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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 362. Duties and powers of Board
(a) Witnesses; subpenas, service, fees, etc.
For the purpose of any investigation or other proceeding relative
to the determination of any right to benefits, or relative to any
other matter within its jurisdiction under this chapter, the Board
shall have the power to issue subpenas requiring the attendance and
testimony of witnesses and the production of any evidence,
documentary or otherwise, that relates to any matter under
investigation or in question, before the Board or any member,
employee, or representative thereof. Any member of the Board or any
of its employees or representatives designated by it may administer
oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, and receive evidence.
Such attendance of witnesses and production of evidence may be
required from any place in the United States or any Territory or
possession thereof at any designated place of hearing. All subpenas
may be served and returned by anyone authorized by the Board in the
same manner as is now provided by law for the service and return by
United States marshals of subpenas in suits in equity. Such service
may also be made by registered mail or by certified mail and in
such case the return post-office receipt shall be proof of service.
Witnesses summoned in accordance with this subsection shall be paid
the same fees and mileage as are paid witnesses in the district
courts of the United States.
(b) Enforcement of subpenas by courts; contempts; service of
orders, writs, or processes
In case of contumacy by, or refusal to obey a subpena lawfully
issued to, any person, the Board may invoke the aid of the district
court of the United States or the United States courts of any
Territory or possession, where such person is found or resides or
is otherwise subject to service of process, or the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia if the investigation or
proceeding is being carried on in the District of Columbia, or the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois,
if the investigation or proceeding is being carried on in the
Northern District of Illinois, in requiring the attendance and
testimony of witnesses and the production of evidence. Any such
court shall issue an order requiring such person to appear before
the Board or its specified employee or representative at the place
specified in the subpena of the Board, whether within or without
the judicial district of the court, there to produce evidence, if
so ordered, or there to give testimony concerning the matter under
investigation or in question; and any failure to obey such order of
the court may be punished by said court as a contempt thereof. All
orders, writs, and processes in any such proceeding may be served
in the judicial district of the district court issuing such order,
writ, or process, except that the orders, writs, and processes of
the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or of
the United States District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois in such proceedings may run and be served anywhere in the
United States.
(c) Repealed. Pub. L. 91-452, title II, Sec. 239, Oct. 15, 1970, 84
Stat. 930
(d) Information as confidential
Information obtained by the Board in connection with the
administration of this chapter shall not be revealed or open to
inspection nor be published in any manner revealing an employee's
identity: Provided, however, That (i) the Board may arrange for the
exchange of any information with governmental agencies engaged in
functions related to the administration of this chapter; (ii) the
Board may disclose such information in cases in which the Board
finds that such disclosure is clearly in furtherance of the
interest of the employee or his estate; (iii) any claimant of
benefits under this chapter shall, upon his request, be supplied
with information from the Board's records pertaining to his claim;
and (iv) the Board shall disclose to any base-year employer of a
claimant for benefits any information, including information as to
the claimant's identity, that is necessary or appropriate to notify
such employer of the claim for benefits or to full and fair
participation by such employer in an appeal, hearing, or other
proceeding relative to the claim pursuant to section 355 of this
title. Subject to the provisions of this section, the Board may
furnish such information to any person or organization upon payment
by such person or organization to the Board of the cost incurred by
the Board by reason thereof; and the amounts so paid to the Board
shall be credited to the railroad unemployment insurance
administration fund established pursuant to section 361(a) of this
title;
(e) Certification of claims; authorization of employee to make
payments; bond
The Board shall provide for the certification of claims for
benefits and refunds and may arrange total or partial settlements
at such times and in such manner as may appear to the Board to be
expedient. The Board shall designate and authorize one or more of
its employees to sign vouchers for the payment of benefits and
refunds under this chapter. Each such employee shall give bond, in
form and amount fixed by the Board, conditioned upon the faithful
performance of his duties. The premiums due on such bonds shall be
paid from the fund and deemed to be a part of the expenses of
administering this chapter.
(f) Cooperation with other agencies administering unemployment or
sickness compensation laws; agreements
The Board may cooperate with or enter into agreement with the
appropriate agencies charged with the administration of State,
Territorial, Federal, or foreign unemployment-compensation or
sickness laws or employment offices, with respect to
investigations, the exchange of information and services, the
establishment, maintenance, and use of free employment service
facilities, and such other matters as the Board deems expedient in
connection with the administration of this chapter, and may
compensate any such agency for services or facilities supplied to
the Board in connection with the administration of this chapter.
