SUNY Bulletin No. SU-340

Subject
Reallocation of SUNY Teaching and Research Center Nurse Titles
Date Issued
April 7, 2023

Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to notify the State University of New York (SUNY) Hospitals of OSC’s automatic processing of title changes and reallocations of Teaching and Research Center Nurse titles approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB) and to provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Employees occupying an approved Teaching and Research Center Nurse title at the SUNY Hospitals on or after the effective date of the title change and reallocation are affected.

Background

The Division of the Budget letter dated 12/05/2022 authorized title changes and reallocations for Teaching and Research Center Nurse titles included on the attached SUNY Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse Reallocation list. In addition, Article 8, Subdivision 355-A (13a) of the State Education Law authorizes SUNY to establish the salary schedules for these titles.

Effective Dates

Employee position and compensation information will be updated in PayServ using the following effective dates and check dates:

Deptid Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type Period No. Effective Date Check Date
28118 and 28110 Administration/Lag 21 12/22/2022 02/01/2023
28058 and 28108 Administration/Lag 22 12/22/2022 02/15/2023

Eligibility Criteria

Employees occupying a title included on the attached SUNY Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse Reallocation list on or after the effective date of the reallocation are eligible for the change in title and grade and salary, if applicable.

OSC Actions

OSC will automatically update the PayServ Position Data records associated with approved titles and Job Data records of eligible employees as follows using the appropriate effective date.

Position Data

  • On 01/13/2023 (Administration), OSC will update the Position Data page for all positions with a Status of Active and a current Job Code, Title Code, Title, and Grade (if applicable) appearing on the attached SUNY Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse Reallocation list.
  • A row will be inserted using the appropriate effective date, a Reason of TSC (Title Sttr), and the new Job Code, Title Code, Title, and Grade (if applicable) appearing on the attached SUNY Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse Reallocation list.
  • If a row already exists with the appropriate effective date or a subsequent effective dated row exists, the Reason will be updated to TSC (Title Sttr) and the Job Code, Title Code, Title, and Grade (if applicable) will be updated per the attached SUNY Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse Reallocation list.

Job Data - Position Information

  • On 01/13/2023 (Administration), OSC will update the position information on the Job Data page for all employees with a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence, whose title in effect on or after the appropriate effective date of this payment is included on the attached SUNY Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse Reallocation list.
  • A row will be inserted on the employee’s Job Data page to update the employee’s Job Code, Title Code, Title, and Grade (if appropriate) using the following Action/Reason codes:
    • Action/Reason code of Position Change/TSC (Title Sttr) if the title is changing but not the grade.
    • Action/Reason code of Position Change/TSR (Ttl St Ral) if there is a change to both the title and the grade.
  • Subsequent effective dated rows will be updated as noted above, as appropriate.

Note: Employees in a Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse 1 title (grade 14) may be eligible to move to a Graduate Nurse (T&RC) title (grade 14) or a Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC) title (grade 18), depending on their qualifications. OSC will update all employees in a Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse 1 title (grade 14) to a Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC) title (grade 18). Agencies are responsible for determining to which title an employee is eligible. Please refer to Agency Actions in Pay Period 22L or 23L for additional information.

Job Data - Compensation

  • On 01/20/2023 (Deptid 28118 and 28110) and on 02/03/2023 (Deptid 28058 and 28108) (Administration), the salary will be updated, using the salary rates provided by SUNY, for all eligible employees with 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) and a Comp Rate Code of ANN.
  • A row will be inserted on the employee’s Job Data page with the updated salary using the following Action/Reason codes:
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/RAL (Reallocatn) if the salary is based on the reallocation promotion calculation.
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/130 (Incr HR 130.4) if the salary is based on the approved 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit Increased Hiring Rate for the title and grade.
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/131 (Incr HR 131.1a) if the salary is based on the 131.1a Increased Minimum due to Advanced Qualifications for the title and grade.
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/IHR (Dual Incr HR) if the salary is based on a combination of 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit and 131.1a Advanced Qualifications Increased Hiring Rates for the title and grade.
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/LIH (Level Increased Hiring Rate) if the salary is based on the Increased Minimum due to Advanced Qualifications (Deptid 28118 only) for the title and grade.
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for all eligible subsequent effective dated rows for employees who have a Comp Rate Code of ANN.
    • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for all eligible subsequent effective dated rows for employees who have a Comp Rate Code of HRY.
  • The employee’s anniversary date on the inserted row will remain the same.
  • The employee’s increment code on the inserted row will be assigned based on the increment code in effect prior to the reallocation and if the salary upon reallocation is below job rate, equal to or greater than job rate of the new grade. Please refer to the attached Nurse Reallocation Salary Determination Calculation – SUNY Hospitals for information.

