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II. How to Make a FOIA Request.

The United States Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is a federal agency charged with the administration of the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts.  In general, the Railroad Retirement Act replaces the Social Security Act for employment in the railroad industry.  Similarly, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act replaces state unemployment acts for work in the railroad industry.  The RRB is headquartered at 844 North Rush Street in Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092.  All written requests for records should be directed to this address.

Information available from the RRB under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) includes the agency’s procedure manuals, final decisions of the three-member Board which heads the agency, rulings of the Board, and legal opinions.  Board coverage decisions and agency legal opinions are available on our web site.

Because the RRB administers a comprehensive program of railroad retirement, unemployment, and sickness benefits for railroad workers, it also maintains information about individuals that may not be disclosed in response to a FOIA request.  The Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and the Privacy Act restrict the disclosure of information about individuals.  If someone requests information about an individual, the requester must, as a general rule, provide the RRB a written authorization signed by the individual who is the subject of that record.

A. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all individual agency components and offices that receive FOIA requests.

All requests, other than those to the Inspector General, under the FOIA should be made by writing to Steven A. Bartholow, General Counsel.  No form is needed.  Mark both the envelope and its contents: “FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST” or “INFORMATION REQUEST.”  Address your request to:

Steven A. Bartholow
General Counsel
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

Because of the independent nature of the Office of Inspector General, requests for information from the Inspector General should be made by writing to Martin J. Dickman, Inspector General.  No form is needed.  Mark both the envelope and its contents: “FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST” or “INFORMATION REQUEST.”  Address your request to:

Martin J. Dickman
Inspector General
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street 
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092

If someone wants to request a record that we do not publish or which we do not make available in one of our offices, the requester must give us a detailed description of the record(s) he or she wants.  The requester should give us as many details as possible, such as names, dates, subject matter and location.  A vague description could delay our answer or prevent us from finding the records requested.  We will ask a requester to revise a request if we need information to find the record(s).  A requester should include a daytime telephone number where he or she can be reached in case we have questions about the request.

B. Brief description of the agency’s response-time ranges.

In general, the RRB responds to requests under the FOIA within 20 work days.

C. Brief description of why some requests are not granted.

The most common reason that a request cannot be granted is the restrictions on disclosure contained in sections 12(d) and 12(n) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. § 362(d) and (n)).  Those sections restrict the disclosure of personally identifiable material (section 12(d)) and medical records (section 12(n)).  Section 12(d) has been held to be an exemption 3 statute in Association of Retired Railroad Workers v. United States Railroad Retirement Bd., 830 F. 2d 331,334 (D.C. Cir. 1987).