is that found in the Social Security
Act. That is, individuals must be able to engage in any substantial
gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or
mental impairment. The RRB also determines entitlement to a period of
early disability and early Medicare entitlement for qualified claimants
in accordance with Section 216 of the Social Security Act.
When making disability determinations, the RRB needs evidence from
acceptable medical sources. The RRB currently utilizes Forms G-3EMP,
Report of Medical Condition by Employer; G-197, Authorization to
Release Medical Information, G-250, Medical Assessment; G-250a, Medical
Assessment of Residual Functional Capacity; G-260, Report of Seizure
Disorder; RL-11b, Disclosure of Hospital Medical Records; RL-11d,
Disclosure of Medical Records from a State Agency; and RL-250, Request
for Medical Assessment, to obtain the necessary medical evidence. The
RRB proposes no changes to the information collection. Completion of
the forms is voluntary. One response is requested of each respondent.
Previous Requests for Comments: The RRB has already published the
initial 60-day notice (73 FR 22183 on April 24,
[[Page 55882]]
2008) required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2). That request elicited no
comments.
Information Collection Request (ICR)
Title: Medical Reports.
OMB Control Number: OMB 3220-0038.
Form(s) submitted: G-3EMP, G-197, G-250, G-250a, G-260, RL-11B, RL-
11D, RL-250.
Type of request: Extension without change of a currently approved
collection of information.
Affected public: Individuals or households; Private Sector; State,
Local and Tribal Government.
Abstract: The Railroad Retirement Act provides disability annuities
for qualified railroad employees whose physical or mental condition
renders them incapable of working in their regular occupation
(occupational disability) or any occupation (total disability). The
medical reports obtain information needed for determining the nature
and severity of the impairment.
Changes proposed: The RRB proposes no changes to the forms in the
collection.
The burden estimate for the ICR is as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual
Form No. responses Time (min.) Burden (hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G-3EMP.......................................................... 600 10 100
G-197........................................................... 6,000 10 1,000
G-250........................................................... 11,950 30 5,975
G-250a.......................................................... 50 20 17
G-260........................................................... 100 25 42
RL-11b.......................................................... 5,000 10 833
RL-11d.......................................................... 250 10 42
RL-250.......................................................... 11,950 10 1,992
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Total....................................................... 35,900 .............. 10,001
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional information or comments: Copies of the form and
supporting documents can be obtained from Charles Mierzwa, the agency
clearance officer at (312-751-3363) or Charles.Mierzwa@rrb.gov.
Comments regarding the information collection should be addressed
to Ronald J. Hodapp, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush Street,
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092 or Ronald.Hodapp@rrb.gov and to the OMB
Desk Officer for the RRB, at the Office of Management and Budget, Room
10230, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.
Charles Mierzwa,
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. E8-22672 Filed 9-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7905-01-P
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