The Board may enter also into agreements with any such agency,
pursuant to which any unemployment or sickness benefits provided
for by this chapter or any other unemployment-compensation or
sickness law, may be paid through a single agency to persons who
have, during the period on the basis of which eligibility for and
duration of benefits is determined under the law administered by
such agency or under this chapter, or both, performed services
covered by one or more of such laws, or performed services which
constitute employment as defined in this chapter: Provided, That
the Board finds that any such agreement is fair and reasonable as
to all affected interests.
(g) Benefits also subject to a State law; mutual reimbursement
In determining whether an employee has qualified for benefits in
accordance with section 353 of this title, and in determining the
amount of benefits to be paid to such employee in accordance with
section 352(a) and (c) of this title, the Board is authorized to
consider as employment (and compensation therefor) services for
hire other than employment (and remuneration therefor) if such
services for hire are subject to an unemployment or sickness
compensation law of any State, provided that such State has agreed
to reimburse the United States such portion of the benefits to be
paid upon such basis to such employee as the Board deems equitable.
Any amounts collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be credited
to the account.
If a State, in determining whether an employee is eligible for
unemployment or sickness benefits under an unemployment or sickness
compensation law of such State, and in determining the amount of
unemployment or sickness benefits to be paid to such employee
pursuant to such unemployment or sickness compensation law,
considers as services for hire (and remuneration therefor) included
within the provisions of such unemployment or sickness compensation
law, employment (and compensation therefor), the Board is
authorized to reimburse such State such portion of such
unemployment or sickness benefits as the Board deems equitable;
such reimbursements shall be paid from the account, and are
included within the meaning of the word "benefits" as used in this
chapter.
(h) Assistance from employers and labor organizations; compensation
The Board may enter into agreements or arrangements with
employers, organizations of employers, and railway-labor
organizations which are duly organized in accordance with the
provisions of the Railway Labor Act [45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.], for
securing the performance of services or the use of facilities in
connection with the administration of this chapter, and may
compensate any such employer or organization therefor upon such
reasonable basis as the Board shall prescribe, but not to exceed
the additional expense incurred by such employer or organization by
reason of the performance of such services or making available the
use of such facilities pursuant to such agreements or arrangements.
Such employers and organizations, and persons employed by either of
them, shall not be subject to section 209 of title 18.
(i) Free employment offices; registration of unemployed; statements
of sickness; reemployment
The Board may establish, maintain, and operate free employment
offices, and may designate as free employment offices facilities
maintained by (i) a railway labor organization which is duly
authorized and designated to represent employees in accordance with
the Railway Labor Act [45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.], or (ii) any other
labor organization which has been or may be organized in accordance
with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, or (iii) one or more
employers, or (iv) an organization of employers, or (v) a group of
such employers and labor organizations, or (vi) a State,
Territorial, foreign, or the Federal Government. The Board may also
enter into agreements or arrangements with one or more employers or
railway labor organizations organized in accordance with the
provisions of the Railway Labor Act, pursuant to which notice of
the availability of work and the rights of employees with respect
to such work under agreements between such employers and railway
labor organizations may be filed with employment offices and
pursuant to which employees registered with employment offices may
be referred to such work.
The Board shall prescribe a procedure for registration of
unemployed employees at employment offices. Such procedure for
registration shall be prescribed with a view to such registration
affording substantial evidence of the days of unemployment of the
employees who register. The Board may, when such registration is
made personally by an employee, accept such registration as initial
proof of unemployment sufficient to certify for payment a claim for
benefits.
The Board shall provide a form or forms for statements of
sickness and a procedure for the execution and filing thereof. Such
forms and procedure shall be designated with a view to having such
statements provide substantial evidence of the days of sickness of
the employee. Such statements may be executed by any doctor
(authorized to practice in the State or foreign jurisdiction in
which he practices his profession) or any officer or supervisory
employee of a hospital, clinic, group health association, or other
similar organization, who is qualified under such regulations as
the Board may prescribe to execute such statements. The Board shall
issue regulations for the qualification of such persons to execute
such statements. When so executed by any such person, or, in the
discretion of the Board, by others designated by the Board
individually or by groups, they may be accepted as initial proof of
days of sickness sufficient to certify for payment a claim for
benefits.
The regulations of the Board concerning registration at
employment offices by unemployed persons may provide for group
registration and reporting, through employers, and need not be
uniform with respect to different classes of employees.
