Purpose
The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of raise eligibility and automatic processing and to provide agencies with the procedures for reporting certain salary increases.
Affected Employees
Annual and Hourly PSC employees in Bargaining Units AJ, GA, TC, T8, CA, CB, and CE who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.
Background
Pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement between the City University of NY and the PSC (Professional Staff Congress) for the Term of 12/01/2017 – 02/28/2023. CUNY Board of Trustees approved the Agreement during the December 16, 2019 Board meeting.
Effective Date(s)
The Retroactive General Salary Increases effective 10/1/2018, 10/31/2019, and 1/1/2020 will be processed in Pay Period 25C, paycheck dated March 12, 2020.
Eligibility Criteria
All full and part-time employees meeting the eligibility criteria who are Active or on Paid Leave in Bargaining Units AJ, GA, TC, T8, CA, CB, and CE shall receive a General Salary Increase of 2.0% effective 10/1/2018, 2.0% compounded effective 10/31/2019. Eligible employees in leave without pay status will receive the increase upon return from leave.
Additionally, effective 01/01/2020, employees in the College Laboratory Technician Title Series Salary Schedule will receive a salary increase per Article 24.6.
Increases will be applied in accordance with the eligibility criteria set by the CUNY University Office of Labor Relations.
OSC Actions
Group A Pay Basis Annual With Steps
- Full-Time Annual Salaried employees in Status A or P on or after 9/30/2018 will have their current annual salary increased from the 4/20/2017 chart to the corresponding step of the 10/1/2018 salary chart.
- OSC will update all subsequent rows with the salary that corresponds to the new step on the 10/1/2018 salary chart as long as the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit and title is on a step on the Sal Plan.
- OSC will repeat this process for each subsequent salary increase effective date.
- OSC will provide a spreadsheet to CUNY on 2/7/2020 with employees identified with off step rows. CUNY will return the completed spreadsheet to OSC by 2/14/2020 to be loaded into PayServ.
Group B Pay Basis Annual With Salary Ranges (No Steps)
- All eligible employees in Group B in these job codes, listed in the table below, will have their current annual salary increased by the general salary increase percentage effective 10/1/2018.
- OSC will repeat this process for each subsequent salary increase effective date as long as the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit and title.
| Jobcode | Title |
| 15942 | Research Assoc |
| 15993 | Medical Prof Basic Sciences |
| 15994 | Assoc Med Prof Basic Sciences |
| 15995 | Asst Med Prof Basic Sc |
| 15996 | Medical Prof Clinical |
| 15997 | Assoc Med Prof Clinic |
| 17237 | Medical Lecturer(none Active) |
| 16072 | Law School Prof |
| 16076 | Law School Assoc Prof |
| 16077 | Law School Asst Prof |
| 16078 | Law School Instructor |
| 16079 | Law School Lib Assoc Prof |
| 16105 | Law School Lib Prof |
| 18105 | Distinguished Lecturer |
| 19037 | Dist Lecturer Med Series |
| 19038 | Dist Lecturer Law |
| 20032 | Clinical Professor |
| 22336 | Clinical Prof – Medical Series |
Group C Pay Basis Hourly With Steps
- Part-Time Hourly employees in Status A or P on or after 9/30/2018 will have their current annual salary increased from the 4/20/2017 chart to the corresponding step of the 10/1/2018 salary chart.
- OSC will update all subsequent rows with the salary that corresponds to the new step on the 10/1/2018 salary chart as long as the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit and their title is on a step on the Sal Plan.
- OSC will repeat this process for each subsequent salary increase effective date.
