X UNITEDUNI1«£D STATES GOVERNMENT RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD Memorandum, NOV 7 1986 L-86-1M TO Director of Compensation and Certification

FROM Deputy General Counsel

SUBJECT: Milwaukee-Kansas City Southern Joint Agency Employer Status - Change of Name

This is in reply to your Form G-215 inquiries dated June 4, 1986 and September 9, 1986, in which you ask "[s]hould the name Milwaukee, Kansas City Southern Joint Agency be changed to the Soo Kansas City Southern Joint Agency?" The Milwaukee-Kansas City Southern Joint Agency has been held to be an employer under the Railroad Retirement and Railroad Unemployment Insurance Acts. It appears as item number 4131 in the Employer Status List with service creditable since January 1, 1944. See L-44-243.

The Joint Agency is a terminal switching facility which was created under the provisions of an agreement dated May 1, 1942 between the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company ("Milwaukee Road") and the Kansas City Southern Railway •Company (KCS), which stated that the facility was simply named "Joint Agency", with no reference to the railroads involved in its formation. According to a letter dated August 26, 1986 from Mr. 0. E. Pearce, Manager of Payroll Accounting for KCS, the Joint Agency is not a corporation, but is simply a terminal switching facility for the two railroads. The Milwaukee Road merged with the Soo Line Railroad Company effective January 1, 1986 and, according to Mr. Pearce's letter dated May 15, 1986, the Soo Line Railroad Company has adopted all tariffs, classifications, rules, notices, concurrences, tariff agreements and other instruments, including supplements and amendments thereto, filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission or other regulatory bodies by the Milwaukee R.oad.

Mr. Pearce's May 15, 1986 letter further stated that, the Joint Agency has continued its operations with the same employees as before the merger. According to Mr. Pearce's August 26, 1986 letter, the Soo Line adopted the Milwaukee' Road's obligations under the May 1, 1942 agreement which formed the Joint Agency. In a telephone conversation on November 5, 1986, Ms. Lori A. Watkins of my staff was informed by Ms. Melba Souerwine, Assistant Manager of Payroll Accounting for KCS, that the Joint Agency now

operates r * • “ under the name of "Soo-Kansas City Southern Joint • Agency". Director of Compensation and Certification

Based upon the above information, I am of the opinion that the name of the Milwaukee-Kansas City Southern Joint Agency should be changed in the Board's records to "Soo-Kansas City Southern Joint Agency". This employer should retain the same BA number (7716) for records keeping purposes.

An appropriate Form G-215 giving effect to the foregoing is attached.

Steven A. Bartholow

Attachment

U _ jmw 0041A/Wang Jr C. 1058-86