Rail Employer Reporting Instructions

Part VIII - Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions

Chapter 4c: How to Reply to Request from RRB

 Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for

 Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

1

ID-4K Notices

Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for Benefits under the 

Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act is released by the RRB to employers to notify them that 

their employees have filed an unemployment application, unemployment claim, or sickness claim 

with the RRB. 

Notice that ID-4K and ID-4E notices are on ERS

The ID-4K notices will appear in the New Items list until they are worked and submitted; released 

or deleted by a user; or are automatically deleted by the system. The ID-4K will be deleted after 3 

business. Authorized ID-4K users are required to record an e-mail address when they file Form 

BA-12 to receive access to the ERS system. The authorized person will receive an e-mail message 

when the RRB places an ID-4K notice on ERS. Users can edit their e-mail address by selecting 

“Edit My Account” from the ERS menu.

Review ID-4K Notices

The ID-4K notices can be reviewed directly from the New Items list. To view all of the columns 

in the list, users may have to scroll to the right or left border of the list. Claims can be released for 

payment and deleted directly from the listing by clicking the appropriate SSN link. This action 

will take the user to a new screen. See the section “ID-4K, Provide additional information” for 

information on completing this screen.

Sorting Items

Users may wish to locate a specific employee or see the forms from a specific date. Users can sort 

the ID-4K listings by any of the subject headings. To sort a column, click the column heading. To 

invert the sort, (for example a-z when inverted is z-a) click again. If looking for a particular case, 

be sure to sort the listing even if the items already appear to be sorted. The default sorting is SSN 

within processing date, which could be deceiving.

Completed Items List

All of the ID-4K records handled each day will be “deleted” from the New Items list and moved 

to the Completed Items list. They will remain in this area until 5:00pm CST when the RRB pulls 

the records into their system. 

If a user determines that a mistake needs to be corrected or any previously entered information 

needs to be changed, he/she can go to the Completed Items list before 5:00pm CST and click on 

the “X” next to the appropriate record. This action will “un-delete” the record and move the record 

back to the ID-4K New Items list. Once the record has been restored to this area, the user can click
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions

Part VIII - Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions

Chapter 4c: How to Reply to Request from RRB

 Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for

 Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

2

on the SSN link and enter the correct information on the notice. Then select the “Submit' button to 

resubmit your correct case. 

General Screen Items

ID-4K, Prepayment Notices will remain on the ERS system for three business days from the date 

of the notice. If no action is taken, the ID-4K will drop off the system and the RRB will pay the 

claims. 

When the user clicks the ID-4K link under the New Items menu you will see all the new ID-4Ks 

that have been loaded to ERS for your employees. Users will have the option to work the individual 

records by clicking on the link to the employee's social security number or work on multiple 

records by using the following options:

• Select All;

• OK to Pay Marked Items; or 

• Download Marked Items.

ID-4K, Select All Button

The “Select All” button is provided to enable the user to handle multiple items at the same time. It 

will select every item in the listing that is visible on the page. ERS will default to show the records 

in blocks of ten. To view the selected items, scroll to the bottom of the listing and click the “Show 

All” link. If the user selects this view, he/she may have to scroll to the bottom of the listing to see 

all the records. After selecting all the items, the user is able to choose “OK to Pay Marked Items” 

or “Download Marked Items”. 

If “Select All” is clicked by mistake, individual items can be deselected. If the list is very long, the 

user may need to click the button again to deselect the entire list.

ID-4K, OK-to-Pay Button

The ID-4K listing includes an action, “OK to Pay Marked Items.” This is to assist the user in 

quickly handling specific claims. This feature allows claims to be released prior to three business 

days. Review the entire list and select the cases where it is OK for the RRB to pay benefits by 

clicking on the check box in front of the record; and then click the “OK to Pay Marked Items” 

button. This will remove all those claims from the “New Items” and “New Items” lists and release 

the claims to the RRB for payment. The records left on the New Items list will be claims which 

users want to dispute or submit additional information. 

