Section 7: Rejected File Error Messages

Introduction

NYSTRS’ Employer Reporting System provides comprehensive communication regarding rejected files, with information designed to help reduce errors and the number of files that are rejected.

When a file is rejected, it will be indicated on the Employer Secure Area’s Pending/Rejected Files page where you’ll find a list of pertinent messages to aid you in correcting the file. In the Rejected File Error Messages section below, you will find a comprehensive list of the error messages you will receive regarding your rejected file.

Here are a few scenarios that will cause your file to be rejected:

MTD Gross – Must equal the sum of all other earnings components (Base Pay to Undefined Pay).
The total of Service Days Worked From Hours and From Fee cannot exceed 260.
Location Code – Must match to a valid active district in our files.
Payroll Frequency – Must always be W (weekly), B (bi-weekly), S (semi-monthly), or
M (monthly).
Number of Pay Cycles – Must always be:
- If W, 4 or 5
- If B, 2 or 3
- If S, 2 only
- If M, 1 only

If you have any questions, please call us at 800-348-7298, ext. 6220.

Rejected File Error Messages

The following is a list of error messages sent with rejected file emails.

Error #: 02

Category of Error: Data Format Error
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

Invalid number of columns in CSV file. Found <nn> columns; expecting 57. File rejected. This is unique to CSV (Comma Separated Values) file format reporting. Columns are determined by number of commas in the line. The <nn> is the number of columns detected. The number of columns detected (in a row) did not contain the required 57 columns.
Not a valid data line – record type invalid. This is unique to CSV (Comma Separated Values) file format reporting. The record Identifier (column 2) must contain the number 2. No other value is acceptable.
is not a valid data line – record type must be 1 or 2. The record Identifier (column 2) must contain the number 1 or 2. No other value is acceptable. The 1 record type contains control information that summarizes the values of many of the record type 2 format. The record type 2 format includes the details per employee being reported.

Error #: 03
Category of Error: Control Rec Out of Balance
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

Sum <nnnnnnnn.nn> does not Equal Control Record value of (<nnnnnnnn.nn>).
<nnnnnnnn> is not numeric.
<nnnnnnnn> does not = sum of other money fields <nnnnnnnn>.
In the Control Record, each total data field must be numeric and equal to the sum of the respective columns from the detail records in the file. Additionally, the Total Gross in the Control Record must equal the sum of its parts. The formula is as follows: (A) MTD (Month To Date) Gross Pay = (B) MTD Base Salary Pay.
+ (C) MTD Instructional Pay
+ (D) MTD Summer School Pay
+ (E) MTD Holdover Pay
|+ (F) MTD Partial Leave Pay
+ (G) MTD Retro Earliest Prior Yr Pay
+ (H) MTD Retro Next Prior Yr Pay (Item H is no longer in use and should always = 0.)
+ (I) MTD Retro Latest Prior Yr Pay (Item I is no longer in use and should always = 0.)
+ (J) MTD Awards Pay
+ (K) MTD Termination Pay
+ (L) MTD Non-Reg Comp Pay
+ (M) MTD Non-STRS Pay
+ (N) MTD Post-Retirement Pay
+ (O) MTD Undefined Pay
<nnnnnnnn> does not = sum of other money fields <nnnnnnnn>.
For the following fields:
Employee count
Plan contributions
Voluntary contributions

Error #: 04
Category of Error: Control Red Errors
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

No valid header found; File rejected for District = <xxxx>. The data must have only one Control Header Record as a Record Identifier = 1. None was found after processing the data file.
Multiple Control headers found. The data has more than one Control Header Record. Control Header records are identified by a 1 in the Record Identifier field. Each district can only have one control record.

Error #: 05
Category of Error: District Level Errors
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxxx> Non-numeric district number found. The reported Location Code (District Number), the first four digits in a five-digit column, was not numeric.
<xxxx> District number is not an active district. The reported Location Code (District Number) was valid in the past but is now marked as inactive.
<xxxx> District number is not valid. The reported Location Code (District Number) is unknown to NYSTRS or the reporting district does not equal the billing district.
Reporting district is not the same as the submitting district. Often caused by a formatting issue that displaces the district code.

Error #: 10
Category of Error: Date Format Errors
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxxxxxxxxx> contains non-numeric characters, or is formatted incorrectly.
<xxxxxxxxxx> is not CCYY-MM-DD format.
<xxxxxxxxxx> year is not numeric CCYY format.
<xxxxxxxxxx> is not CCYY-MM-DD format.
<xxxxxxxxxx> is not a reasonable date.
<xxxxxxxxxx> month is not numeric MM format.
<xxxxxxxxxx> has an invalid month (<MM>).
<xxxxxxxxxx> has an invalid day (<DD>).
<xxxxxxxxxx> has an invalid day of month (<MM>).
<xxxxxxxxxx> begins on other than the 1st of the month.
<xxxxxxxxxx> ends on other than the last day of the month.