The operation of any employment facility operated by the Board
shall be directed primarily toward the reemployment of employees
who have theretofore been substantially employed by employers.
(j) Advisory councils; members' remuneration
The Board may appoint national or local advisory councils
composed of equal numbers of representatives of employers,
representatives of employees, and persons representing the general
public, for the purpose of discussing problems in connection with
the administration of this chapter and aiding the Board in
formulating policies. The members of such councils shall serve
without remuneration, but shall be reimbursed for any necessary
traveling and subsistence expenses or on a per diem basis in lieu
of subsistence expenses.
(k) Reduction of unemployment; training and reemployment of
unemployed employees, etc.
The Board, with the advice and aid of any advisory council
appointed by it, shall take appropriate steps to reduce and prevent
unemployment and loss of earnings; to encourage and assist in the
adoption of practical methods of vocational training, retraining,
and vocational guidance; to promote the reemployment of unemployed
employees; and to these ends to carry on and publish the results of
investigations and research studies.
(l) Necessary and incidental powers; employees of Board,
employment, remuneration, civil-service laws, registration of
unemployed, and detail
In addition to the powers and duties expressly provided, the
Board shall have and exercise all the powers and duties necessary
to administer or incidental to administering this chapter, and in
connection therewith shall have such of the powers, duties, and
remedies provided in subdivisions (5), (6), and (9) of section 7(b)
of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 [45 U.S.C. 231f(b)] with
respect to the administration of the Railroad Retirement Act of
1974 [45 U.S.C. 231 et seq.], as are not inconsistent with the
express provisions of this chapter. A person in the employ of the
Board under section 205 of the Act of Congress approved June 24,
1937 (50 Stat. 307), shall acquire a competitive classified
civil-service status if, after recommendation by the Board to the
Director of the Office of Personnel Management, he shall pass such
noncompetitive tests of fitness as the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management may prescribe. A person in the employ of the
Board on June 30, 1939, and on June 30, 1940, and who has had
experience in railroad service, shall acquire a competitive
classified civil-service status if, after recommendation by the
Board to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, he
shall pass such noncompetitive tests of fitness for the position
for which the Board recommends him as the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management may prescribe.
The Board may employ such persons and provide for their
remuneration and expenses, as may be necessary for the proper
administration of this chapter. Such persons shall be employed and
their remuneration prescribed in accordance with the civil-service
laws and chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5:
Provided, That all positions to which such persons are appointed,
except one administrative assistant to each member of the Board,
shall be in and under the competitive civil service and shall not
be removed or excepted therefrom: Provided, That in the employment
of such persons the Board shall give preference, as between
applicants attaining the same grades, to persons who have had
experience in railroad service, and notwithstanding any other
provisions of law, rules, or regulations, no other preference shall
be given or recognized: And provided further, That certification by
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management of persons for
appointment to any positions at minimum salaries of $4,600 per
annum, or less, shall, if the Board so requests, be upon the basis
of competitive examinations, written, oral, or both, as the Board
may request: And provided further, That, for the purpose of
registering unemployed employees who reside in areas in which no
employer facilities are located, or in which no employer will make
facilities available for the registration of such employees, the
Board may, without regard to civil-service laws and chapter 51 and
subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, appoint persons to accept,
in such areas, registration of such employees and perform services
incidental thereto and may compensate such persons on a piece-rate
basis to be determined by the Board. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Board may detail employees from stations
outside the District of Columbia to other stations outside the
District of Columbia or to service in the District of Columbia, and
may detail employees in the District of Columbia to service outside
the District of Columbia: Provided, That all details hereunder
shall be made by specific order and in no case for a period of time
exceeding one hundred and twenty days. Details so made may, on
expiration, be renewed from time to time by order of the Board, in
each particular case, for periods not exceeding one hundred and
twenty days.
(m) Delegation of powers
The Board is authorized to delegate to any member, officer, or
employee of the Board any of the powers conferred upon the Board by
this chapter, excluding only the power to prescribe rules and
regulations.
(n) Sickness benefits; examinations; information and reports;
contracts and expenses for examinations
Any employee claiming, entitled to, or receiving sickness
benefits under this chapter may be required to take such
examination, physical, medical, mental, or otherwise, in such
manner and at such times and by such qualified individuals,
including medical officers or employees of the United States or a
State, as the Board may prescribe. The place or places of
examination shall be reasonably convenient for the employee. No
sickness benefits shall be payable under this chapter with respect
to any period during which the employee unreasonably refuses to
take or willfully obstructs an examination as prescribed by the
Board.