The records marked “OK to Pay” and any others completed that day will also be moved to the 

“Completed Items” list. They will remain in this area until 5:00pm CST when the RRB pulls the 

records into their system. 
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions

Part VIII - Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions

Chapter 4c: How to Reply to Request from RRB

 Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for

 Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

3

ID-4K, Download Marked Items

Generally, ID-4K reply information will be entered directly to the Internet form and the download 

feature will not be used. The download feature will copy the selected ID-4K requests to the user's 

PC in a specific location. This feature is intended to aid employers in creating a reply file for a 

group of ID-4K records so they can reply to multiple notices at the same time. At this time there 

is no process by which you can upload the reply file from your PC to the ERS ID-4K reply screens. 

It will be necessary for users to submit a file to the RRB through a secure and timely method such 

as Secure e-mail or a file transfer (FTP) process.

Important Download Note

If users choose to download the ID-4K notices to a PC file, rather than using the ERS screens, they

will no longer be allowed to process the downloaded notices through ERS. Downloading the 

notices moves the records from the “New Items' list to the “Completed Items” list. They will 

remain in this area until 5:00pm CST when the RRB deletes the records from the ERS system. 

It must also be noted that if replies for the downloaded records are not received and processed 

timely (3 business days) the RRB will pay the claims. The employers will be required to protest 

the benefit payments by submitting information on the ID-4E, Notice of RUIA Claim 

Determinations. 

How to Download New ID-4K Notices

Review the entire list and select the cases to be downloaded by clicking on the check box in front 

of the record or by clicking the “Select All” button; and then click the “Download Marked Items” 

button. 

Follow the screen instructions. A pop-up box will appear that asks the user “Do you want to open 

or save this file?” Click “Save”; then select a location and file name. If users click “Open,” the text 

file will open and it can be viewed. The user must then click on “File”; “Save As” and then select 

the location and choose the file name. When users open the saved file, it will be displayed as a line 

of text in the following format:

Record Length Tape Position Data

78 characters 1-4 Four-digit BA number

5-7 Application type

8-16 Employees' social security number

17-37 Employees' Name

38-47 Payroll ID number

48-53 Date Last Worked (yymmdd)

54-55 Reason Code

56-61 Claim Beg. Date (yymmdd)
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions

Part VIII - Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions

Chapter 4c: How to Reply to Request from RRB

 Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for

 Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

4

62-75 14 Day Claim Period

76-78 Field Office Number

Downloaded Records Completed

The records that were downloaded and any others completed that day will also be moved from the 

“New Items” and “New Items” lists to the “Completed Items” list. They will remain in this area 

until 5:00pm CST when the RRB pulls the records into their system. The records left on the New 

Items list will be claims which users want to dispute or submit additional information through the 

Internet process.

ID-4K, Providing Additional Information

If the user wants to provide information on a claim, click the SSN link. This brings up a reply 

screen with many options for sending the RRB information. If the claim is for unemployment 

benefits and the individual was paid for any days in the claim period, also enter the earnings, both 

actual and potential, in the appropriate box. This information is needed for the earnings test. You 

cannot report only a payment. At least one day code is required. Please note that earnings do not 

apply to sickness claims. 

Each day in the claim period has a code to identify whether or not benefits are being claimed for 

that day. For a complete list and explanation of the claim codes, click the “Day Codes” link on the 

screen. 

The users can provide information related to all days or specific days in a claim period. The reply 

codes are listed in the drop-down menus for each day. There are also separate lists of reply codes 

for “received pay” and “received no pay”. For example, if the claimant claimed benefits for a day 

for which he/she received vacation pay, click on the drop down menu for the day, and select 

“Vacation Pay (VC).” In this example the user should also enter the amount of earnings that would 

have been paid in the “Earnings” box. If one code applies to all days in the claim period, click the 

far left drop down menu, select the code, and click the apply button. That code will then be applied 

to all 14 days. Users can also go back and change individual days by clicking the appropriate drop 

down button on each individual day code. 