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 the change in salary due to the reallocation.

Control-D Report Available After Processing

The following Control-D report was made available on 02/07/2023 for agency review after the automatic payments were processed.  The report is sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Increment Payment Report

This report identifies all employees whose salary was increased as a result of processing the SUNY Teaching and Research Center Nurse Title Structure Changes on the payment effective date.  The report includes the Action/Reason code used as well as the old compensation rate and new compensation rate.

Agency Actions Prior to Pay Period 21L (Deptid 28118 and 28110) or 22L (Deptid 28058 and 28108) (Administration)

Agency Calculated Salary Rates

Prior to processing the salary updates in Pay Period 21L and Pay Period 22L (Administration), SUNY must provide OSC with a spreadsheet of eligible employees, their title, compensation rate, the appropriate Reason Code associated with how the compensation rate was calculated, and a comment indicating the employee’s qualifications and level of experience to support the compensation rate. The spreadsheet must be received by 01/12/2023 (Deptid 28118 and 28110) and 01/26/2023 (Deptid 28058 and 28108).

Agency Actions in Pay Period 22L (Deptid 28118 and 28110) or 23L (Deptid 28058 and 28108)

Employees Currently Occupying a PR-50 Underfill Position (NYS Position Beginning with 65) in Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse 1 Titles

For employees whose title on or after the effective date of the reallocation is Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse 1 (NYS Position), agencies must determine if the employee meets the qualifications to be appointed to the reallocated higher grade Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC) title (grade 18).

  • If the employee meets the qualifications of the Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC) title (grade 18), the agency must submit a Position Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate effective date, the appropriate Reason code (see below) and update the value in the NYS Position field with the value in the Position Nbr field. The agency must also include the updated salary, appropriate anniversary date and appropriate increment code as explained in the attached Nurse Reallocation Salary Determination Calculation – SUNY Hospitals. Additional transactions should be submitted to update subsequent rows, as appropriate.
    • Reason code RAL (Reallocatn) if the salary is based on the reallocation promotion calculation.
    • Reason code 130 (Incr HR 130.4) if the salary is based on the approved 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit Increased Hiring Rate for the title and grade.
    • Reason code 131 (Incr HR 131.1a) if the salary is based on the 131.1a Increased Minimum due to Advanced Qualifications for the title and grade.
    • Reason code IHR (Dual Incr HR) if the salary is based on a combination of 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit and 131.1a Advanced Qualifications Increased Hiring Rates for the title and grade.
    • Reason code LIH (Level Increased Hiring Rate) if the salary is based on the Increased Minimum due to Advanced Qualifications (Deptid 28118 only) for the title and grade.
    • Reason code CSL (Cor Sal) for all eligible subsequent effective dated rows for employees who have a Comp Rate Code of ANN.
    • Reason code CRT (Chg Rate) for all eligible subsequent effective dated rows for employees who have a Comp Rate Code of HRY.
  • If the employee does not meet the qualifications of the Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC) title (grade 18), the employee must be appointed to the Graduate Nurse (T&RC) title (grade 14) PR-50 underfill position. The agency must submit a Position Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate effective date, the appropriate Reason Code (see below) and enter the value in the NYS Position field with the value of the PR-50 position associated with the Graduate Nurse (T&RC grade 14). If the agency does not have a vacant Graduate Nurse (T&RC) position, they must contact the Position Management Unit to request a position be created. The agency must also include the appropriate salary, appropriate anniversary date and appropriate increment code as explained in the attached Nurse Reallocation Salary Determination Calculation – SUNY Hospitals. Additional transactions should be submitted to update subsequent rows, as appropriate.
    • Reason code 130 (Incr HR 130.4) if the salary is based on the approved 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit Increased Hiring Rate for the title and grade.
    • Reason code APT (Appoint) if the salary in effect is not changing.