The date format is rigid, but not all dates are required. For instance, Hire Date is not required, but Birth Date is. When a non-required date is reported, it must follow the same rules as required dates. The date format is 10 characters with the century and year (CCYY), followed by a “-” (dash), followed by the 2-digit month (MM), followed by a second “-” (dash) and finally followed by the 2-digit day of the month. This is represented by CCYY-MM-DD; for example, 2007-02-01 for the first day of February for the year 2007. Note that both the month and day contain the leading zero. All digits must be numeric and represent real dates. Some dates are range tested on the CCYY portion of the date. Ranges are set based on the current date with plus or minus +(-) number of years. Months and days must represent legal calendar dates. A variety of exception messages above are produced by date errors. Special date range tests are related to # 5 above under reference #10 Date Format errors. The special ranges for dates are described in the following.

Birth dates are required but not always available for a new employee. If the Birth Date is unavailable, use the special permitted value of 1901-01-01. This is outside the normal range, but it is used to signify that the Birth Date is unknown.

Beginning and ending CCYY reporting dates must be between (minus 2 years) or 2005 and the current CCYY of 2007 assuming the current date was 2007-02-01.

Ceased Teaching Date (when reported) has no range limit on the CCYY. Only edited if Separation Reason has also been reported.

Hire Date is not edited.

ORP Employment Date is not edited.

Error #: 15
Category of Error: Begin and End Date comparison violations (Reporting Month Start and End)
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<CCYY-MM-DD> not consistent with first begin date <CCYY-MM-DD>.
<CCYY-MM-DD> not the same year/month as begin date <CCYY-MM-DD>.

Begin and end reporting dates have additional requirements. They are required to occur in the same reporting cycle. For example, using the 2007-02-01 sample above as the begin date, the appropriate ending date would be 2007-02-28. Each month’s reporting must have the 1st of the month, and ending date is the last calendar day of the same month and year.

Error #: 20
Category of Error: TAB Characters
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxx> is invalid. TAB character found.

TAB characters are not allowed in any data field. The <xxx> above is replaced with the name of the data field (column) where the TAB character was found. These are often invisible to see unless you turn on special editing features in your text editor. They cause characters to align on defined boundaries. The space character should be used to force the alignment, not TAB characters. If your data is being prepared in a text editor, the best way to avoid this is to use the Courier or Courier New fonts and use the space bar to force the required alignment.

Error #: 25
Category of Error: Blank or Missing Data
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxxxxxxxxxxxx> is blank. Required field.

Many data fields (columns) are required. The <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> above is replaced with the name of the data field (column) where the blank was detected.

Error #: 27
Category of Error: Blank or Missing Data
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxxxxxxx> contains invalid characters. ONLY (A-Z a-z), (Blank), (‘), or (-) are valid.

These edits only occur when the EmplID is missing or invalid format. If you are entering a new employee, the First Name field is required when you are also entering a valid Social Security number and the person is indicated as a full-time employee or has been reported with contributions. First Name cannot contain any numbers. The (Blank) above refers to embedded blanks, not the entire data field being blank.

Exception: CSV file format Names cannot contain embedded commas.

Error #: 35
Category of Error: Social Security Edit (Current NID and Prior NID)
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxxxxxxxx> contains non-numeric characters.
<xxxxxxxxx> cannot be zeros.
<xxxxxxxxx> must be 9 digits.

The Social Security numbers must be all numeric characters from 0-9, no blanks and not all zero characters. Certain exceptions apply. If the NYSTRS EmplID, Last Name, and Birth Date are present and they satisfy the individual edits, the Current NID column is accepted as is. SUNY Location Code (Districts) are allowed to report using blanks and zeroes. Prior NIDs are accepted with blanks and zeroes, but if reported they must be numeric characters. Masked (such as xxxxx1234 or *****1234) can be a valid format. The first 5 characters will be treated as a “mask” if they are all the same non-numeric character).

Error #: 40
Category of Error: NYSTRS EmplID
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<xxxxxxxxx> is invalid. Format is not acceptable.

The NYSTRS EmplID (or Member Number) must contain 6 or 7 consecutive numeric characters starting from the left of the data field (column). Following the numeric characters can be blanks or a single R. If an R is present, numeric characters or blanks can follow it.

Error #: 45
Category of Error: Payroll Frequency
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

is invalid. Must be W, B, S, or M. Found <x>.

