Purpose

To notify the Division of State Police of the procedures for processing Fitness Bonus Payments.

Affected Employees

Investigators and Senior Investigators in Bargaining Unit 62

Effective Date(s)

Payments may be submitted for the 2011-12 payment in Pay Period 7L/8C for paychecks dated 6/20/12

Background

Chapter 70 of the Laws of 2009 implemented an agreement between the State of New York and the New York State Police Investigators Association and provides for an annual Fitness Bonus Payment.

Contract Provisions and Eligibility Criteria

The payment for State Fiscal Year 2011-12 will be based on the bargaining unit to which a member was assigned on the date of participation in the physical fitness test.

For Investigators and Senior Investigators in Bargaining Unit 62 who qualify, the bonus payment is $470.43.

Employees who return from Military Leave or other approved leave and pass the 2011-12 fitness test may be entitled to Fitness Bonus Payments for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Agency Actions

To pay eligible employees for the 2011-12 payment, use the following earnings code in the Additional Pay page:

For employees who are no longer in an eligible bargaining unit, the Earn End Date should be the last date the employee was eligible for the earnings to be included in the overtime calculation.

If the employee moves into an ineligible bargaining unit after the payment is made, the agency must insert a row to end the overtime eligibility by entering the following in the Additional Pay page:

If an employee is entitled to one or more Fitness Bonus Payments for any fiscal year(s) prior to the current year and there are no subsequent effective dated rows on the Additional Pay page, the agency must insert the rows concurrently in the Additional Pay page starting with the earliest fiscal year payment.

If there are subsequent effective dated rows that prevent the agency from entering a previous fiscal year row in the Additional Pay page, a DTA/COR (Data Change/Correct History) must be entered requesting the additional row(s) be inserted. All relevant information should be submitted for each additional row.

Deduction Information

All general deductions for employees whose status is Terminated, Retired or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of the following:

Undeliverable Checks

Inactive employees may be eligible for a payment. If the agency has made an effort to deliver the check to the employee but the check has been returned and is undeliverable, the agency should forward the check to the NYS Department of Tax and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 456.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P) and a Report of Check Exchange (Form AC 1476-P).

For recipients of a previously deceased employee's payroll checks where a Next of Kin Affidavit and Report of Check Exchange forms have been submitted, OSC will accept a photocopy of these forms to process the exchange of the check.

Tax Administration

This payment is subject to all income and employment withholding taxes. Income taxes will be calculated using the current marital status and withholding allowance(s) in the employee’s tax data record.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck

The Earnings Code FTA and the amount will be displayed on the payroll register. The earnings description, “Fitness Bonus,” will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

Questions about this payment may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.