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The Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act provides two kinds of benefits for railroad employees: unemployment benefits, when you are not working but are ready, willing and able to work; and sickness benefits, when you are unable to work because of illness or injury. Sickness benefits are also payable to female employees unable to work because of pregnancy, miscarriage, or childbirth.
Benefit payments are based on biweekly claims filed with the Railroad Retirement Board, the Federal agency responsible for administering the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.
The funds to pay unemployment and sickness benefits are provided by payroll taxes on railroad employers only. Employees do not pay unemployment insurance taxes.
The following describes the requirements for railroad unemployment and sickness benefits, the amounts payable, and general requirements.
Base Year - Benefit Year
A new benefit year for unemployment and sickness benefits begins every July 1. To qualify in the benefit year beginning July 1, 2007, you must have base year earnings of $2,987.50 in calendar year 2006, counting no more than $1,195 per month. To qualify in the benefit year beginning July 1, 2008, you must have base year earnings of $3,075 in calendar year 2007, counting no more than $1,230 per month. If the base year was your first year of railroad service, you must also have worked in 5 months of that year.
Biweekly Benefits
The maximum daily benefit payable in the benefit year beginning July 2007 is $59 and, for biweekly claims, maximum benefits can total $590. The daily benefit rate will increase to $61 in July 2008 and may increase at the beginning of each future benefit year depending on the growth in average national wages.
Registration and waiting period.-- Benefits are normally paid for the number of days of unemployment or sickness over 4 in 14-day registration periods. Initial sickness claims must also begin with 4 consecutive days of sickness. However, during the first 14-day claim period in a benefit year, benefits are only payable for each day of unemployment or sickness in excess of 7 which, in effect, provides a 1-week waiting period. Separate waiting periods are required for unemployment and sickness benefits. However, only one 7-day waiting period is required during any period of continuing unemployment or sickness, even if that period continues into a subsequent benefit year.
Duration of Benefits
Normal benefits.-- Normal benefits are paid for up to 130 days (26 weeks) in a benefit year. Benefit rights are exhausted when a benefit year ends (normally June 30) or earlier if benefit payments equal base year creditable earnings. Maximum normal benefits payable in the benefit year beginning July 2007 cannot exceed your railroad earnings in base year 2006, counting monthly earnings of up to $1,544. In the benefit year beginning July 2008, monthly earnings up to $1,589 in base year 2007 will be counted.
In order to qualify for normal unemployment benefits, the employee must not have voluntarily quit work without good cause and not have voluntarily retired. However, these restrictions do not apply to normal sickness benefits.
General Requirements
To be eligible for unemployment benefits, you must be ready, willing and able to work and be available for work. A “day of unemployment” is a day on which you meet these conditions and do not receive any pay, are not disqualified, and have properly registered for unemployment benefits. If you are in train and engine service, any calendar day on which you do not work solely because of a mileage limitation or work-restriction agreement or solely because you are between regularly assigned trips or tours of duty, or because you missed a turn in pool service, is not considered a day of unemployment.
If you are an extra-board employee, you can receive unemployment benefits between jobs if the miles and/or hours you actually worked were less than the equivalent of normal full-time work in your class of service during the 14-day claim period. Entitlement to benefits would also depend on your earnings.
To be eligible for sickness benefits, you must be unable to work because of illness or injury. A “day of sickness” is a day on which you meet this condition and for which you do not receive any pay and have filed a “statement of sickness” signed by your doctor or other authorized individual. This statement provides evidence of your medical condition and its expected duration.
You may not receive benefits for any day for which you receive pay. This includes railroad and nonrailroad wages, salary, pay for time lost, pay while sick, dismissal allowances, most wage guaranty payments, vacation pay, holiday pay, military reservist pay, earnings from self-employment, or remuneration other than subsidiary remuneration.
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