Payroll Frequency is how often the employee is paid. Acceptable codes are only W, B, S, M, w, b, s or m. The <x> is the character that was found. Below is the translation of the acceptable codes:

B = Bi-weekly
M = Monthly
S = Semi-Annual
W = Weekly

Error #: 50
Category of Error: Pay Cycles
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

B = Payroll Frequency. Pay Cycles must be 2 or 3. Found <x>.
M = Payroll Frequency. Pay Cycles must be 1. Found <x>.
S = Payroll Frequency. Pay Cycles must be 2. Found <x>.
W = Payroll Frequency. Pay Cycles must be 4 or 5. Found <x>.

The Pay Cycles entry is how many times the employee was paid during this reporting period. The edit is based on what the frequency of payment is. See Payroll Frequency (above) for code definitions. With the bi-weekly and weekly, there are times during the year that have more pay cycles in a month than others.

Error #: 55
Category of Error: Full/Part Time Indicator
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<x> is an invalid value. Use only F, P or R.

The full-time, part-time or retired data field (column) indicates how the employee is employed.

F = Full-time
P = Part-time
R = Retired

Error #: 60
Category of Error: Employment Base
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<nnn> is an invalid value. 200, 220 or 240 should be used.

The employment base is set based on how many days the employee is contracted to work.

bbb = (Blanks) defaults to 200 as a 10-month employee
000 = (Zeroes) defaults to 200 as a 10-month employee
200 = 10-month employee
220 = 11-month employee
240 = 12-month employee

Error #: 61
Category of Error: Plan Elected
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

is a required field for all SUNY and community colleges.

Below is the translation of the acceptable codes:

TRS = New York State Teachers’ Retirement System
ORP = Optional Retirement Plan (e.g., TIAA)
Blank = No election

Error #: 65
Category of Error: Numeric Tests
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

is a required field for all SUNY and community colleges.

Below is the translation of the acceptable codes:

TRS = New York State Teachers’ Retirement System
ORP = Optional Retirement Plan (e.g., TIAA)
Blank = No election

Error #: 66
Category of Error: Service Days
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

is an invalid value. Must be less than 200 days.

Service Days are reported in days earned for the reporting month. Although high, 200 has been set to prevent unreasonable amounts from being reported.

Error #: 70
Category of Error: Retro Multi-Yr Flag
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

has an invalid <x> value. Must be Y, N or blank.

Multi-Year flag is to indicate that the Retroactive Pay amounts could not be properly entered into the available Retro data fields.

Error #: 75
Category of Error: MTD Gross Pay
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

<nnnn.nn> does not = sum of other money fields (<nnnnn.nn>).

In the Employer Reporting Interface definition, there are data description columns that have the letters A through O prefixing the data field (column) name. The sum of letters B through O is compared to the amount reported in the letter A: MTD Gross Pay. This message is caused by this formula being out of balance. The first number reported <nnnn.nn> is the MTD Gross Pay and the second (<nnnn.nn>) is the sum of letters B through O.

(A) MTD (Month To Date) Gross Pay = (B) MTD Base Salary Pay

+ (C) MTD Instructional Pay
+ (D) MTD Summer School Pay
+ (E) MTD Holdover Pay
+ (F) MTD Partial Leave Pay
+ (G) MTD Retro Earliest Prior Yr Pay
+ (H) MTD Retro Next Prior Yr Pay (Item H is no longer in use and should always = 0.)
+ (I) MTD Retro Latest Prior Yr Pay (Item I is no longer in use and should always = 0.)
+ (J) MTD Awards Pay
+ (K) MTD Termination Pay
+ (L) MTD Non-Reg Comp Pay
+ (M) MTD Non-STRS Pay
+ (N) MTD Post-Retirement Pay
+ (O) MTD Undefined Pay

Error #: 75
Category of Error: Error Restriction Msgs
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

Max # of LINE ERRORS (<nn>) has been detected. Total errors in line are <nn>.

During the initial data editing process, the information reported is reviewed for consistency and validity. Most data fields (columns) are examined for reasonability and are reported, usually by email, when they fail these tests. However, to limit the size of any email and attempt to process as far into the data as possible, the number of errors that are reported on a single row of data has been limited. The first <nn> reported is the error limit that has been encountered and the second <nn> is the total detected on that row of data. Be sure to review the remaining contents of the row of data to see if similar errors to those listed have been made in subsequent data fields.

Error #: 85
Category of Error: Error Restriction Msgs
Possible Cause(s) of the Error:

Max number of FILE ERRORS (<nnn>) has been detected. File Rejected.

During the initial data editing process, the information reported is reviewed for consistency and validity. Most data fields (columns) are examined for reasonability and are reported, usually by email, when they fail these tests. However, to limit the size of the email and listing of repetitive errors, the number of errors that are listed for the entire file have been limited. When the maximum number of file errors is encountered, the edit process is prematurely terminated. Be sure to review the remaining contents of the additional rows of data to see if similar errors to those listed have been made in subsequent rows.