Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board
Issues
Can annuity benefits claimants under the Railroad Retirement Act seek judicial review when the Railroad Retirement Board denies a claim to reopen a decision under Section 5(f) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, or does such a determination fail to represent a final decision?
This case asks the Supreme Court to interpret the judicial review provision of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, and to determine whether the statute provides for broad review of agency decisions, such as decisions to reopen or deny a reopening of past outcomes through the “any final decision” language of Section 355(f). Manfredo Salinas argues that the Supreme Court should construe the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act’s provision broadly to permit judicial review of a United States Railroad Retirement Board decision not to backdate disability benefits. The United States Railroad Retirement Board counters that the statute grants the United States Railroad Retirement Board broad internal review and limits judicial review only to those decisions encompassed by the express language of the surrounding statutory framework. This case has important implications on the finality and reviewability of decisions that impact the duration and dollar amount of federally funded annuities.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether, under Section 5(f) of the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act and Section 8 of the Railroad Retirement Act, the Railroad Retirement Board’s denial of a request to reopen a prior benefits determination is a “final decision” subject to judicial review.
On February 28, 2006, Petitioner Manfredo M. Salinas (“Salinas”), a railroad worker, applied to Respondent United States Railroad Retirement Board (the “Board”) for a disability annuity under 45 U.S.C. § 231(a)(1). See Salinas v. U.S. R.R. Ret. Bd. at 1–2. The Board denied Salinas’s application on August 28, 2006.
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Angela Mauroni, Supreme Court to Hear Private Health Industry Protections, Disability and Retirement, Governmental Exceptions to Automated Calls, Jurist (Jan. 13, 2020).
- Allison Bell, Railroad Disability Benefits Reaches Supreme Court, ThinkAdvisor (Oct. 16, 2020).