Purpose

To inform the Division of Housing and Community Renewal of OSC’s automatic processing of the October 2015 Rent Regulation Services Unit (RRSU) Performance Advances and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Employees in the Rent Regulation Services Unit – BU67 in the Division of Housing and Community Renewal who meet the eligibility criteria

Background

Chapter 182 of the Laws of 2014, which implemented the 2011-2016 Agreement between the State of New York and DC-37, provides for payment of performance advances on October 1 to eligible RRSU employees based on the 2015 Salary Schedule.

Effective Date(s)

The October 2015 RRSU Performance Advances will be paid using the following effective date and check date:

Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type	Payment Effective Date	Check Date
Administration 14 Lag	09/24/15	10/21/15

Eligibility Criteria

Performance Advance

Employees in graded positions (Grade 001-032) and NS positions (Grade 600) which are equated to a grade (Grade 001-032) and whose annual salary is below the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule are eligible for the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance provided the employee:

• Is in a BU67 position on the payment effective date; and
• Has a Pay Basis Code of ANN on the payment effective date; and
• Was rated at least “Satisfactory” or its equivalent on their last rating date; and
• Did not receive a performance advance in April 2015.

Promotion Recalculation

Employees who would have been eligible to receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance but were promoted to a higher grade in any bargaining unit prior to October 2015 may be eligible for a revised promotion salary (promotion recalculation) provided the employee is not eligible for a performance advance in the higher grade in October 2015.

Ineligible for Performance Advance

Employees with an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date are ineligible to receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance. The agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code USP (Unsat Perf) and an increment code of 1003 in the Incr. Code field to withhold the performance advance. The effective date should be the employee’s last rating date. This transaction should be submitted as soon as practicable following the employee’s rating date and must be submitted prior to the automatic processing of the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advances.

Increment Code 1003 is also used to identify employees who have not completed one (1) year of service in their grade on the payment effective date and to prevent these employees from receiving the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance.

If Increment Code 1003 appears in an employee’s record at the time of processing the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance, the increment code will be updated automatically to indicate the employee’s eligibility for the next performance advance (see OSC Actions section).

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use on 09/24/15 (Administration). This will give the agency time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advances. The report will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the October 2015 Performance Advance, Promotion Recalculation or Increment Code Update 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:

• Position and Job do not match
• FIS Missing
• FIS At or Below Current
• FIS Below Hiring Rate
• Increment Code Missing
• Increment Code Invalid
• Increment Code Requires Agency Review
• Inc Code not in Anniv Dt range
• Sal Below Hiring Rate
• Sal At or Above Job Rate

If an employee appears on this report but is due a performance advance, promotion recalculation or increment code update, the agency must take the following action:

• 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 performance advance, promotion recalculation or increment code update will be processed provided the agency’s position request contains the same information as the position information in NYSTEP.
• 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 Pay Period 14L, the automatic performance advance, promotion recalculation or increment code update will be processed.
• Submit the appropriate transaction on the Job Action Requests page to pay the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance (see Agency Actions – Beginning Administration Pay Period 15 section).

Agency Actions – Administration Pay Period 14

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Administration Pay Period 14L.

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or before 09/24/15 (Administration):

• The agency must not include the performance advance in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
• The agency must report the proper increment code for October 2015 in the Incr. Code field.

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date after 09/24/15 (Administration):

• The agency must include, if applicable, the performance advance in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
• The agency must report the projected increment code based on the employee’s next performance advance cycle in the Incr. Code field.

Time Entry

To report miscellaneous earnings that are automatically calculated by the system (e.g. overtime), the agency must separate earnings by pay period so the earnings will not overlap the effective date of the Pay Change transaction.

OSC Actions

OSC will process the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advances, Promotion Recalculations and Increment Code Updates for those employees who meet the eligibility criteria and have a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date with the following exceptions:

• Eligible employees in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) on the payment effective date.
• Eligible employees in a position which was previously downward reallocated (identified by Increment Code 0069) on the payment effective date.
• Eligible employees with a Payroll Status of Leave With Pay and an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on the Payment effective date.

Performance Advance Processing

Performance advances will be processed for eligible employees with Increment Code 1001 and an Anniversary Date between 04/02/XX and 10/01/XX on the payment effective date. OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/24/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/PAV (Perf Adv) and will increase the employee’s salary to reflect payment of the performance advance. The employee’s salary will be capped at the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule.

Promotion Recalculation

Promotion recalculations will be processed for eligible employees with Increment Code 1004 on the payment effective date who are entitled to a revised promotion salary based on the FIS (Fixed Incremented Salary) Amount on the Job Data/Compensation page. The FIS Amount:

• Must be equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule; and
• Must be greater than the employee’s salary on the payment effective date; and
• May exceed the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule.

OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/24/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/PMR (Prom Recal) and will update the employee’s salary to reflect the FIS Amount.

Increment Code Update Processing

OSC will automatically update the increment code on the inserted row for employees who receive a performance advance or promotion recalculation as follows:

Current Code	Updated Code
1001	1001 if the new salary is below Job Rate
	1510 if the new salary is equal to Job Rate
1004	0001 if the new salary is below Job Rate and the Anniversary Date is 10/02/XX – 04/01/XX
	1001 if the new salary is below Job Rate and the Anniversary Date is 04/02/XX – 10/01/XX
	1510 if the new salary is equal to or greater than Job Rate

OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/24/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Data Chg/CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and update the following increment code:

Current Code	Updated Code
1003	1001 if the salary on the payment effective date is equal to or greater than Hiring Rate and below Job Rate and the Anniversary Date is 04/02/XX – 10/01/XX

Workers’ Compensation

For employees who are receiving Workers’ Compensation under the RRSU Medical Evaluation Program, the supplement will be recalculated by OSC when processing payments for disability dates beginning on 09/24/15 (Administration).

