Purpose
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide guidelines and processing procedures for the 2020 retroactive 2% pay rate increases.
Affected Employees
CUNY employees in the New York State Nurse Association (NYSNA) in Bargaining Unit TE are affected.
Background
The CUNY Board of Trustees approval and the Implementation Memorandum of Agreement dated 01/30/2019 provides the City University of New York (CUNY) with the implementation instructions and authorization for the processing of the retroactive payments of the recently negotiated 2016-2021/2017-2021/2017-2022 White and Blue collar unit collective bargaining agreements and general salary increases for CUNY classified staff employees. The 2017-2022 agreement covers CUNY employees represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA).
The memorandum provides for retroactive pay rate increases to the hourly and annual rates effective 12/16/2020 as stated in the revised rate chart.
Effective Dates
The 12/16/2020 2% pay rate increases may be submitted in Institution Pay Period 4C, paychecks dated 05/20/2021.
Eligibility Criteria
CUNY employees in the titles of Staff Nurse and Nurse Practitioner are eligible for the retroactive increases.
OSC Actions
OSC will review the manually entered Job Action Requests and approve retroactive salary increases based on the approved salary chart.
Agency Actions
Reporting the Retroactive Rate Increases
To ensure the Job Data record is updated correctly for each employee, the agency should submit all Job Action Requests in effective date order from oldest date to current date.
Salaried Employees
For all rate increases, request a Pay Change with the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Chg/SIC (Salary Increase) on the Job Action Request page, using the effective date of the appropriate increase, and submit the new annual rate.
To submit increases on subsequent rows, request a Pay Change with the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Chg/CSL (Cor Sal) on the Job Action Request page.
Hourly Employees
For all rate increases, request a Pay Change with the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Chg/SIC (Salary Increase) on the Job Action Request page, using the effective date of the appropriate increase, and submit the new hourly rate.
To submit increases on subsequent rows, request a Pay Change with the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Chg/CRT (Change Rate) on the Job Action Request 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 miscellaneous earnings, excluding overtime. When an adjustment is needed to COVID-19 overtime such as CVO, ARC must be used. When an adjustment is needed to non-COVID-19 related overtime, ARO must be entered. Please refer to Payroll Bulletin No. 1893 for more information. Agencies must continue to use AJR for all other override Time Entry Earnings Codes requiring a manual adjustment as a result of a retro salary increase. 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 in OSC’s Audit Section by the agency deadline for Pay Period 4C.
The Earnings Codes AJR, ARC and ARO 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, ARC, or ARO as appropriate. |
| Amount: | Enter the total amount of the adjustment. |
General Deductions
All general deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired, or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of percentage bases dues and the following:
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| 403 | CUNY 403(b) |
| 406 | Strike/Discip Fine |
| 416 | Deferred Comp |
| 425 | Repay State Loans/Debt |
| 432 | SED Tax Deferred Annuity |
| 433 | Total Unemployment Ins Owed |
| 500 | Medicare Deficiency |
| 501 | Social Security Deficiency |
| 502 | NYS SS/Medicare Deficiency |
| 678 | CUNY Before Tax Arrears |
| 679 | CUNY After Tax Arrears |
| 680 | CUNY Suspense BTax Arrears |
| GARNSH | Garnishments |
Tax Information
These monies are taxable income subject to all employment taxes and income taxes, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and reported on the employee’s Form W-2.
The adjustments (AJR, ARC, ARO, and Retro (RXX)) are supplemental taxable income and will be included in the employee’s taxable gross subject to all employment and income taxes.
Federal, State, and New York City income tax withholding will be calculated using the Aggregate method. Yonkers income tax withholding will be calculated using the Flat Rate method (1.61135% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents).
Special Wage Payments for Individuals Who Filed for Retirement Social Security Benefits
Per Internal Revenue Service Publication 9857, OSC will be reporting retro payments to individuals who have filed for Social Security benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
As PayServ does not include this information, OSC will be mailing a Request for Special Wage Payment Report to inactive individuals who are 62 or older in the calendar year and to active employees with the New York Retiree Indicator checked in Modify a Person who receive the retroactive payment. Recipients of this mailing will be asked to fill out the request and return it to OSC for inclusion on the Special Wage Payment report to SSA. This report will be submitted to SSA after the close of the 2021 tax year.
It is important that agencies ensure the New York Retiree Indicator box is checked for rehired retirees. Please see Payroll Bulletin No. 1728 for further details on the New York Retiree Indicator box.
Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice
All retroactive adjustments will be displayed on the Payroll Register using the appropriate Earnings Code and the amount paid and will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice using the appropriate Earnings Description and the amount paid unless the number of earnings codes exceeds 13. Agencies should utilize Locked Query LQ_PCD_PAYCHECK_EARNINGS_BY_ID to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.
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.
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 regarding eligibility for CUNY 2020 Retroactive 2% Pay Rate Increases for New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) Employees 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.