- OSC will provide a spreadsheet to CUNY on 2/7/2020 with employees identified with off step rows. CUNY will return the completed spreadsheet to OSC by 2/14/2020 to be loaded into PayServ.
| Jobcode | Description |
| 16026 | Adjunct College Lab Tech |
| 16029 | Adjunct Senior College Lab Tech |
| 16085 | Non-Teaching Adjunct V (Adj Prof Hry) |
| 16086 | Non-Teaching Adjunct IV (Adj Assoc Prof Hry) |
| 16087 | Non-Teaching Adjunct III (Adj Asst Prof Hry) |
| 16088 | Non-Teaching Adjunct I (AJT Inst Hry) |
| 16089 | Non- Teaching Adjunct II (AJT Lecturer Hry) |
| 16093 | (Adjunct) Chief College Lab Tech |
| 19119 | EOC Adjunct College Lab Tech |
| 19120 | EOC Adjunct Lecturer (is AJT and HRY) |
| 21233 | DOC NTA – 1 |
| 21234 | DOC NTA – 2 |
Group D #1 Pay Basis Hourly With No Steps (Have Salary Ranges) - Employees in Job Codes 016017, 016018, 016019, 021070, 021071, & 021072
OSC will provide a spreadsheet to CUNY on 1/11/2020 with all employees identified in this Group. CUNY will return the completed spreadsheet to OSC by 2/21//2020 to be loaded into PayServ.
- In order for an hourly employee serving in a title with no step schedule to be eligible for the 10/1/2018 increase, the employee must be active on 9/30/18 and 10/1/2018, and have received pay as an Adjunct Medical Lecturer, or in an Adjunct Law School, JEMBA Adjunct, or Non-Teaching Adjunct title any time between 12/1/2017 and 9/30/2018.
- If the hourly employee serving in a title with no step schedule is hired on or after 10/1/2018, the employee should be placed on or above the minimum in effect on 10/1/2018.
- In order for an hourly employee serving in a title with no step schedule to be eligible for the 10/31/2019 increase, the employee must be active on 10/30/2019 and 10/31/2019, and have received pay as an Adjunct Medical Lecturer, or in an Adjunct Law School, JEMBA Adjunct, or Non-Teaching Adjunct title any time between 10/1/2018 and 10/30/2019.
- If the hourly employee serving in a title with no step schedule is hired on or after 10/31/2019, the employee should be placed on or above the minimum in effect on 10/31/2019.
- Note: Continuing Ed Teacher (CET) service does not count toward the eligibility determination for these titles.
Group D #2- Continuing Ed Teachers (CET) - Employees in hourly positions in Job Codes 016038 and 016039 in BU CE
OSC will provide a spreadsheet to CUNY on 1/13/2020 with employees identified in this group. CUNY will return the completed spreadsheet to OSC by 2/14/2020 to be loaded into PayServ.
A new requirement in this contract is that employees must have earnings in the lookback period to be eligible for the increases.
Note: if new salary is below the new minimum, then the salary will be increased to the new minimum.
10/01/2018 – 2% Increase
If CET is ACTIVE on 09/30/2018 and 10/01/2018 and had received pay between 12/01/2017 and 09/30/2018, apply 2% to the rate in effect as of 09/30/2018.
If CET is NOT ACTIVE as a CET on 09/30/2018 and 10/01/2018, but becomes active as a CET on or after 10/01/2018, determine if the employee had previous service as a CET and was paid between 12/1/2017 and 9/30/2018 and then follow the applicable procedure (a) or (b) below to determine the 2018 increase:
- If no previous service as a CET between 12/1/2017 and 9/30/2018, the employee is due no increase, unless the rate is less than the 10/01/2018 CET or CLIP minimum. If the rate is less than the 10/01/2018 CET or CLIP minimum, raise the rate to the 10/01/2018 CET or CLIP minimum.
- If has previous service as a CET and received pay between 12/1/2017 and 9/30/2018, the employee is eligible to receive the 2% increase. (Clarification scenario: if rehired 10/01/2018, or later and had prior service within look back period – apply 2% to rehire salary – if adjusted salary is greater than the new minimum – then this is the new rehire salary. If the adjusted salary is less than the new minimum, then raise salary to the new minimum and this is the adjusted rehire salary.)
10/31/2019 - 2% Increase
If CET is ACTIVE on 10/30/2019 and 10/31/2019 and received pay, apply 2% to the rate in effect as of 10/30/2019.
