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ON
TRACK WITH RAILWAY CLAIM SERVICES, Inc. Volume
13 Issue RAILWAY CLAIM SERVICES, INC.
Our 19th Year of Service BACKGROUND
CHECKS POLITICAL
WISDOM FROM YEARS PAST RRB ANNOUNCES 2006 TAX CHANGES TRAIN
ACCIDENT EMERGENCY
ORDER 24 WACKY
DEFINITIONS HOUSE
CRACKS DOWN OF FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS CATASTROPHE
LOSSES EMPLOYMENT
TRENDS RAILWAY
CLAIM SERVICES, INC. WEBSITE MEN
CATCHING UP TO WOMEN IN UNCLASSIFIED
POINTS
OF LEGAL INTEREST RCSI
INFORMATION BACKGROUND
CHECKS & 49 Railway
Claim Services, Inc. (RCSI)
can perform background checks for potential job applicants.
RCSI can also check injury histories for employees.
For further information contact Elizabeth Vineyard of RCSI at Background
checks are required for new employees under the Haz Mat Security Plan
implemented by If
your railroad has not yet implemented 49 POLITICAL
WISDOM FROM YEARS PAST We
hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.
Aesop When
they call the roll in the senate, the senators do not know whether to answer
“present” or “guilty”. Theodore Roosevelt" The
government is not the solution to our problems; the government is the
problem." Ronald Reagan in his first inaugural address. RRB
ANNOUNCES 2006 TAX CHANGES The
amounts of compensation subject to railroad retirement tier I and tier II
payroll taxes will increase in 2006. However,
the tier I tax rate on employees and employers remains unchanged.
Under the Railroad Retirement and Survivors' Improvement Act of 2001,
tier II tax rates are now determined annually by an average account benefits
ratio. Based on this ratio, the tier
II tax rates on employees and employers will also remain unchanged in 2006.
Railroad unemployment insurance tax rates paid by employers will continue
to include a 1.5 percent surcharge in 2006. Tier
I and Medicare Tax.--The railroad retirement tier I payroll tax rate on covered
rail employees and employers for the year 2006 remains at 7.65 percent.
The railroad retirement tier I tax rate is the same as the social
security tax, and for withholding and reporting purposes is divided into 6.20
percent for retirement and 1.45 percent for Medicare hospital insurance.
The maximum amount of an employee's earnings subject to the 6.20 percent
rate will increase to $94,200 in 2006 from $90,000 in 2005, but there is no
maximum on earnings subject to the 1.45 percent Medicare rate.
The increase in the amount of earnings subject to railroad retirement and
social security taxes is based on indexing to increases in average national
wages. Tier
II Tax.--The railroad retirement tier II tax rate on employees will remain at
4.4 percent in 2006, and the rate on employers will remain at 12.6 percent.
The maximum amount of earnings subject to railroad retirement tier II
taxes, however, will increase to $69,900 in 2006 from $66,900 in 2005.
Tier II tax rates under the 2001 Railroad Retirement and Survivors'
Improvement Act are based on an average account benefits ratio reflecting
railroad retirement fund levels. Depending on this ratio, the tier II tax rate
for employers can range between 8.2 percent and 22.1 percent, while the tier II
rate for employees can be between 0 percent and 4.9 percent. Unemployment
Insurance Tax.--Employers, but not employees, also pay railroad unemployment
insurance taxes, which are experience-rated by employer.
The basic tax rates range from a minimum of 0.65 percent to a maximum of
12 percent on monthly earnings up to $1,195 in 2006, up from $1,150 in 2005.
However, the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act also provides for a
surcharge in the event the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account balance falls
below an indexed threshold amount, and such a surcharge of 1.5 percent applied
in 2004 and 2005. Since the accrual
balance of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Account was $113.1 million on The
unemployment insurance tax rates on railroad employers in 2006 therefore will
range from 2.15 percent (the minimum basic rate of 0.65 percent plus the 1.5
percent surcharge) to a maximum of 12 percent on monthly compensation up to
$1,195. The
1.5 percent surcharge will not apply to new employers in 2006, and new employers
will initially pay a tax rate of 4.03 percent, which represents the average rate
paid by all employers in the period 2002-2004. For
76 percent of covered employers, the unemployment insurance rate assessed will
be 2.15 percent in 2006. TRAIN
ACCIDENT On
AAR
President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger said that over the last 24 years, accident
rates have declined by 63% and employee injury rates by 77%. "Much of this
progress can be tied to the rail industry's investment in new technology and in
employee training," said Hamberger. EMERGENCY
ORDER 24 Effective
WACKY
DEFINITIONS Transvestite:
A guy who likes to eat, drink and be Mary. Deja
Moo:
The felling that you've heard this bull before.
(Editor's note. I think I
can use this one.) HOUSE
CRACKS DOWN OF FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS
###
Don't tell me how hard you work, tell me how much you get done.
James Ling ### CATASTROPHE
LOSSES ZURICH,
Switzerland—Natural and man-made catastrophes have caused insured property
losses of about $80 billion so far this year, making 2005 the costliest year
ever for disasters, according to Swiss Reinsurance Co. In
its preliminary estimate of 2005 catastrophe losses, Swiss Re said natural and
manmade disasters in 2005 caused financial losses of about $225 billion and
resulted in the deaths of more than 112,000 people worldwide. Swiss
Re said about 90% of the total insured losses from disasters in 2005 were the
result of storm and storm-related flood damage. About
$70 billion of insured catastrophe losses in 2005 occurred in regions
surrounding the Hurricane
Katrina, which hit the EMPLOYMENT
TRENDS In
October 2005 The Railroad Retirement Board Railroad said the employee count is
back on track. RRB said that
railroads’ employee recruitment efforts, spurred more than a year ago by
traffic growth and a large number of retirements, are paying off.
