Prepared by:
Quality Reporting Service Center
Railroad Retirement Board
844 North Rush Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092
Phone: |
(312) 751-4992 |
Fax: |
(312) 751-7190 |
E-mail: |
QRSC@rrb.gov |
Please share this
information with the appropriate members of your staff who file service and
compensation reporting forms for employees of your organization.
Background Section 12 of the
Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act authorizes the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB)
to operate a free employment service. The goals of the employment service are to
secure new employment for experienced railroad workers who are unemployed, and
to provide a pool of experienced labor for employers. The purpose of this
circular letter is to explain how employers can best utilize the RRB's
employment services, and to review certain Federal laws regarding railroad
hiring.
RRB employment services The three
basic employment services operated by the RRB include:
- The Central Register
- The Job Vacancy Listing
- A centralized site on the Internet listing available railroad jobs with
links to employer employment Internet sites.
An explanation of each employment service follows.
Central Register The RRB maintains
a central register of railroad employees with at least one year of railroad
service who have declared their current availability for employment. The
register is maintained on a computer database allowing the selection of
employees by: occupation;, number of years of experience in the occupation;
location of residence of the employee; last employer; and willingness to
relocate.
Lists of available candidates Upon
request, the RRB can furnish employers with employee listings from the register
that are tailored to an employer's job vacancy requirements. For example, an
employer can be furnished a list of all electricians and signalmen with at least
two years of experience who are willing to relocate to the eastern United
States. The employer could then use the list to contact prospective candidates.
Notices to prospective job candidates
Alternatively, arrangements can be made for the RRB to mail notices to targeted
employees instructing those interested in a particular vacancy to submit a
resume or otherwise contact the employer.
Using the central register Requests
in writing or by telephone for listings from the central register may be
directed to your local RRB field office. You can click here to locate the
nearest RRB field office or call our
toll-free Help-Line at 1-800-808-0772.
Job vacancy listing The RRB
maintains a listing of railroad related job vacancies. The listing is available
through the RRB field offices to railroad employees interested in seeking new
jobs. When an employer posts a job vacancy with a RRB field office, unemployed
experienced railroad workers throughout the country can be made aware of the
opening.
Notices of job vacancies may be provided to the RRB either by telephone or by
mail and should include:
- approximate number of employees to be hired;
- location of the jobs;
- class or craft of the jobs or a description of the work to be performed in
the jobs; and
- name, address, and telephone number of the individual with authority to
hire employees for each of the job openings.
If arrangements are not already in place, we suggest that your local hiring
officials contact the nearest RRB field office concerning the reporting of job
vacancies.
Internet site The RRB maintains a
listing of employer job vacancies on the Internet. The web-site address for this
listing is www.rrb.gov. This listing is updated weekly with new job vacancies.
For further information on any of the vacancies that are listed, an employee can
call the nearest RRB Office for details.
Employers that maintain a website, which includes their job openings, can link
this site to our agency's website. To obtain more information, contact the
Railroad Retirement Board's webmaster through our web site or send an e-mail
directly to webmaster@rrb.gov.
Benefit to employers The RRB
requests employers to report job vacancy information to the agency. Although
furnishing job vacancy information is voluntary, failure to furnish it defeats
the purpose of the RRB's placement program by decreasing the opportunities for
reemployment of persons claiming railroad unemployment insurance benefits. This
in turn increases the amounts of benefits charged to employers, and can affect
contribution rates under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act.
Questions If you have questions or
need additional information about the RRB's placement program, please contact
the manager of your local RRB district office.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act, Federal agencies are required to estimate
reporting burdens associated with their programs. We estimate that reporting
information about a job vacancy requires about 10 minutes, including the time
for obtaining the needed data and furnishing the report(OMB 3220-0057). Federal
agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and respondents are not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. If you
wish, send comments regarding the accuracy of our estimate or any other aspect
of this program, including suggestions for reducing reporting time, to the Chief
of Information Resources Management, Railroad Retirement Board, 844 North Rush
Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611-2092. |