Purpose
The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the 2020 PSC Adjunct 2% Retroactive General Salary Increase and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.
Affected Employees
Adjunct PSC employees with Comp Rate Code AJT in Bargaining Unit AJ and CA who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.
Background
Pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement between CUNY and for the Term of 12/01/2017 through 02/28/2023, a 2% general salary increase was authorized effective 11/15/2020. The CUNY Board of Trustees approved the agreement during the 12/16/2019 board meeting.
Note: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 11/15/2020 PSC 2% Salary Increases were deferred from the Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 Adjunct contracts.
The 11/15/2020 PSC 2% Salary Increases were previously paid in the Fall 2020 contracts, Winter 2020 sessions, and Fall 2021 contracts. This bulletin pertains to the Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 contracts only.
Effective Dates
The 2020 PSC Adjunct 2% Retroactive General Salary Increase is effective 11/15/2020 and will be processed in Institution Pay Period 14C, paycheck dated 10/07/2021. The increase will be applied to the Spring 2021 contracts, 01/28/2021 through 05/19/2021, and the Summer 2021 contracts, 06/03/2021 through 07/28/2021.
Eligibility Criteria
Adjunct employees in Bargaining Units AJ and CA and in Comp Rate Code AJT will receive the 2020 PSC Adjunct 2% Retroactive General Salary Increase effective 11/15/2020, applied to the Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 contracts.
The increases will be applied in accordance with the eligibility criteria set by the CUNY University Office of Labor Relations.
Report Available Prior to Processing
OSC will provide CUNY with a list of employees who will not be processed. This report identifies employees who had a check returned or exchanged for any checks dated 02/11/2021 through present (Off Cycle = ‘Y’) or employees who had an overpayment (Earnings Code Q21 or QC1) with an effective date of 02/11/2021 through present.
Agency Actions – Overpayments and AC230s Prior to Pay Period 14C
Increases for employees who have had a check reversal or exchange or have overpayments at any time during the applicable contract periods 01/28/2021 through 05/19/2021 and 06/03/2021 through 07/28/2021 will not be systematically processed. Therefore, agencies must review the report as soon as possible and submit an AJR for each employee on the report.
CUNY must review all overpayments (Earnings Codes OVP, Q06-Q21, QC0, and QC1) 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 then set up on an active record for the employee.
Overpayment balances should be reviewed to determine if AC230s were correctly processed. CUNY must enter or change existing overpayments as appropriate.
Refer to Payroll Bulletin No. 470 - Revised Policies and Procedures for Recovery of Overpayments and Attachment D for more information.
Reminder: 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 (i.e. the daily rate), not 10% of the overpayment total.
OSC Actions
OSC will systematically calculate the 2020 PSC Adjunct 2% Retroactive General Salary Increase for employees not listed on the provided list of employees with overpayments and/or AC230’s during the Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 contracts, as follows:
- 1Add up the CON, C17, C18, and C19 earnings with effective dates 01/28/2021 through 07/28/2021 and multiply the amount by 2%.
- The total adjustment will entered into Time Entry as a single entry using Earnings Code AJR. The earnings begin date will be the first eligible payment date and the earnings end date will be the last eligible payment date of the adjustment.
Retroactive Processing
Reporting Retroactive Adjustments for Miscellaneous Earnings Not Automatically Adjusted
Increases to miscellaneous earnings, such as Earnings Code AJT (adjunct payments such as Spring or Summer session payments not paid as a contract) must be manually calculated and reported by the agency using Earnings Code AJR in Time Entry. Adjustments for nonresident aliens (NRA) should be made using Earnings Codes XAR, YAR, or ZAR.
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 (Covid-19 OT Override), 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 14C.
The Earnings Codes AJR, ARC, and ARO or nonresident alien equivalent codes 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 or NRA equivalent as appropriate. |
| Amount: | Enter the total amount of the adjustment. |
Control-D Report Available After Processing
The following Control-D report will be available after processing of the automatic 2020 PSC Adjunct 2% Retroactive General Salary Increase:
NPAY771 – OSC will produce a Control D report for those employees whose increases are processed automatically by OSC immediately after the raise program is completed.
General Deductions
All general deductions for employees with payroll status of 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 NRA equivalents) 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 (2.30815% 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).
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 about eligibility for the 2020 PSC Adjunct 2% Retroactive General Salary Increase 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.