Rail industry employment continued to grow during 2005’s first six
months, according to Railroad Retirement Board data. As
of June’s end, railroads employed 234,000 people — the industry’s highest
figure since 2001’s end. The board recorded 227,000 employees in June 2004;
228,000 in December 2004; and 223,000 in December 2003. RAILWAY
CLAIM SERVICES, INC. WEBSITE Railway Claim Services,
Inc.’s website contains useful
information for our industry. If you
haven’t visited RCSI’s website recently, you may have missed some of the
recently added content. The Code of Federal Regulations, TITLE 49—Transportation, Subtitle
B--OTHER REGULATIONS RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION, CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RAILROAD
ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION.
Please visit our website and click on the following link. http://www.railway-claim-services.com/waycar.htm
RCSI also has the entire
text of the FELA posted on our website: http://www.railway-claim-services.com/waycar.htm Also, The Occupational
Safety & Health Act of 1970 is available at:
http://www.railway-claim-services.com/waycar.htm As a part of our ongoing
efforts to provide RCSI clients with information vital to the safe and efficient
operation, RCSI’s website contains the complete text of the Emergency Response
Guidebook: http://www.railway-claim-services.com/waycar.htm RCSI
is always upgrading our website so it is a place for you to find the information
you need. If you have suggestions,
comments, or questions, please feel free to contact RCSI Webmaster Dave Gardner.
We appreciate your feedback. MEN
CATCHING UP TO WOMEN IN A
new "Longevity Index" by Credit Suisse First Boston shows that while
women still live four years longer on average, men are gaining twice as fast in
the age race. Medical experts say women are working harder, smoking more and
undergoing more stress, which leads to the No. 1 killer—heart disease. The
Longevity Index is designed to help insurance companies and pension funds hedge
their risk as both men and women live longer—and cost more—in pension
payments and lifetime annuity payments. Women can now expect an average 82.6
years of life, the index shows, while men can look forward to 78.1 years. But
over the last 10 years, the average annual rate of improvement for men has been
2%; for women, it's slightly less than 1%, the index shows.
For the 22 years covered by the index, the expected average lifetime for
men has gone up by 3.7 years; women's climbed only 1.7 years. While
some male-dominated causes of death such as alcohol, drugs, firearms and AIDS
have dropped in recent years, the biggest change has been in the toll taken by
the traditional killers: heart disease and cancer. Men's
lung cancer rates have been declining since 1990, while women's were rising,
statistics show. The
Credit Suisse index shows the greatest advances have been made in the
50-year-old age bracket, where heart disease frequently fells middle-agers. Despite
the gains, it's likely that women will continue to outlive men, said Robert
Anderson, chief of mortality statistics at the UNCLASSIFIED
According
to early reports a spokesperson for Midland Main Line said:
“The driver was suspended straight away while we held a full
investigation.” The driver was
later dismissed. The driver,
whose name was not disclosed, was believed to have used his camera-fitted mobile
phone to snap the photo. The photo
was then sent on to a Midland Mainline railway employee, who informed railroad
officials. (Editor: We shall
refrain from commenting on this one, although we would like to do so.) POINTS
OF LEGAL INTEREST Employee
- Torn Rotator Cuff –Jury Returns $4.7 Million Verdict in Employee - Torn Rotator Cuff – Defense
Verdict. According
to testimony at trial the plaintiff, a fifty-five year-old conductor, was
required to pop open the trap door between platforms in the train station. In
order to do so, she would step on a plunger mechanism, lifting the door and
pushing it against a wall. As she did so, the door bound up about halfway
through the process. Plaintiff’s
shoulder slammed against it. She claimed to have suffered a torn right rotator
cuff. According to plaintiff, she
was unable to return to railroad work in any capacity.
She faulted Amtrak for failing to properly maintain the door.
The defense denied liability and claimed that plaintiff’s own
negligence in failing to follow rules which indicated that it should be expected
that a trap door would bind. Moreover,
according to the railroad, it was the duty of the conductor and assistant
conductor to inspect the equipment. The
railroad also contested the cause of injury, asserting that plaintiff had
degenerative changes in the shoulder prior to the incident.
According to The Massachusetts, Employee – Torn Rotator Cuff –
Defense Verdict. According
to testimony at trial the plaintiff, a forty-four year-old trainman/conductor,
was carrying a lantern as he climbed down a railcar ladder at about Passenger - Commuter Train Fails To Stop After Passenger Suffers Heart
Attack. $3.9 Million.
On RCSI
welcomes your input. If you have any
questions or comments of interest to our industry, please contact either Dave
Gardner or Randal Little at Visit the Railway Claim Services, Inc. webpage located at www.railway-claim-services.com. Railway Claim Services, Inc. is the recognized leader in independent railroad claims management, which includes investigation, negotiations, and all those things in between. If RCSI is not already a partner in your loss control and claims management program are you accepting too much risk? For further information contact: dave_gardner@railway-claim-services.com
or randal_little@railway-claim-services.com Corporate Offices at:
Phone: Railway Claim Services, Inc. has offices THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES. |