Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform campuses of OSC’s automatic processing of the 2021 UUP 2% Salary Increase and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Employees in PSNU – BU08 who meet the eligibility criteria, except employees in the following titles are affected:

Title	Job Code
Assistant Instructor (12 Mo)	003836
Assistant Instructor (HS)	003837
Clinical Assistant Instructor (12 Mo)	003861
Clinical Assistant Instructor (HS)	003862

Background

Chapter 263 of the Laws of 2018, which implemented the 2016-2022 Agreement between the State of New York and UUP, provides for a retroactive increase of two percent (2.00%) to basic annual salaries for 2021.

Note: The 2% increase for employees with a Comp Rate Code (formerly known as Pay Basis Code) of ANN, CYF, HRY, BIW, and FEE will be processed retroactively, while the 2% increases for employees with a Comp Rate Code of 21P, CYP, and CAL will be processed on time.

Effective Dates

The 2021 UUP 2% Salary Increase will be paid using the following effective dates and check dates:

Comp Rate Code	Effective Date – 2021 Increase	Eligibility Dates for 2021 Increase	Pay Period	Check Date
ANN and CYF	06/24/2021 (Retroactive)	06/24/2021 and 06/30/2021	Administration 9 Lag	08/18/2021
21P and CYP	08/19/2021	08/19/2021 and 06/30/2021	Administration 11 Lag	09/15/2021
CAL	09/02/2021	09/01/2021, 09/02/2021, and 06/30/2021	Administration 12 Lag	09/29/2021
HRY, BIW or FEE	Based on Date of Obligation	Based on Date of Obligation	Based on Date of Obligation	Based on Date of Obligation

Eligibility Criteria

Employees who meet the following criteria and were active on the payment effective dates in the chart listed above are eligible to receive the 2021 UUP 2% Salary Increase:

Bargaining Unit	08
Salary Grade	980
Comp Rate Code	ANN or CYF, 21P or CYP, CAL, BIW, HRY, FEE
Payroll Status on Effective Dates (referenced above)	Active, Leave With Pay, Leave without Pay (MLS only)

Annual salaried employees receive a 2% Increase of their 06/30/2021 salary rounded to the nearest dollar.

Hourly, Biweekly, and FEE employees receive a 2% Increase of their 06/30/2021 salary rounded to the nearest cent.

• An employee who is an incumbent of a position on 06/30/2021 but is on a Leave of Absence without pay is eligible for the salary increase when the employee returns from the leave, provided the employee remains in an eligible position.
• An employee in service during a portion of the 12 month period commencing on 07/01/2020, for at least one (1) semester or equivalent, but whose employment expired prior to the effective date of 06/30/2021, may be eligible for the salary increase if the employee is reemployed in an equivalent position for a least one (1) semester or the equivalent of the 12 month period commencing on 07/01/2021.
• An employee in service on 04/30/2021 whose employment expired prior to the effective date 06/30/2021 and who would have been eligible for the salary increase if the employee’s employment had continued through 06/30/2021 may be eligible for the salary increase if the employee is reemployed in an equivalent position for a least one (1) semester or the equivalent of the 12 month period commencing on 07/01/2021.
• The salary increase for employees covered in Article 19 or withheld by the Chancellor or the Director of Employee Relations is excluded.

Salary Minimums

Employees paid on an annual basis:

As provided in the agreement and the salary schedules as approved in the Board of Trustees UUP Salary Resolution, salary minimums have been established for employees paid on an annual salaried basis. Part-time employees who are paid on a prorated annual salaried basis are eligible for a prorated amount of the salary minimum that corresponds to the employee’s work percentage.

If, after applying the 2021 UUP 2% Salary Increase, an employee’s annual salary is less than the salary minimum for the employee’s title and salary level, the employee is eligible to receive the minimum salary.

If an employee is appointed or promoted on or after the appropriate payment effective date, the employee is eligible to receive not less than the salary minimum of the new position.

Part Time Faculty Minimums (Employees paid on a biweekly basis)

Effective the semester beginning after 07/01/2021, the new Part-time Academic Faculty Minimums are as follows:

July 1, 2021 Academic Year
	Salary Minimum (per 3 credit course)
University Centers and Health Science Centers	$3,500
Comprehensive and Technology Colleges	$3,000

If, after applying the 2021 UUP 2% Retroactive Salary Increase, an employee’s salary is less than the salary minimum for the employee’s campus, the employee is eligible to receive the minimum salary.

OSC Actions

2021 2% Salary Increase

OSC will process the UUP 2021 2% Retroactive Salary Increase for eligible employees as follows:

A row will be inserted on the employee's Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Chg/SAC (Mass Salary Increase) to reflect the increased rate, provided the eligible employee meets the criteria defined below:

• The employee must be in Bargaining Unit 08.
• Has no change in Comp Rate Code from 06/30/2021 through date of payment.
• In a status of Active, Leave with Pay, or Leave without Pay (MLS only) for the following Comp Rates Codes on dates below:
  • ANN and CYF: 06/24/2021 and 06/30/2021
  • 21P and CYP: 08/19/2021 and 06/30/2021
  • CAL: 06/30/2021, 09/01/2021 and 09/02/2021

If OSC applies an automatic increase and there is a row in the employee’s Job Data record that is effective after the Effective Date of Payment of the increase and provided the employee remained in Bargaining Unit 08 and in the same Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P, CAL, CYP, or CYF through the date of payment, OSC will automatically increase the salary by a flat amount equal to 2% of the 06/30/2021 salary (rounded to the nearest dollar) using the Action/Reason code of PAY/CSL (Pay Rate Change/Correct Salary).

