Two rulings on cases involving the RRB were issued by Courts of Appeals during fiscal year 2015, and 61 legal opinions were issued by the RRB's Office of General Counsel.
Court Cases
Three petitions for review were filed during the year, and two cases were ruled upon by Courts of Appeal. At the conclusion of fiscal year 2015, there were five cases pending before various Courts of Appeals.
Legal Opinions
The RRB's Office of General Counsel issued 61 formal legal opinions in fiscal year 2015. The following are of particular interest.
Same-Sex Marriage - Obergefell v. Hodges -- L-2015-3.1
Issued August 14, 2015. The opinion finds that the holding of the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges must be applied retroactively to eight pending applications for spousal benefits. The opinion is a change in interpretation from Legal Opinion L-2015-03, which applied the decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 12, 133 S. Ct. 2675 (2013). The Windsor decision addressed the U.S. Courts of Appeals circuit split regarding the validity of same-sex marriages. Eight applications involving railroad employees and spouses who were married in a U.S. State which recognized same-sex marriages at the time of their marriage, but were living in a State which did not recognize their marriage prior to the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, were pending with the RRB.
The General Counsel advised that in light of the Obergefell decision, the RRB must comply with the Supreme Court ruling as it did in Legal Opinion L-1967-137, in which the Associate General Counsel advised the Director of Retirement Claims to retroactively apply the Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), which invalidated State laws banning interracial marriages.
Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 -- L-2015-13
Issued May 6, 2015. The Presidential and Federal Records Act Amendments of 2014 (P.L.113-187) were signed into law by President Obama on November 26, 2014. The opinion provides a brief analysis of the law, which requires the President, Vice President, and covered employees to forward a complete copy of any non-official electronic messaging account to an official electronic messaging account within 20 days after the record was created or transmitted. The opinion also provides a summary of how the law expands the types of unlawful forms of destruction of electronic records and the duties of Federal agency heads to notify the National Archives and Records Administration of any destruction of records in the custody of the agency.
Amendment of 20 CFR 220.45 -- L-2015-43
Issued September 14, 2015. The opinion, addressed to the three-member Board, proposed an amendment to section 220.45 of the agency's regulations. The amendment would modify the requirements for the evidence submitted by an applicant applying for a disability annuity. The current regulation simply requires the claimant to provide evidence of the claimed disability, but doesn't require the claimant to submit all evidence related to the disability. The amendment would change the RRB's regulation to mirror the change in the Social Security Administration's regulation. The new amendment would require an applicant to inform or submit to the RRB all evidence known to the applicant that relates to their disability claim.
Appeals
Any claimant for benefits under the Railroad Retirement or Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts may appeal a determination he or she feels is not justified. This appeal must be filed within certain time frames. Appeals are heard and decided by the RRB's Bureau of Hearings and Appeals. An appellant who is dissatisfied with the decision on his or her appeal may further appeal the case to the three-member Board within a prescribed period of time.
Railroad Retirement Act
During fiscal year 2015, 298 appeals were filed with the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals under the Railroad Retirement Act, and the Bureau rendered decisions in 342 appeals. The reconsideration decision was sustained in 181 cases. In 161 appeals the decision was favorable to the claimant in whole or in part.
Eighty-two appeals were filed with the three-member Board in fiscal year 2015, which, added to the 63* appeals carried over from the previous year, brought the total to be considered to 145. Of 39 decisions, 33 sustained previous rulings of the hearings officer, two were remanded to the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals, two were dismissed and two granted. At the end of the year, 105 appeals were pending before the Board.
| *-- A new electronic docketing system showed the end-of-year balance at 63, rather than 100 as reported in the 2015 Annual Report. |
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act
During fiscal year 2015, 30 appeals were filed with the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and the Bureau rendered decisions in 40 appeals. The reconsideration decision was sustained in 33 cases. In seven appeals the decision was favorable to the claimant in whole or in part.
Five appeals were filed with the Board in fiscal year 2015, which were added to the 10** carried over from the previous year, bringing the total to be considered to 15. The Board rendered decisions in three of the appeals, one affirming the decision of the hearings officer, one remanding the case to the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals and one granting the appeal. At the end of the year, 12 appeals were pending before the Board.
**-- A new electronic docketing system showed the end-of-year balance at 10, rather than 9 as reported in the
2015 Annual Report. |