Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform the Division of Housing and Community Renewal of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 Retroactive 3% Salary Increases and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees:

Employees in the Rent Regulation Services Unit (RRSU) – BU67 in the Division of Housing and Community Renewal who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Chapter 177 of the Laws of 2024, which implemented the 2023-2026 Agreement between the State of New York and the District Council 37 (DC 37), provides for retroactive salary increases of three percent (3%) for fiscal years 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 for all eligible members of the Rent Regulation Services Unit (RRSU) and includes the April 1, 2023 RRSU Salary Schedule and April 1, 2024 RRSU Salary Schedule.

Effective Dates:

April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 3% Retroactive Salary Increases  will be paid using the following effective date and check date:

Eligibility Criteria:

The following employees are eligible to receive the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 RRSU 3% Retroactive Salary Increases: 

• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN who are in a traineeship (Grade 800).
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 600).
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 600) which is equated to a grade (Grade 001-032).
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN who are in a graded position (Grade 001-032).

As of the date of this bulletin, there are no positions with a Comp Rate Code of HRY during the retroactive raise period (03/30/2023 through present).

Employees who were on a Leave of Absence (other than Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the effective date of the increase will become eligible for the salary increase upon the employee’s return from leave.

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing: 

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use on 05/23/2024 (Administration). This will give the agency time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 RRSU 3% Retroactive Salary Increases. The report will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 RRSU 3% Retroactive Salary Increases based on information available as of the date the report is produced. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record will not be updated:

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE – if the employee’s Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 600 and a value exists in both the Equated to Grade field and the Approved Salary Rate field.
• Position and Job do not match – if the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal.
• Increment Code Missing – if the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 001-032 or 600 with a value of 001-032 in the Equated to Grade field, and the Comp Rate Code is ANN and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is blank or ‘0000.’
• Increment Code Invalid – if the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 001-032 or 600 with a value of 001-032 in the Equated to Grade field, and the Comp Rate Code is ANN and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 0001, 0003, 0004, 1001, 1003, 1004, 1000, 2222, 7777, 19XX, 20XX, XX10.
• Inc Code Req Review – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2222.
• Sal Below Hiring Rate – if the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 001-032 or 600 with a value of 001-032 in the Equated to Grade field, and the Comp Rate Code is ANN and the employee’s salary on any of the Job Data rows being evaluated is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule.

If an employee appears on this report but is due a salary increase, the agency must take the following action:

• Submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s). If the row(s) is corrected prior to Administration 5L, the automatic salary increase(s) will be processed.
• Submit a Position Change Request to the Position Management Unit if the position information is incorrect on the Position Data page in PayServ but is correct in NYSTEP. The position will be updated to reflect the change and the automatic salary increase will be processed provided the agency’s position request contains the same information as the position information in NYSTEP.

Employees who appear on the report but whose record was not corrected prior to automatic processing will not automatically receive the April 2023 and April 2024 DC-37 RRSU Retroactive Salary Increases. The agency must submit the appropriate transactions to correct the employee’s record and to pay the increase in Administration Pay Period 6L.

OSC Actions:

OSC will process the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 3% Retroactive Salary Increases for the following employees:

• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria and has a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave (Action/Reason code of Leave of Absence/WCL, WDL, or WPS) on the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase) using the following effective dates:
  • 2023 3% Increase: Effective 03/30/2023 (Administration)
  • 2024 3% Increase: Effective 03/28/2024 (Administration) 
• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has a Payroll Status of Terminated, Retired, or Leave of Absence (not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date and returns to Active status in an eligible position, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Comp Rate Code is ANN. The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action.
• If the employee is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Comp Rate Code is ANN.  The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Hire, Position Change or Transfer action.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Comp Rate Code is ANN for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position.

Calculating the New Compensation Rate

The salary on each inserted row will be calculated as follows:

2023 Retroactive 3% Increase Processing

• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 600 (not equated to a grade) or 800, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will process as follows:
  • If the salary is less than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar. If the resulting salary is greater than the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will reduce the salary to the Job Rate.
  • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar OR increase the salary to the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, whichever is greater.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will process as follows:
  • If the salary is less than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar. If the resulting salary is greater than the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will reduce the salary to the Job Rate.
  • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar OR increase the salary to the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, whichever is greater.

