H. R. 2594—3
‘‘(I) a period of consecutive days of sickness, whether
from 1 or more causes; or
‘‘(II) a period of successive days of sickness due to
a single cause without interruption of more than 90
consecutive days which are not days of sickness.
‘‘(iv) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING END OF PERIOD.—For pur-
poses of applying clause (ii), a period of continuing sickness
ends when an employee exhausts rights to sickness benefits
under subsection (c) of this section.’’.
SEC. 4. MAXIMUM DAILY BENEFIT RATE.
Paragraph (3) of section 2(a) of the Railroad Unemployment
Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(3) The maximum daily benefit rate computed by the Board
under section 12(r)(2) shall be the product of the monthly compensa-
tion base, as computed under section 1(i)(2) for the base year
immediately preceding the beginning of the benefit year, multiplied
by 5 percent. If the maximum daily benefit rate so computed is
not a multiple of $1, it shall be rounded down to the nearest
multiple of $1.’’.
SEC. 5. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS FOR BENEFITS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 2 of the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(c)) is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(c) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF DAYS FOR BENEFITS.—
‘‘(1) NORMAL BENEFITS.—
‘‘(A) GENERALLY.—The maximum number of days of
unemployment within a benefit year for which benefits
may be paid to an employee shall be 130, and the maximum
number of days of sickness within a benefit year for which
benefits may be paid to an employee shall be 130.
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The total amount of benefits that
may be paid to an employee for days of unemployment
within a benefit year shall in no case exceed the employee’s
compensation in the base year; and the total amount of
benefits that may be paid to an employee for days of
sickness within a benefit year shall in no case exceed
the employee’s compensation in the base year, except that
notwithstanding section 1(i), in determining the employee’s
compensation in the base year for the purpose of this
sentence, any money remuneration paid to the employee
for services rendered as an employee shall be taken into
account that is not in excess of an amount that bears
the same ratio to $775 as the monthly compensation base
for that year as computed under section 1(i) bears to $600.
‘‘(2) EXTENDED BENEFITS.—
‘‘(A) GENERALLY.—With respect to an employee who
has 10 or more years of service as defined in section 1(f)
of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, who did not volun-
tarily retire and (in a case involving exhaustion of rights
to normal benefits for days of unemployment) did not
voluntarily leave work without good cause, and who had
current rights to normal benefits for days of unemployment
or days of sickness in a benefit year but has exhausted
such rights, the benefit year in which such rights are
exhausted shall be deemed not to be ended until the last
day of the extended benefit period determined under this
H. R. 2594—4
paragraph, and extended unemployment benefits or
extended sickness benefits (depending on the type of normal
benefit rights exhausted) may be paid for not more than
65 days of unemployment or 65 days of sickness within
such extended benefit period.
‘‘(B) BEGINNING DATE.—An employee’s extended benefit
period shall begin on the employee’s first day of unemploy-
ment or first day of sickness, as the case may be, following
the day on which the employee exhausts the employee’s
then current rights to normal benefits for days of unemploy-
ment or days of sickness and shall continue for 7 consecu-
tive 14-day periods, each of which shall constitute a reg-
istration period, but no such extended benefit period shall
extend beyond the beginning of the first registration period
in a benefit year in which the employee is again qualified
for benefits in accordance with section 3 on the basis of
compensation earned after the first of such consecutive
14-day periods has begun.
‘‘(C) TERMINATION WHEN EMPLOYEE REACHES AGE OF
65.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this para-
graph, an extended benefit period for sickness benefits
shall terminate on the day next preceding the date on
which the employee attains age 65, except that it may
continue for the purpose of paying benefits for days of
unemployment.
‘‘(3) ACCELERATED BENEFITS.—
‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—With respect to an employee who
has 10 or more years of service as defined in section 1(f)
of the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, who did not volun-
tarily retire, and (in a case involving unemployment bene-
fits) did not voluntarily leave work without good cause,
who has 14 or more consecutive days of unemployment,
or 14 or more consecutive days of sickness, and who is
not a qualified employee with respect to the general benefit
year current when such unemployment or sickness com-
mences but is or becomes a qualified employee for the
next succeeding general benefit year, such succeeding gen-
eral benefit year shall, in that employee’s case, begin on
the first day of the month in which such unemployment
or sickness commences.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—In the case of a succeeding benefit
year beginning in accordance with subparagraph (A) by
reason of sickness, such sentence shall not operate to
permit the payment of benefits in the period provided for
in such sentence for any day of sickness beginning with
the date on which the employee attains age 65, and continu-
ing through the day preceding the first day of the next
succeeding general benefit year.
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‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AGE.—For the purposes of this
subsection, the Board may rely on evidence of age available
in its records and files at the time determinations of age
are made.’’.
(b) REPEAL OF DEADWOOD PROVISION.—Section 2(h) of the Rail-
road Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 352(h)) is repealed.
(c) REPEAL OF EXPIRED PROVISION.—Section 17 of the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. 368), relating to payment
of supplemental unemployment benefits, is repealed.
SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.