Transactions processed automatically will appear on the NHRP520 Daily Outbound Transaction file.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing

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

NHRP704 – Mass Increment Payment Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic October 2015 Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation on the payment effective date. The report includes the Action/Reason code used as well as the old compensation rate and new compensation rate.

NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive an automatic October 2015 Performance Advance, Promotion Recalculation or Increment Code Update. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated:

• Position and Job do not match
• FIS Missing
• FIS At or Below Current
• FIS Below Hiring Rate
• Increment Code Missing
• Increment Code Invalid
• Increment Code Requires agency Review
• Inc Code not in Anniv Dt range
• Sal Below Hiring Rate
• Sal At or Above Job Rate

Agency Actions – Beginning Administration Pay Period 15

Employees Not Processed Automatically

Beginning in Administration Pay Period 15L, the agency may submit the appropriate transaction(s) for the following employees who are eligible on the payment effective date but will not be processed automatically. Refer to the appropriate instructions described below.

1. Eligible employees who are in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) on the payment effective date.
2. Eligible employees who are in a position which was previously downward reallocated (identified by Increment Code 0069) on the payment effective date.
3. Eligible employees with a Payroll Status of Leave With Pay and an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on the payment effective date.
4. Eligible employees who are on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave or a Military Leave on the payment effective date.
5. Eligible employees who are Inactive or on a Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date.

1. Increment Code 2222
   
   Eligible employees who are in a composite position on the payment effective date may receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation. The agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) effective 09/24/15 (Administration). Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page.
2. Increment Code 0069
   
   Eligible employees who are in a position on the payment effective date which was previously downward reallocated may receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance. The agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code PAV (Perf Adv) effective 09/24/15 (Administration). The performance advance amount is based on the previous grade and the new salary cannot exceed the Job Rate of that grade.Information regarding the payment must be included on the General Comments page.
3. Paid Sick Leave
   
   Eligible employees with a Payroll Status of Leave With Pay and an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on the payment effective date who completed one (1) year of service in their grade prior to the effective date of the Paid Sick Leave may receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation. The agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) effective 09/24/15 (Administration).
4. Military Stipend Leave or Military Leave
   
   Eligible employees who are on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave or a Military Leave on the payment effective date may receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation when they return to the payroll.
   If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is on or before 09/24/15 (Administration), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) effective 09/24/15 (Administration).
   If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is after 09/24/15 (Administration), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CSL (Cor Sal) and the effective date of the Return from Leave with the next available sequence number.
5. Inactive or Leave of Absence (not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave)
   
   Eligible employees who are Inactive or have a Payroll Status of Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date and who completed one (1) year of service in their grade prior to becoming inactive or being placed on a leave of absence may receive the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation when they return to the payroll. In addition, an employee who is Inactive must be rehired within one year to be eligible for the payments.
   If the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave transaction is on or before 09/24/15 (Administration), in addition to processing the transaction(s) related to the rehire or return from leave, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) or a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CIC (Chg IncCd/or Ann Dt/or FIS Sal) effective 09/24/15 (Administration).
   If the effective date of the rehire or return from leave transaction is after 09/24/15 (Administration), in addition to processing the transaction(s) related to the rehire or return from leave, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CSL (Cor Sal) or a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave with the next available sequence number.
   
   Determining Adjusted Performance Advance Cycle
   
   When processing a transaction that may affect performance advance eligibility, such as but not limited to a return from leave transaction, the agency must determine if the employee will remain on the performance advance cycle on record and if necessary, update the employee’s increment code and anniversary date.
   
   Reinstating Prior Job Rate Increment Code
   
   Upward Reallocation: An employee occupying a position that was previously upward reallocated, whose salary at the time of the reallocation was equal to or greater than the Job Rate of the lower grade and whose salary upon application of the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance reaches the Job Rate of the reallocated position (based on the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule) is entitled to the job rate credit of the lower grade.

• The increment code of an employee receiving the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance that results in a salary equal to the Job Rate of the reallocated position will be automatically updated from 1001 to 1510.
• The agency must evaluate the employee’s Payroll Status beginning from the time of reallocation through the date of the performance advance.
  • If the Payroll Status has remained Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave, the employee is entitled to have the increment code of the lower grade reinstated.
  • If the Payroll Status was Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave, the increment code of the lower grade must be evaluated to determine if the current increment code must be adjusted.

Lateral Movement from a Non-RRSU Position Where the Employee’s Salary was Equal To or Greater Than Job Rate to an RRSU Position with a Higher Job Rate:

An employee with a salary equal to or greater than the Job Rate of their salary grade, who has a lateral position change to an RRSU position with a higher Job Rate, and whose salary upon application of the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance reaches the Job Rate in the RRSU position is entitled to job rate credit for service in the non-RRSU position.

• The increment code of an employee receiving the October 2015 RRSU Performance Advance that results in a salary equal to the Job Rate will be automatically updated from 1001 to 1510.
• The agency must evaluate the employee’s Payroll Status beginning from the time of reallocation through the date of the performance advance.
  • If the Payroll Status has remained Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave, the employee is entitled to have the increment code of the lower grade reinstated.
  • If the Payroll Status was Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave, the increment code of the lower grade must be evaluated to determine if the current increment code must be adjusted.

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.

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.