2024 Retroactive 3% Increase Processing

• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 600 (not equated to a grade) or 800, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will process as follows:
  • If the salary is less than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar. If the resulting salary is greater than the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule, OSC will reduce the salary to the Job Rate.
  • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar OR increase the salary to the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule, whichever is greater.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 001-032 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will process as follows:
  • If the salary is less than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar. If the resulting salary is greater than the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule, OSC will reduce the salary to the Job Rate.
  • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar OR increase the salary to the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule, whichever is greater.

Exceptions

Employees in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) will not be processed automatically.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing:

The following Control-D reports will be available for agency review after the automatic increases have been processed.  All reports will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Salary Increase Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic April 2023 and April 2024 DC37 3% Retroactive Salary Increases and includes all employees’ salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive the automatic April 2023 and April 2024 DC37 3% Retroactive Salary Increases. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated: 

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE
• Position and Job Do Not Match 
• Increment Code Missing 
• Increment Code Invalid 
• Inc Code Req Review 
• Sal Below Hiring Rate 

See Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing for an explanation of these messages.

Agency Actions –Administration Pay Period 8L:

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Administration Pay Period 8L:

For pay changes, positions changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or after 03/30/2023 (Administration):

• The agency must not include the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 RRSU 3% Retroactive Salary Increases in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The salary must be calculated using the 04/01/2022 Salary Schedule.

Agency Actions – Beginning in Administration Pay Period 9L:

Employees Who Appeared on the NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

Employees who appeared on the NHRP709 Mass Salary Increase Exception Report, made available after processing, did not automatically receive the April 2023 or April 2024 DC 37 RRSU Retroactive Salary Increases. Agencies must submit appropriate transactions to correct the employee’s record and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using appropriate Reason Code to pay salary increase beginning in Administration Pay Period 9L.

Composite Positions

Beginning Institution or Administration Pay Period 9L, agencies must review employees in composite positions (identified by Increment Code 2222) and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason Code (see below) to pay salary increase.  Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page. 

To Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason Code(s) must be used to pay the April 2023 and April 2024 DC37 3% Retroactive Salary Increases to eligible employees not processed automatically:

• Reason Code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) – For transactions effective:
  • 2023 Increase –effective on 03/30/2023 (Administration)
  • 2024 Increase – effective on 03/28/2024 (Administration).
• Reason Code CSL (Cor Sal) for ANN Comp Rate For transactions effective other than the effective dates of salary increases:
  • 2023 Increase –effective after 03/30/2023 (Administration)
  • 2024 Increase – effective after 03/28/2024 (Administration)

Automatic Retroactive Processing:

OSC will automatically calculate retroactive adjustments for regular and Time Entry earnings calculated by the system based on annual salary, such as OT for Annual 2080 (Earnings Code OCS) and Holiday Pay (Earnings Code HPA), resulting from payment of the April 2023 and April 2024 DC 37 RRSU 3% Retroactive Salary Increases.

If an employee receives a payment and has worked in more than one agency but has been paid by all agencies in the same Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency.

If an employee receives a payment, has worked in more than one agency, and has been paid in more than one Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, the retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency of the Employee Record Number to which the payment was made.

Agency Actions- Retroactive Processing: 

Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically. Therefore, beginning in Administration Pay Period 9L, agencies must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as Extra Time Override (Earnings Code EXO) and Regular Salary Override (Earnings Code RGO).

