Obtain an Application Form
To receive access to the RRB Employer Reporting System (ERS) web site, an
employee of a covered employer must complete Form BA-12, Application for
Employer Reporting System. The BA-12 application form is available in the
Exhibits to these instructions and on the Internet.
Complete Form BA-12
Complete the employee section of the form, read the Access and Security
Guidelines in Chapter 8, and sign the certification. Have your supervisor or
manager assign the access level and sign that portion of the form. An
explanation of access levels is below.
Certify Form BA-12
The form must be signed by an official of the company who has signature
authority to sign RRB forms. Signatures of two individuals are not required if
the applicant has authority to sign RRB forms. In that case, the applicant must
still sign in both in Section B as applicant and in Section D as authorizer. The
head of the company and those persons designated on Form G-117A “Designation of
Contact Official” are assumed to have signature authority. A contact official
may assign signature authority to a designee. The RRB will investigate with the
contact official any signatures other than those of the contact official or
company head.
Mail Form BA-12
Form BA-12 cannot be completed or filed on the web site. To deter fraudulent
use of the site, the application must include written signatures and be
transmitted using the US Mail. The applicant must certify in writing that he or
she will follow the RRB’s security guidelines. The guidelines are contained in
Chapter 8 of this part.
Explanation of Access Levels
Access is to specific forms
When the RRB was developing requirements for the Internet system, some
employers required that the work of a department remain private within that
department. As a result, we developed a “roles-based access” which provides
access on an individual form basis. An employee’s access is expected to be
specific to their role, or work, at their company. If a form is used only by one
department, access can be limited to employees in that department.
Two-step update and approval process
Again, when developing requirements, some employers required that a manager
review and certify service and compensation reports completed by their staff.
Others indicated that the person authorized to complete the report was also
authorized to certify and file the report without additional review. No employer
required a review of forms other than BA-3a, BA-4, and BA-10 as these are the
only forms which change the RRB record of an employee’s service and
compensation.
The RRB access system was designed to account for all of these differences. A
separate update function was developed for Form BA-4. If you wish to use a
second person as a reviewer, assign update access to the staff who prepare the
BA-4’s and assign approve access to the staff who review and certify BA-4’s to
the RRB. If you do not wish to use a second person as a reviewer, do not assign
update access. Rather assign approve access to the staff who prepare and certify
the BA-4’s.
Update access
This access is used only with forms that change the RRB’s record of service
and compensation, as explained above. Update access allows a person to complete
or update a Form BA-4, but not to submit the form to the RRB. The form is
updated to the system where it will await approval. The form appears in the
“outstanding items” list with a status of “awaiting approval.” Only a person
with approve access can submit or certify the form to the RRB. While the form is
pending approval, it can be modified by the original updater. Once the form has
been approved, it is no longer available on the system and no further changes
are possible.
Approve access
Only a person with approve access can certify and submit forms to the RRB.
For most forms, the person with approve access will also be the person who
completes the form. In the case of a BA-4, the person with approve access may be
approving a form completed by an updater, as explained above, or may prepare and
certify their own BA-4’s. A person with approve access can delete a form created
by an updater. A person with approve access can also modify a form created by an
updater; however, the form must be updated again before it is approved. This is
a security measure so that all the updates can be recorded for the appropriate
person.
Read-only access
This access is to any summary reports in connection with the form as well as
to the outstanding items list in connection with the form. Although the
outstanding items list is displayed, it is in grey and no items on the list can
be accessed. Read access to Form BA-4 also provides access to the BA-4 summary
report. This access is envisioned for auditors or reviewers who will not be
completing RRB forms but may need information about the work.
Where to Get Help
Password problem |
Password
Administrator |
(312) 751-3307 |
System problem |
System Administrator |
(312) 751-4833 |
General help and to trace Form BA-12 |
Quality Reporting Service Center |
(312) 751-4992 |
Employers may also send an e-mail with their questions or problems to
webcomments@rrb.gov.
General inquiries may be routed to
qrsc@rrb.gov.
Logon Procedure
Within five days of receipt of an acceptable application, the RRB will mail
your user ID and password. To access the site, type the url
https://secure.rrb.gov/employer, this brings up a
logon screen. Enter your user ID and password. The first time you log on, you
will be prompted to change your password.
Browsers
This site will respond correctly only for users who access the site using at
least Internet Explorer 4.0, Netscape 6.0, or compatible browsers.
Rules for Setting Your Password
To prevent unauthorized users from attempting to guess your password, the RRB
has adopted standards for setting passwords. Passwords must include at least one
each of:
- number,
- alpha character- lower case, and
- alpha character- upper case.
Passwords must be at least 8 characters and up to 16 characters in length.
The employer site does not use a password hint system.
Forget Your Password
If you forget your password, telephone the RRB password administrator at
(312) 751-3307 and provide the requested information. For security purposes, you
will not be provided a new password at the time of your initial call. The
password administrator will telephone the number on record or will mail or
e-mail the new password to the address on record.
No one at the RRB can see your password so we cannot help you remember your
password. All passwords are encrypted. No one at the RRB can access the
encryption program to break the codes. The encryption program was developed by
an outside contractor who secures and retains the program code.
Menus
Everyone has the same bar menu across the top of the screen which contains
two items, ‘Logout’ and ‘E-mail.’ The E-mail option allows you to easily send
e-mail related to this site to the Webcomments mailbox.
With the exception of ‘Edit My Account,’ the main menu down the left side of
the screen contains items specific to your access. If you have only view access,
your menu will consist only of the ‘Outstanding Items” and any reports related
to forms to which you have access. If you have update or approve access, your
menu will consist of all the forms to which you have access. There is also a
utility option which is used to upload files to RRB.
To select a menu item, click on it.
How to Type Data in the Entry Fields
Characters: Except for your password, no alpha character that you enter is
case sensitive. You can type in all upper case, all lower case, or a combination
of both.
Money fields: All compensation fields must include a decimal and two cents
positions. No commas or dollar signs are permitted.
SSN: The social security number is entered without dashes.
Prefilled fields: Some pre-filled information can be changed by typing over
the data. You cannot, however, correct a name or SSN on a request form by typing
over the name or SSN with corrected information. If a correction is needed,
telephone or e-mail QRSC.
Modify Your Account
If your name, phone, or e-mail address change, you can update those items by
going to the Modify My Account screen. This is also the screen where you change
your password. This screen will show your last successful login, your last
failed login, and the number of failed login attempts. If this information
appears to be incorrect, immediately contact: 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 |
Experience Rating
Specialist: |
(312) 751-4550 |
Your access may have been compromised.
Outstanding Items
With respect to those forms for which you have access, all the outstanding
items for your employer are listed under Outstanding Items. At the top of the
list are items that you have access to update and/or approve. Think of this as a
‘work list.’ Following these items are forms to which you have access but not at
the required level to work. These items are in grey and the SSN link is not
active. The status of each item is indicated with an icon. To interpret the
icon, place your mouse over the icon. A message will appear explaining the
status. If you have update access or approve access, you can view or work the
item by clicking the SSN, which is a link to the detail record.
Logout
To log out, click the logout menu item. Wait for the message that you have
been logged out and then close your browser. For security purposes and to delete
any session cookies, it is necessary to close your browser.
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