View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

Time Remaining Days HR Min Sec

OMB Control No: 3220-0005	ICR Reference No: 202601-3220-001
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202209-3220-001
Agency/Subagency: RRB	Agency Tracking No:
Title: Employer Reporting
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 01/27/2026

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	02/28/2026
Responses	2,630	2,748
Time Burden (Hours)	357	438
Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0

Abstract: Under the Railroad Retirement Act and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, railroad employers are required to report service and compensation for employees needed to determine eligibility to and the amounts of benefits paid.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 45 USC 356 Name of Law: Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
US Code: 45 USC 231f Name of Law: Railroad Retirement Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	90 FR 52714	11/21/2025
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 2565	01/21/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	2,630	2,748	-118
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	357	438	-81
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	0	0	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: The annual responses decreased from 2,748 to 2,630 and the burden decreased from 438 to 357 and the changes provides a more accurate burden estimate. Almost all employers now submit the BA-6a via ERSNet, shifting the burden from FTP, Secure Email, and CD-ROM submission to BA-6a (Internet) instead. The lines for BA-6a (Email), BA-6a (FTP), and BA-6a (CD-ROM) were consolidated into BA-6a (Electronic Equivalent). In all 3 cases, the exact same information is being collected in the exact same format – the text file format specified in Appendix I of the Employer Reporting Instructions. While employers can transmit that information to the RRB via either File Transfer Protocol or Secure Email, both methods are simply different ways of sending the same form and carry the same time burden. The RRB no longer accepts Railroad Initiated paper forms BA-6a. All employers are required to instead submit the BA-6a via ERSNet, Secure Email, or File Transfer Protocol. The G-88A.1 Internet (Class I Railroads) line was eliminated because the GL-88A.1 (Internet) is a form completed for an individual employee, and the size of the employer has no bearing on the time it takes to complete the form and does not change the way in which it is responded to on ERSNet.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $0

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

Agency Contact: Brian Foster 312 751-4826 brian.foster@rrb.gov

View ICR - Agency Submission