Employees Currently Occupying a Regular Position (Position Nbr = NYS Position) in a Teaching and Research Cntr Nurse 1 Title

For employees whose title in effect on or after the effective date of the reallocation is Teaching and Research Nurse 1 (NYS Position), agencies must determine if the employee meets the qualifications to be appointed to the reallocated higher grade Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC grade 18).

  • If the employee meets the qualifications, no action is needed. OSC automatically updated the title and grade of the regular position and the NYS position to Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC grade 18).
  • If the employee does not meet the qualifications of the Registered Nurse 1 (T&RC grade 18), the employee must be appointed to the Graduate Nurse (T&RC) title (grade 14) PR-50 underfill position. The agency must submit a Position Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate effective date, the appropriate Reason Code (see below) and enter the value in the NYS Position field with the value of the PR-50 position associated with the Graduate Nurse (T&RC grade 14). The agency must also include the appropriate salary, appropriate anniversary date and appropriate increment code as explained in the attached Nurse Reallocation Salary Determination Calculation – SUNY Hospitals. Additional transactions should be submitted to update subsequent rows, as appropriate.
    • Reason code 130 (Incr HR 130.4) if the salary is based on the approved 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit Increased Hiring Rate for the title and grade.
    • Reason code APT (Appoint) if the salary in effect is not changing.

Employees Not Processed Automatically

Inactive or Leave of Absence (not related to Workers’ Compensation Leave)

Agencies must submit the appropriate transaction(s) to update the compensation for employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN who were inactive or had a Payroll Status of Leave of Absence not related to Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date upon return to the payroll. Please refer to the attached Nurse Reallocation Salary Determination Calculation – SUNY Hospitals for information.

Hourly Employees

In addition, agencies must submit the appropriate transaction(s) to update the compensation for employees with a Comp Rate Code of HRY, if applicable.

To Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason Code(s) must be used when submitting transactions through the Job Action Requests page to pay the updated salary as a result of the reallocation for eligible employees not processed automatically:

  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/RAL (Reallocatn) if the salary is based on the reallocation promotion calculation.
  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/130 (Incr HR 130.4) if the salary is based on the approved 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit Increased Hiring Rate for the title and grade.
  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/131 (Incr HR 131.1a) if the salary is based on the Increased Minimum due to Advanced Qualifications for the title and grade.
  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/IHR (Dual Incr HR) if the salary is based on a combination of 130.4 Impracticable to Recruit and 131.1a Advanced Qualifications Increased Hiring Rates for the title and grade.
  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/LIH (Level Increased Hiring Rate) if the salary is based on the Increased Minimum due to Advanced Qualifications (Deptid 28118 only) for the title and grade.
  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for all eligible subsequent effective dated rows for employees who have a Comp Rate Code of ANN.
  • Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for all eligible subsequent effective dated rows for employees who have a Comp Rate Code of HRY.

In addition, the anniversary date and increment code information must be included on the above transaction.

  • The employee’s anniversary date will remain the same; therefore, no update is required.
  • The appropriate increment code must be included on the Job Action Requests transaction as provided in the attached Nurse Reallocation Salary Determination Calculation – SUNY Hospitals.

Geographic Pay Differential (GEO)

Agencies must review employees receiving GEO to determine if the employees’ GEO pay needs to be updated as a result of the change in salary and grade due to the reallocation. Since GEO pay must be reduced by the amount the employee’s salary exceeds job rate, each employee eligible for GEO who experiences a change in salary and grade must be evaluated to determine if their GEO amount must be adjusted. Agencies must insert a new row on the Additional Pay page using the appropriate effective date on or after 12/22/2022 (Administration) with the new GEO.

Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes that are submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically. Therefore, beginning in Administration Pay Period 21L (Deptid 28118 and 28119) and Pay Period 22L (Deptid 28058 and 28108), 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, an 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 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 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 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 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 Out of Title Overtime (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 No. 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 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
Earn Code: AJR, ARC, and/or ARO
Amount: Amount to be adjusted
Comments: An explanation of the adjustment

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:

Code Description
406 PEF 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
GARNSH Garnishments
HIATRG Regular After Tax Health
HIATSP Special After Tax Health Adj
HIBTRG Regular Before Tax Health
HIBTSP   Special Before 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 using Earnings Codes AJR, ARC, and ARO, and all retroactive adjustments using Earnings Codes 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 957, 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 2023 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(s) 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.

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 required AC 1476, Next of Kin Affidavit, 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.