Exception:

If the employee’s status on a Job row is Paid Leave of Absence with a Reason of Military Stipend, a row will not be automatically inserted. However, employees who were placed on Military Stipend Leave due to new military orders on or after the effective date of the increase are eligible for a recalculated military stipend based on the salary. Eligible employees’ records will be updated manually by OSC to reflect the increase.

OSC Automatic Retroactive Processing

OSC will automatically calculate retroactive adjustments for regular earnings and Time Entry earnings that are calculated by the system based on annual salary, such as OT at 1.5 (OTA) and Lump Sum Annual (LSA), resulting from payment of the 2021 2% Retroactive Salary Increase for employees in Bargaining Unit 08.

If an employee receives a payment and has been paid in the same Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current campus.

If an employee receives a payment 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 campus of the Employee Record Number in which the payment was made.

Agency Actions Beginning in Pay Period 9L

Transactions Submitted in the Same Pay Period the Salary Increase is Automatically Processed

When submitting pay changes and position changes on the Job Action Requests page in the pay period in which the 2021 UUP 2% Retroactive Salary Increase is automatically processed, the agency must not include the salary increase in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field for an employee who will receive the automatic increase.

Employees Not Processed Automatically

Comp Rate Code BIW or HRY: To pay the 2021 2% Retroactive UUP Salary Increase to employees with a Comp Rate Code equal to BIW or HRY, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and the appropriate effective date based on the employee’s obligation. The Pay Rate field should be populated based on the employee’s increased rate.

Excluded Titles: To pay the 2021 UUP 2% Retroactive Salary Increase to employees in the titles of Assistant Instructor (12 Mo), Assistant Instructor (HS), Clinical Assistant Instructor (12 Mo) or Clinical Assistant Instructor (HS) who are eligible for the increase, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CFS (Cor Fy Sal) and the appropriate effective date. The Pay Rate field should be populated based on the PGY Salary Schedule.

Employees on a Leave of Absence Without Pay: To pay the 2021 UUP 2% Retroactive Salary Increase to employees who are on a Leave of Absence without pay on any of the eligibility dates for the employee’s Comp Rate Code Group and who subsequently return from the leave after the payment effective date, in addition to processing the transaction(s) related to the return from leave, 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.

Employees Who Are Reemployed: To pay the 2021 UUP 2% Retroactive Salary Increase to employees whose employment expired and who are reemployed, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code RHS (Rehire Salary) and the appropriate effective date. The Pay Rate field should be populated based on the employee’s increased rate.

Comp Rate Code Change: To pay the 2021 UUP 2% Retroactive Salary Increase to employees whose comp rate code changes between the effective dates of the increase and date of payment, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and the appropriate effective date. The Pay Rate field should be populated based on the employee’s increased rate.

Subsequent Rows: If the employee has rows on the Job Data page subsequent to the effective date of one of the above transactions, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CRT (Chg Rate) (Comp Rate Codes HRY and BIW only) or CSL (Cor Sal) with the effective date of the row being evaluated, the next available sequence number and the employee’s increased rate in the Pay Rate field, provided the employee remains eligible.

Comp Rate Code FEE: For eligible employees with a Comp Rate Code of FEE, no pay change is required on the Job Action Request page. However, if an employee who is paid with a FEE comp rate code is eligible for any retroactive increases, the campus must calculate the monies submitted on the Time Entry page using the increased rate beginning with the appropriate effective date. The campus must then enter the amount owed (the difference between the monies owed and the original payment amount) in time entry using Earnings Code AJR with the effective dates of the original FEE payments and enter a General Comment explaining the amount of the payment.

Agency Actions – Retroactive Processing

Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes that are submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically. Therefore, beginning in Administration Pay Period 9L, the agency must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as: Balance of Contract (BAL), Fee (FEE), Lump Sum Payment Override (LSI), OT Override (OTO) and Regular Salary Override (RGO).

Correcting an Automatic Retroactive Adjustment

When certain conditions exist in an employee’s record, the 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 the payment, the payroll system does not consider the AC-230 when calculating the 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 at 1.5 (OTA), 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 overtime such as CVO, ARC must be used. When an adjustment is needed for non-COVID-19 related overtime or recall such as OTT, ARO must be entered. Please refer to Payroll Bulletin 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.

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:

Earnings Begin Date:	The first date included in the adjustment
Earnings End Date:	The last date included in the adjustment
Earnings Code:	AJR, ARC, or ARO
Amount:	Amount to be adjusted
Comments:	An explanation of the adjustment

Control D- Report Available After Processing

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

Mass Salary Payment Report (NHRP704)

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic and manual salary increase. The report will identify all employees' salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit. Other fields on the report include EmplID, Employee Record Number, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Comp Rate Code, Part Time Percentage, Action Reason, and Increment Code.

Military Leave Stipend

OSC will recalculate the military stipend amount for employees who were 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 that is 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 whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired, or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of the following:

Code	Description
406	Strike/Discip Fine
410	Health Care Spending Account
416	Deferred Comp
420	NY Dependent Care Contribution
425	Repay State Loans/Debt
426	Higher Ed Repay State Loan
428	Dependent Care
433	Total Unemployment Ins Owed
442	Pre-Tax Adoption
500	Medicare Deficiency
501	Social Security Deficiency
502	NYS SS/Medicare Deficiency
673	SUNY ORP Before Tax Arrears
674	SUNY ORP Suspense BTax Arrears
GARNSH	Garnishments
HIATRG	Regular After Tax Health
HIATSP	Special After Tax Health Adj

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 (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 957, OSC will be reporting retro payments made 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 Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.

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 the salary increases may be directed to the SUNY System Administration.

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.

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

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