Any doctor who renders any attendance, treatment, attention, or
care, or performs any examination with respect to a sickness of an
employee, upon which a claim or right to benefits under this
chapter is based, shall furnish the Board, in such manner and form
and at such times as the Board by regulations may prescribe,
information and reports relative thereto and to the condition of
the employee. An application for sickness benefits under this
chapter shall contain a waiver of any doctor-patient privilege that
the employee may have with respect to any sickness period upon
which such application is based: Provided, That such information
shall not be disclosed by the Board except in a proceeding relating
to any claim for benefits by the employee under this chapter.
The Board may enter into agreements or arrangements with doctors,
hospitals, clinics, or other persons for securing the examination,
physical, medical, mental, or otherwise, of employees claiming,
entitled to, or receiving sickness benefits under this chapter and
the performance of services or the use of facilities in connection
with the execution of statements of sickness. The Board may
compensate any such doctors, hospitals, clinics, or other persons
upon such reasonable basis as the Board shall prescribe. Such
doctors, hospitals, clinics, or other persons and persons employed
by any of them shall not be subject to section 209 of title 18. In
the event that the Board pays for the physical or mental
examination of an employee or for the execution of a statement of
sickness and such employee's claim for benefits is based upon such
examination or statement, the Board shall deduct from any sickness
benefits payable to the employee pursuant to such claim such amount
as, in the judgment of the Board, is a fair and reasonable charge
for such examination or execution of such statement.
(o) Liability of third party for sickness; reimbursement of Board
Benefits payable to an employee with respect to days of sickness
shall be payable regardless of the liability of any person to pay
damages for such infirmity. The Board shall be entitled to
reimbursement from any sum or damages paid or payable to such
employee or other person through suit, compromise, settlement,
judgment, or otherwise on account of any liability (other than a
liability under a health, sickness, accident, or similar insurance
policy) based upon such infirmity, to the extent that it will have
paid or will pay benefits for days of sickness resulting from such
infirmity. Upon notice to the person against whom such right or
claim exists or is asserted, the Board shall have a lien upon such
right or claim, any judgment obtained thereunder, and any sum or
damages paid under such right or claim, to the extent of the amount
to which the Board is entitled by way of reimbursement.
(p) Disqualification to execute statements of sickness or receive
fees
The Board may, after hearing, disqualify any person from
executing statements of sickness who, the Board finds, (i) will
have solicited, or will have employed another to solicit, for
himself or for another the execution of any such statement, or (ii)
will have made false or misleading statements to the Board, to any
employer, or to any employee, in connection with the awarding of
any benefits under this chapter, or (iii) will have failed to
submit medical reports and records required by the Board under this
chapter, or will have failed to submit any other reports, records,
or information required by the Board in connection with the
administration of this chapter or any other Act heretofore or
hereafter administered by the Board, or (iv) will have engaged in
any malpractice or other professional misconduct. No fees or
charges of any kind shall accrue to any such person from the Board
after his disqualification.
(q) Investigations and research with respect to accidents and
disabilities
The Board shall engage in and conduct research projects,
investigations, and studies with respect to the cause, care, and
prevention of, and benefits for, accidents and disabilities and
other subjects deemed by the Board to be related thereto, and shall
recommend legislation deemed advisable in the light of such
research projects, investigations, and studies.
(r) Duty of Board to make certain computations
(1) Compensation base
On or before December 1, 1988, and on or before December 1 of
each year thereafter, the Board shall compute -
(A) in accordance with section 351(i) of this title, the
monthly compensation base which shall be applicable with
respect to months in the next succeeding calendar year; and
(B) the amounts described in section 351(k) of this title,
section 352(c) of this title, section 353 of this title, and
section 354(a-2)(i)(A) of this title that are related to
changes in the monthly compensation base.
(2) Maximum daily benefit rate
On or before June 1, 1989, and on or before June 1 of each year
thereafter, the Board shall compute in accordance with section
352(a)(3) of this title the maximum daily benefit rate which
shall be applicable with respect to days of unemployment and days
of sickness in registration periods beginning after June 30 of
that year.
(3) Notice in Federal Register and to employers
Not later than 10 days after each computation made under this
subsection, the Board shall publish notice in the Federal
Register and shall notify each employer and employee
representative of the amount so computed.
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