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Eligibility
Requirements —
To receive unemployment benefits you must:
- be unemployed
and receive no wages, salary, military reservist pay,
pay for time lost, vacation pay, holiday pay, guarantee
pay, or other remuneration from railroad or non-railroad
employment for the days you claim benefits. Under certain
conditions, part-time
work does not affect entitlement
to benefits. However, you must report
all full-time and part-time work you perform
to the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) on each claim for
benefits you file. The RRB will then determine whether
your pay is "subsidiary remuneration" and whether
benefits are payable for days on which you worked part-time.
Contact your local RRB office for additional guidance
on the effects of part-time work.
- be able to work.
You must not be sick or injured.
- be ready and willing
to work. If you do not have good
prospects of returning to work soon, you must be looking
for work. You may be called in for an interview and asked
where you have looked for work. An RRB representative
may also suggest places for you to apply for work. If
you are looking for work, use the form on page 11
to record your efforts to find work.
- pass the earnings test
for each claim. Your total earnings
in the claim period must not exceed the monthly compensation
base for the calendar year (base year) that precedes the
benefit year (begins July 1). Earnings include pay from
railroad, non-railroad, part-time, and self-employment.
Earnings also include pay that you would have earned except
for your failure to mark up or report for duty on time,
or because you missed a turn in pool service or were otherwise
not ready or willing to work. Earnings do not include
payments you receive during the claim period that are
for days outside the claim period. All earnings for a
work shift are attributable to the day the shift begins.
The earnings test amount increases with each benefit year.
Example
A: An
employee works 6 days in the period December 13 through
26, 2001 and receives holiday pay for December 25. The
gross earnings and holiday pay total $1,100. Because
$1,100 exceeds the 2001 monthly compensation base of $1,050.00,
no benefits are payable for the claim period.
Example B:
An employee has total gross earnings of $800 from 4 days
of work and 2 days of vacation pay in the period March
1 through 14, 2001. During the period, the employee also
missed a turn in pool service for which $300 would have
been earned. No benefits are payable for the claim period
because the actual earnings of $800 plus the earnings
that would have come from the missed turn in pool service
total $1,100. This is more than the 2001 monthly compensation
base of $1050.00.
- obtain an application
for unemployment benefits from your
employer, labor organization, or the RRB.
- complete and file the
application for unemployment benefits
during your first 30 days of unemployment. You may lose
benefits if you file late. An application is considered
filed on the day it is received by the RRB. If you claimed
benefits earlier in the benefit year, stopped claiming,
and now want to claim benefits again, you must request
a claim form from your local RRB office within 30 days.
Only one application is required in each benefit year.
- mail the completed
application to the RRB district
office serving your area. After your application is processed,
your first unemployment claim will be mailed to you for
completion.
Eligibility
Interviews — In
order to establish your eligibility for benefits and to
explain your rights and responsibilities in claiming benefits,
you may be required to personally report to a Railroad Retirement
Board (RRB) representative for an interview. The RRB representative
will also answer any questions you may have about your benefits.
The RRB’s authority for conducting such
interviews is contained in the Railroad Unemployment Insurance
Act. Failure to report for an interview could result in
a loss of benefits for 30 days if you do not have a good
reason for failing to report.
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