If CET is NOT ACTIVE as a CET on 10/30/2019 and 10/31/2019, but becomes active as a CET on or after 10/31/2019, determine if the employee had previous service as a CET and was paid between 10/30/2018 and 10/30/2019, and then follow the applicable procedure (a) or (b) below to determine the 2019 increase.
- If no previous service as a CET between 10/30/2018 and 10/30/2019, the employee is due no increase, unless the rate is less than the 10/31/2019 CET or CLIP minimum. If the rate is less than the 10/31/2019 CET or CLIP minimum, raise the rate to the 10/31/2019 CET or CLIP minimum.
- If has previous service as a CET and received pay between 10/30/2018 and 10/30/2019, the employee is eligible to receive the 2% increase. (Clarification scenario: if rehired 10/31/2019, or later and had prior service within look back period – apply 2% to rehire salary – if adjusted salary is greater than the new minimum – then this is the new rehire salary. If the adjusted salary is less than the new minimum, then raise salary to the new minimum and this is the adjusted rehire salary.)
Agency Actions - Prior to Pay Period 25C
CUNY is responsible for calculating and submitting increases for employees in the groups identified below. All employees are eligible for the new minimum salary or hourly rate if the calculated salary or hourly rate is below the new minimum rate in effect.
The following Action/Reason codes must be used to report the increases:
For salaried employees:
- To report increases effective 10/1/2018 and 10/31/2019, the Action/Reason code of PAY/SIC must be used.
- To report increases on subsequent rows, the Action/Reason code of PAY/CSL must be used.
For Hourly employees:
- To report increases effective 10/1/2018 and 10/31/2019, the Action/Reason code of PAY/SIC must be used.
- To report increases on subsequent rows, the Action/Reason code of PAY/CRT must be used.
Spreadsheets provided to CUNY for Groups A and C Off Step employees:
OSC will provide spreadsheets to CUNY on 2/7/2020 to be returned from CUNY on 2/21/2020. The spreadsheets will include:
- Employee Id
- Empl Record Number
- Name
- Effective Date
- Effective Sequence
- Employment Status (A,P,L,T,R,D)
- Department Id / Agency - job
- Action Code - job
- Action Reason Code - job
- NY Bargaining Unit - position
- NYS position #
- NYS Jobcode –position
- Title Description [from Jobcode Table]
- Sal admin plan - position
- Pay Basis Code - position
- Increment code
- Comp Rate [from Compensation row]
- New Reason Code - CUNY will fill in
- New Comp Rate - CUNY will fill in
CUNY will review the spreadsheets and should enter the appropriate salary information for each employee record and effective dated row onto the spreadsheets using the appropriate Action/Reason codes and then return the completed spreadsheets to OSC by 2/21/2020. OSC will load the spreadsheets into PayServ to implement the general salary increases.
If any employee’s record can be corrected prior to the raise implementation, CUNY must submit these transactions prior to 2/27/2020, to allow automatic raise processing. CUNY should remove these rows from the spreadsheet prior to returning it to OSC.
- The agency must complete the spreadsheet provided by OSC for employees who are not on step due to REM, SAB or RRI.
- Employees whose salary includes Recruitment/Retention Initiative (RRI) monies are eligible only for an increase to the base salary of their position.
- Employees whose salary includes Salary Above Base (SAB) monies are eligible to receive a percentage increase applied to their current salary.
- Employees whose salary includes Distinguished Stipend in addition to the Salary Above Base (SAB) – there is no increase to the stipend rate ($28,594).
Employees in REM positions (HEO/Asst Admin (016855) are eligible only for an increase to the base salary. This jobcode will not be identified on the spreadsheet and will need to be adjusted manually by CUNY.
Agency Actions – Overpayments, AC230 Prior to Pay Period 25C
CUNY should review all overpayments (Q06 – Q20) to determine if overpayments will be recovered correctly for active or inactive employees. Overpayments set up on inactive records may need to be ended and set up on an active record for an employee.
