(a) General. This subpart explains how long a qualified employee may receive normal unemployment or sickness benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act during a benefit year. Under section 2(c) of that Act, normal unemployment benefits are payable for up to 130 days of unemployment within a benefit year, or in an amount equal to the amount of the employee's “base year compensation”, whichever is less. A similar limitation applies to the payment of sickness benefits. An employee who exhausts his or her normal unemployment or sickness benefits may be eligible for payment of extended unemployment or extended sickness benefits under the conditions set forth in subpart B of this part.

(b) Definitions. The terms “benefit year”, “base year”, and “compensation” are defined in part 302 of this chapter. The term “registration period” is defined in parts 325 and 335 of this chapter. For the purposes of this subpart, and as explained in § 336.4 of this part, an employee's “base year compensation” may include compensation in excess of the monthly compensation base (as defined in part 302 of this chapter) even though such excess may not be counted for the purpose of determining whether such employee is a “qualified employee” within the meaning of part 302.

(c) Recovery of benefits. When unemployment or sickness benefits are recovered by the Board for one or more days, the Board will disregard those days in determining whether the employee has exhausted normal unemployment or sickness benefits with respect to the applicable benefit year.

(a) 130 compensable day limitation. A qualified employee who has satisfied the waiting period for a benefit year may receive benefits for a maximum of 130 days of unemployment within such benefit year, subject to the limitation on payment explained in paragraph (b) of this section. In any registration period beginning after the end of the waiting period and before the beginning of the next ensuing benefit year, benefits are payable for days of unemployment in excess of four, but the aggregate number of compensable days may not exceed 130 for the benefit year. An employee who is unemployed on all days during a registration period could have a maximum of 10 compensable days of unemployment in such registration period. The amount of benefits for each compensable day of unemployment is the amount of the daily benefit rate computed for such employee pursuant to part 330 of this chapter.

(b) Base year compensation limit. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, the Board will not pay unemployment benefits to a qualified employee, with respect to his or her days of unemployment within a benefit year, in an amount greater than the amount of his or her base year compensation, as computed under § 336.4 of this part.

(c) Unemployment due to a strike. The limitations set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section also apply to an employee whose unemployment is due to a stoppage of work because of a strike in the establishment, premises, or enterprise at which he was last employed. But no unemployment benefits are payable for the employee's first 14 days of unemployment due to such stoppage of work.

The duration of normal sickness benefits is the same as the duration of normal unemployment benefits, as set forth in § 336.2 of this part. A qualified employee who has satisfied the benefit year waiting period and is otherwise eligible for sickness benefits may receive benefits for a maximum of 130 days of sickness within a benefit year, but the amount paid as sickness benefits may not exceed the amount of the employee's base year compensation, as computed under § 336.4 of this part.

(a) Formula. For the purposes of this part, an employee's base year compensation includes any compensation in excess of the monthly compensation base (as defined in part 302 of this chapter) for any month in the applicable base year but shall not include any amount that exceeds the value of “X” in the following formula: X = $775(A/$600). In this formula, “A” is the dollar amount of the monthly compensation base with respect to months in such base year. For example, if an employee had railroad earnings of $1,500 per month in each of three months in base year 1990, the employee's base year compensation for purposes of part 302 of this chapter would be $2,235 (three times the monthly compensation base of $745 per month for months in 1990). But the employee's base year compensation for purposes of computing maximum normal unemployment (or sickness) benefits under this subpart would be $2,886 (three times $962), and his or her normal unemployment (or sickness) benefits would not be considered exhausted until he or she is paid unemployment (or sickness) benefits in an amount equal to $2,886. In this example, $962 is the amount computed as the value of “X” in the above formula when “A” is equal to $745.

(b) Employer's duty to report. The base year employer(s) of an employee shall provide information as to the amount of an employee's monthly compensation in excess of the monthly compensation base, as defined in part 302 of this chapter, unless the amount of the employee's compensation at the monthly compensation base limit, as already reported to the Board, is equal to or greater than an amount equal to 130 times the daily benefit rate applicable to the employee's days of unemployment or days of sickness.

The Board will notify an employee when it appears that his or her right to normal unemployment or normal sickness benefits will be exhausted. Such notice will include information about the availability of extended benefits under subpart B of this part if the employee has completed 10 years of railroad service and the availability of normal benefits for the next ensuing benefit year if the employee is not eligible for extended benefits.