This is
the determination of the Railroad Retirement Board
concerning the status of Calumet Transload and
Railroad, L.L.C., as an employer under the
Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. § 231 et seq.)
and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (45
U.S.C. § 351 et seq.).
Information regarding Calumet was provided by
David C. Dillon, outside counsel for Calumet.
According to Mr. Dillon, Calumet began doing
business January 2, 2005. Calumet currently has
two employees.
In Surface Transportation Board Finance Docket No.
34639, Calumet filed a notice of exemption to
lease and operate a rail line approximately one
mile in length which interchanges with the Norfolk
Southern Railroad and possibly the Indiana Harbor
Belt Railroad. Calumet is to interchange cars of
coal from the Norfolk Southern (and possibly the
Indiana Harbor Belt), with possible outbound
switching with Chicago Short Lines. Calumet will
switch cars to be unloaded into barges in the
Calumet River, and “will switch cars to on-site
locations to be unloaded on ground, for
transloading and/or blending of various types of
coal, followed by reload into coal cars, trucks,
or barges.”
Section 1(a)(1) of the Railroad Retirement Act (45
U.S.C. § 231(a)(1)), insofar as relevant here,
defines a covered employer as:
(i) any carrier by railroad subject to the
jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board
under Part A of subtitle IV of title 49, United
States Code;
(ii) any company which is directly or indirectly
owned or controlled by, or under common control
with, one or more employers as defined in
paragraph (i) of this subdivision, and which
operates any equipment or facility or performs any
service (except trucking service, casual service,
and the casual operation of equipment or
facilities) in connection with the transportation
of passengers or property by railroad * * *.
Sections 1(a) and 1(b) of the Railroad
Unemployment Insurance Act (45 U.S.C. §§ 351(a)
and (b)) contain substantially similar
definitions, as does section 3231 of the Railroad
Retirement Tax Act (26 U.S.C. § 3231).
The evidence of record establishes that Calumet is
a carrier operating in interstate commerce.
Accordingly, it is determined that Calumet is an
employer within the meaning of section 1(a)(1)(i)
of the Railroad Retirement Act (45 U.S.C. §
231(a)(1)(i)) and the corresponding provision of
the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act as of
January 2, 2005, the date as of which it commenced
operations1.
1
It should be additionally mentioned that Mr.
Dillon advised that Calumet “will have its
direct operating employees (i.e., engineers,
switchmen, track maintenance crew, locomotive
and car maintenance crew[)] provided by outside
contractors.” The Board notes that prior
decisions by the agency have held that services
performed by individuals operating a railroad
are covered services under the Acts. See, e.g.,
Buffalo Ridge Regional Railroad Authority, B.C.D.
02-51. Accordingly, the Board is referring the
matter of the operating employees to the Board’s
Office of Audit and Compliance for review.
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