Users may use the “Additional Information” box at the bottom of the screen to explain codes 

entered on a claim; however you cannot enter more than 110 characters of information. For 

example, if the user entered a code showing that the claimant received other pay on a day, he/she 

might explain in the text box that the claimant was attending training that day. 

For additional instructions, refer to the Employer Reporting Instructions in Part VI, Chapter 10. 
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions

Part VIII - Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions

Chapter 4c: How to Reply to Request from RRB

 Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for

 Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

5

ID-4K, Submit Your Reply

When the user is finished entering information about the claim, he/she should click the “Send 

Reply” button. This will transmit the information to the RRB. Once the information is received by 

the RRB, the district office listed on the ERS system will be responsible for handling the request. 

Any further communication about this claim should be addressed to that office. The phone number 

is provided on the ERS screen. In order to obtain the office mailing address or e-mail address, go 

to the general RRB website at RRB.GOV and click Agency Management & Reports on the left 

menu and then click Field Offices. 

The completed records will also be moved to the “Completed Items” list. They will remain in this 

area until 5:00pm CST when the RRB pulls the records into their system. 

ID-4K, Application, Providing Additional Information

In order to provide information on an application, click the SSN link to open the record. Users can 

enter both information about the employee's status by clicking the drop down arrow to select the 

appropriate code and the status effective date. 

If the employee received a guarantee payment, enter the amount; payment frequency; and 

beginning and ending dates. Users can also enter remarks in the additional information section at 

the bottom of the screen. For example, if the ID-4K is based on an unemployment application and 

it is known that the claimant is sick and unable to work; you would provide that information in the 

“Additional Information” text box. 

ID-4K, Contact Information

The contact information is pre-filled from information about the specific user recorded in ERS 

which was submitted on Form BA-12. The contact person cannot be changed by typing over the 

pre-filled information. If the user wants the RRB to contact their manager or someone else with 

any questions about this claim or application, enter their name, e-mail address, and telephone 

number in the “Additional Information” box. To change contact information for all purposes, users 

must go to “Edit My Account.” 

Corrections to the contact information can be made in the same manner by going to “Edit My 

Account.” If there is an error in the contact information, it might be advantageous to cancel out of 

the ID-4K, make the correction, and then access the ID-4K again. At that time, the correct contact 

information should be displayed. 

ID-4K Summary Report

If a response or protest is submitted based on receipt of an ID-4K, the information will appear in 

the summary report. The report is organized by calendar month of the reply. Information for the 
Rail Employer Reporting Instructions

Part VIII - Employer Reporting System (ERS) Internet User Instructions

Chapter 4c: How to Reply to Request from RRB

 Form ID-4K, Prepayment Notice of Employee's Applications and Claims for

 Benefits under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act

6

report is retained for six months after the end of the calendar year. If users need the data longer 

than this, print a copy of the report or download the information to a file.

Create a Report

When the user selects the ID-4K Summary under the Reports menu, this opens a selection screen. 

In order to receive a report of 1) all available replies, 2) sorted by SSN, and 3) including full text 

replies, click the Submit button as these are the three default selections.

Customize a Report

There are three ways that users can customize their report and they are numbered 1, 2, and 3 on 

the report selection screen. First, users can select a specific report of ID-4Ks only; and select a 

specific quarter or month from the drop-down menu. Second, users can change the sort to 

something other than SSN by highlighting the field under “Sort Options” and then clicking the 

“Add” button. For example, if users wanted the report sorted by surname, highlight “name” and 

then click Add. This moves “name” to the right box. Users can also choose a secondary sort, such 

as submit date. This may be helpful if he/she replied to several claims for the same person during 

the report period. Third, users can choose whether or not they want to see the text of their replies. 

If only the employee and claim information are needed, save space by de-selecting “full text 

replies”.

Print or Save Reports to a PC

When users click the submit button, the report is displayed on the screen. The type is quite small 

and may be hard to read. We suggest using the buttons at the top of the screen to print or save the 

report. The report prints horizontally and will be much easier to read than the screen display. If 

users save the report to a file, the files can be manipulated for better display or imported to a 

spreadsheet or database.