Overpayment balances should be reviewed to determine if AC230s were correctly processed. CUNY should enter or change existing overpayments as needed.
Refer to Bulletin 470 - Revised Policies and Procedures for Recovery of Overpayments and Attachment D for more information.
Note: The amount in the Earnings field on the Additional Pay page should be equal to at least 10% of the employee’s biweekly earnings plus any additional salary factors (ie. the daily rate), not 10% of the overpayment total.
Automatic Retroactive Processing and Other Agency Actions
Automatic retroactive payments will be processed for certain earnings reported on the Time Entry page. The following is a list of the earn codes that will be automatically adjusted: DCS, DOC, LSJ, LT1, OTD, RGH, RGS, Y17, Y36, Y58, Y74, Z17, Z36, Z58, & Z74.
Agency Actions for Miscellaneous Earnings Not Automatically Adjusted
Increases to miscellaneous earnings, such as assigned overtime, adjunct payments and override codes, must be manually calculated and reported by the agency using the AJR earn code. The agency must calculate and submit retroactive adjustments for all miscellaneous earnings (not listed above) that will not be adjusted automatically.
Adjustments for nonresident aliens should be made using the Earn Codes XAR, YAR, or ZAR. AJR may be paid in a single lump sum amount or broken down into raise periods (i.e. 10/1/2018 -10/30/2019). Detailed General Comments or a detailed worksheet must be available to OSC upon request. AJR must be entered on the Time Entry page as follows:
| Earn Code: | AJR(Adjust Raise) |
| Earns Begin Date: | Enter first date to be adjusted. |
| Earns End Date: | Enter the last date to be adjusted. |
| Amount: | Enter the total adjustment amount (may be negative if recovering an overpayment). |
| Comments: | Enter an explanation of the adjustment. |
For earnings that will be automatically adjusted by the system such as RGH and RGS, agencies must submit the applicable adjustment to adjust the system-calculated retroactive adjustment, whenever the earnings were previously reported in the Time Entry page as a single entry and the dates reported overlap the effective date of an increase. The system will adjust all earnings based on the salary rate in effect on the earnings end date.
Increases for employees who have had check reversals or exchanges, or were paid on typewritten payrolls may not be processed correctly by the system. Therefore, the agencies should review the retroactive adjustment calculated by the system for these employees and submit the necessary adjustment in a subsequent pay period.
IMPORTANT – AJR begin and end dates should not be inclusive of the entire retroactive raise period if an employee does not remain in an eligible position. Begin and end dates should be specific to the dates an employee is in the eligible position (Adjunct, Annual, HRY).
Control-D Reports Available After Processing
The following Control-D report will be available after processing of the automatic salary increases:
NHRP704 Mass Salary Payment Report
This report identifies all employees who received the General Salary Increase. The report identifies all rows where the employee’s salary was automatically increased in an eligible bargaining unit. Other fields on the report include the EmplID, Employee Record Number, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Pay Basis Code, Part Time Percentage, Action/Reason and Increment Code.
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.
The monies will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2.
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 |
| 409 | CUNY Disciplinary Fine |
| 425 | Repay State Loans/Debt |
| 426 | Higher Ed Repay State Loan |
| 445 | HC Flexible Spending |
| 580 | CUNY Medicare Deficiency Flat Rate |
| 581 | CUNY Social Security Deficiency Flat Rate |
| 582 | CUNY SS/Med Deficiency |
| 603 | TIAA Before Tax Arrears |
| 604 GARNSH |
TIAA After Tax Arrears Garnishments |
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
When a valid payroll check is undeliverable due to the agency’s inability to locate the employee, the agency should follow the Agency Actions identified in Payroll Bulletin No. 1786 Non-negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.
Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P), original death certificate 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 eligibility for Professional Staff Congress increases may be directed to the University Manager of Payroll Systems and Operations at CUNY Central Office.
Questions regarding transactions may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.
Questions regarding Deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.
Questions regarding Taxes may be directed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.