Purpose
To explain the agency procedures for reporting rate increases and adjustments for miscellaneous earnings.
Affected Employees
CUNY employees in the titles of Plumber, Supervisor Plumber, Plumber’s Helper, Thermostat Repairer and Supervisor Thermostat Repairer
Background
The New York City Comptroller’s Final Order and Determination for the skilled trade of Plumbers, Supervisor Plumbers, Plumber Helpers, Thermostat Repairers and Supervisor Thermostat Repairers provides for the following retroactive hourly rate increases.
| Rates Effective | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | 7/1/08 | 1/1/09 | 7/1/09 | 1/1/10 | 7/1/11 | 1/1/12 | 7/1/12 |
| Plumber | $46.76 | $47.76 | $49.01 | $50.01 | $51.01 | $51.56 | $51.64 |
| Supervisor Plumber | $49.26 | $50.26 | $51.51 | $52.51 | $53.51 | $54.06 | $54.14 |
| Plumber’s Helper | $33.60 | $33.60 | $34.31 | $35.01 | $35.71 | $36.09 | $36.15 |
| Thermostat Repairer | $46.76 | $47.76 | $49.01 | $50.01 | $51.01 | $51.56 | $51.64 |
| Supervisor Thermostat Repairer | $49.26 | $50.26 | $51.51 | $52.51 | $53.51 | $54.06 | $54.14 |
Additional information is provided in the July 20, 2015 memorandum from Carmelo Batista, Jr., University Executive Director of Classified Staff Labor Relations.
Processing Date(s)
Increases may be submitted in Pay Period 11C (Institution), paychecks dated 09/03/2015
New Earnings Codes
OSC has added Earnings Code SD7 (Shift Differential Override) to Earns Programs T7, TN and TV, effective 07/01/2015.
Agency Actions
Reporting the Rate Increases
To ensure all Job Action requests are submitted for each employee, the agency should submit requests in effective date order from oldest date to current date. For example, if appropriate, submit the 07/01/08 Pay Change, followed by the 01/01/09, 07/01/09, 01/01/10, 07/01/11, 01/01/12 and 07/01/12 Pay Change.
To increase the hourly rate(s), the agency must submit the following requests, regardless of the employee’s status:
- For all rate increases, request a Pay Change with the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Chg/CRT (Pay Rate Change/Change Rate) on the Job Action Request page, using the effective date of the appropriate increase, and submit the new hourly rate.
- A separate request must be made for each row that exists on the employee’s Job Data page.
Reporting Retroactive Adjustments for All Miscellaneous Earnings
The agency must calculate and report the retroactive adjustment for all miscellaneous earnings.
The Time Entry Earnings Code AJR must be used to report the combined retroactive adjustment for all earnings. The agency must provide an explanation of the adjustment in the General Comments page or on a separate worksheet. If the agency uses a worksheet, the worksheet must be received by OSC Audit Section by the agency deadline for Pay Period 11C.
The Earnings Code AJR must be reported as follows:
| Earnings Begin Date: | Enter the first date to be adjusted. |
| Earnings End Date: | Enter the last date to be adjusted. |
| Earnings Code: | Enter AJR. |
| Amount: | Enter the total amount of the adjustment. |
OSC Actions
Processing Automatic Retroactive Adjustments
Provided the agency appropriately submits the applicable increases, OSC will automatically process retroactive adjustments for all regular hours, RGH, and miscellaneous earnings codes LSL, LT3 and PLB paid to an employee, regardless of the employee’s status.
The agency should refer to the AJR procedure above to submit retroactive adjustments for all other miscellaneous earnings.
Revised Rate Chart
A revised rate chart reflecting the new rates and appropriate earnings codes has been issued.
Deduction Information for Inactive Employees
All general deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of the following:
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 406 | Strike/Discip Fine |
| 409 | CUNY Disciplinary Fine |
| 425 | Repay State Loans/Debt |
| 426 | Higher Ed Repay State Loan |
| 445 | HC Flexible Spending |
| 582 | CUNY SS/Med Deficiency |
| GARNSH | Garnishments |
| 603 | TIAA Before Tax Arrears |
| 604 | TIAA After Tax Arrears |
Tax Information
These monies are taxable income, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. Income taxes will be calculated using the employee’s current Tax Marital Status and Withholding Allowances on the Update Employee Tax Data page.
Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice
All retroactive adjustments will be displayed on the Payroll Register using the appropriate earnings code and the associated amount. The description of each earnings code and the associated amount will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice unless there are more than 13 earnings codes. For these employees, agencies should utilize Locked Query #49 to identify a complete list of all regular earnings and retroactive adjustments.
Undeliverable Checks
If the agency has made an effort to deliver the check to the employee but the check has been returned and is undeliverable, the agency should forward the check to the NYS Department of Tax and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 908.
Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P) and a Report of Check Exchange (Form AC 1476-P). If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange.
Questions
Questions about processing transactions may be emailed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.
Questions regarding Deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.
Questions regarding Taxes should be directed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.