Correcting an Automatic Retroactive Adjustment

When certain conditions exist in an employee’s record, automatic retroactive adjustment may be incorrect.  Therefore, the agency is responsible for identifying employees who meet the following conditions and, if necessary, submitting the necessary adjustment:

• If an employee has a check returned or exchanged on an AC-230 for dates on or after the effective date of payment, the payroll system does not consider the AC-230 when calculating automatic retroactive adjustment.
• If earnings were previously reported using Earnings Code RGS and a date range that exceeded the number of days reported, the system will calculate the adjustment of earnings based on the number of workdays within the range.
• Adjustments for earnings that are calculated automatically, such as OT for Annuals 2080 (Earnings Code OCS), will be calculated incorrectly if the dates previously reported as a single entry on the Time Entry page overlap the effective date of the payment.  The system will calculate an adjustment for all earnings reported in a single entry based on the salary in effect on the Earnings End Date.
• For employees who had a change reported on the Job Data page, since the effective date of payment and the action resulted in an overpayment of earnings, the automatic negative retroactive adjustment may not have been processed because the overpayment was either not recoverable or was recovered using an overpayment earnings code or an AC-230.  In this case, the negative retroactive adjustment may be re-generated when payment is processed.  OSC will turn off (not process) the automatic negative adjustment for these employees since in most cases these overpayments were either not recoverable or recovered using another method.

If an overpayment of earnings is identified after automatic payment is processed but before the paycheck is received by the employee, the employee must be notified of the overpayment and the adjustment that will be reported in a subsequent pay period.

Submitting an Adjustment

When an adjustment is needed for COVID-19 related overtime such as Covid-19 OT Override (Earnings Code CVO), Earnings Code ARC (Adjust Retro Raise for C19 OT) must be used to process the adjustment. When an adjustment is needed for non-COVID-19 related overtime or recall such as OT Override (Earnings Code OTT), Earnings Code ARO (Adj Retro Raise for OT and RCL) must be used to process the adjustment. Please refer to Payroll Bulletin 1893 – Reporting Adjustments to Overtime for more information. Agencies must continue to use Earnings Code AJR (Adjust Raise) for all other override Time Entry Earnings Codes requiring a manual adjustment as a result of a retro salary increase.

To process a retroactive adjustment or correct an automatic retroactive adjustment, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using the Earnings Code AJR, ARC or ARO:

Military Stipend Leave: 

OSC will recalculate the military stipend amount for employees placed on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave on or after the effective date of the payment as the result of new military orders.

• If the employee received a stipend, OSC will insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page, effective the date the employee is entitled to the increase, using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and will increase the employee’s biweekly stipend amount.  In addition, updates will be made to all subsequent rows requiring an increased biweekly stipend amount.
• If the employee did not receive a stipend but becomes eligible for a stipend as a result of the payment, OSC will insert the following in PayServ:
  • A row on the employee’s Job Data page, effective the date the employee is entitled to a stipend, using the Action/Reason Code of Paid Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
  • A row on the employee’s Job Data page for each affected subsequent row using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
  • A row on the Time Entry page using the Earnings Code MSP (Military Stipend Payment) to pay the stipend for each pay period the employee is eligible.
• Any additional adjustment required due to the increased biweekly stipend amount, that will not be calculated automatically, will be reported by OSC on the Time Entry page using the Earnings Code AMS (Adjust Military Stipend).

General Deductions:

All general deductions for employees with Payroll Status of Terminated, Retired, or Deceased will be automatically canceled by OSC with the exception of percentage-based dues and the following:

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 will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

The adjustments (Earnings Codes AJR, ARC, and ARO) and retroactive payments (Earnings Code 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 (1.95975% 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 report to the Social Security Administration (SSA) all retro payments made to individuals who have filed for Social Security benefits.

Since PayServ does not include this information, OSC will mail a Request for Special Wage Payment Report to inactive individuals who are 62 or older in the calendar year and 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 and return this request to OSC for inclusion on the Special Wage Payment report to SSA. This report will be submitted to SSA after the close of the 2024 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 amount paid. Retroactive adjustments will also be displayed on employees’ paycheck stub or direct deposit advice using the appropriate Earnings Description and amount paid, unless the number of Earnings Codes exceed 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 – Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be submitted as a Stop Payment Request with a reason of Exchange in PayServ. The Report of Check Exchange (AC 1476-P), Next of Kin Affidavit (AC 934-P), and original death certificate should be submitted to the Payroll Reversal and Exchange mailbox at the same time as the Stop Payment Request. 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 this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.

Questions regarding position change requests may be directed to the Position Management mailbox.

Questions regarding military information may be directed to the Military Stipend mailbox.

Questions regarding general deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.