Purpose

To explain the automatic processing of Lump Sum Bonus Payments for employees in Bargaining Unit UUP (08) and to provide instructions to agencies for processing or correcting payments.

Affected Employees

Employees who meet the eligibility criteria in Bargaining Unit UUP (08)

Background

Chapter 137 of the Laws of 2004, which implements the agreement between the State of New York and United University Professionals (BU 08), provides for a Lump Sum Bonus Payment.

Effective Date

Paychecks dated 7/28/04

Payment Amount and Eligibility Criteria

The Lump Sum Bonus Payment will be $800.00 for eligible full-time employees.

In Bargaining Unit 08, the employee must be in Active full-time employment status on April 29, 2004. Employees must have at least one semester or the equivalent starting July 1, 2003.

The Lump Sum Bonus Payment will be prorated for eligible employees who are in other than full-time status. To be eligible, such employees must work the required courses or receive earnings for other than teaching positions, according to the chart below.

Employees who meet the eligibility criteria but are on authorized leave on the eligibility date are entitled to the payment, provided they return to the payroll during Fiscal Year 2004-2005.

Employees who are otherwise eligible and are currently on a Paid Leave or on a Paid or Unpaid Leave of Absence with a reason of Military Stipend are eligible for the payment immediately.

OSC Actions

For Bargaining Unit 08 employees:

On July 12, 2004 , OSC will automatically insert a row in the Additional Pay page to process the Lump Sum Bonus Payment for full-time employees Active on 4/29/04 who meet the eligibility criteria. The following information will be inserted:

Earnings Code:	BON (Bonus)
Effective Date:	4/29/04
OT Effective Date:	7/01/04
Earn End Date:	6/29/05
Annual Addl Earnings:	$800.00

Union Dues/Agency Shop Fee, Overtime and Retirement Information

At the request of UUP, this Lump Sum Bonus Payment is included as salary for the calculation of Union Dues/Agency Shop Fee amounts.

The Lump Sum Bonus Payment is included as salary for retirement purposes.

The Lump Sum Bonus Payment for Bargaining Unit 08 employees is included in the calculation of overtime compensation earned from July 1, 2004 through June 29, 2005.

Bonus Reports and Agency Responsibility

On July 12, 2004 , OSC will provide SUNY Central with a list of all payments that were added to the employees' records. The agencies are responsible to review the listing and determine that the payments are due.

Agency Responsibility

Agencies are responsible for identifying the part-time employees who are due a prorated payment. Agencies are also responsible for identifying any eligible employees who are on a Leave status with the reason of Military Stipend.

Bargaining Unit 08

• Employees in Bargaining Unit 08 who are part-time are eligible for the Lump Sum Bonus Payment if they are active on April 29, 2004 and worked one semester or its equivalent starting July 1, 2003.
• Part-time professionals and academics who do not teach courses are eligible for the following prorated payment:

  Earnings	Bonus Amount
  Up to $10,346	$200
  $10,347-$15,521	$400
  $15,522-$20,695	$600
  $20,696-or higher	$800

• Part-time academics who teach are eligible for the following prorated payment:

  1 Course	$200
  2 Courses	$400
  3 Courses	$600
  More than 3 courses	$800

Employees on Military Stipend on the Eligibility Date

Employees who are otherwise eligible and are currently on a Paid or Unpaid Leave of Absence with a reason of Military Stipend are eligible for the payment immediately.

Agency Procedures: Adding The Bonus

Agencies must add the Lump Sum Bonus Payment Earnings Code (BON) on the Additional Pay page for eligible employees who did not receive the automatic Bonus payment. The following information is needed:

Bargaining Unit 08:

Earnings Code:	BON
Effective Date:	4/29/04 or the date the employee becomes eligible for the Bonus.
OT Effective Date:	The effective date will default in this field. This date must be changed to 7/01/04. If the eligibility date is after 7/01/04, use the eligibility date.
Earn End Date:	6/29/05
Annual Addl Earnings:	Bonus Amount
Goal Balance:	Leave Blank
Ok to Pay:	Click field

Ending Overtime Eligibility

Agencies must end the overtime eligibility of the Lump Sum Bonus Payment when an employee becomes ineligible to have the Bonus amount added to the overtime calculation. This will occur when the employee moves into a position with a bargaining unit that does not provide for this calculation (i.e. employee is not represented by UUP or designated Management/Confidential). The agency must insert an effective dated row on the Additional Pay page at the BON Earnings Code to end the Bonus used in the overtime calculation. The following information is needed:

Earnings Code:	BON
Effective Date:	The last date the employee is eligible for the Bonus in overtime calculation.
OT Effective Date:	The effective date will default in this field. This date must be changed to repeat the original OT effective date, 7/01/04.
Earn End Date:	Delete the existing Earns End Date and enter the last date the employee is eligible for the Bonus in overtime calculation.
Annual Addl Earnings:	Bonus Amount will default in this field.
Goal Balance:	Bonus Amount that has been paid. (When this row is added, this field will be blank and the bonus amount must be re-entered.)
Ok to Pay:	Click field

NOTE: For employees who have moved into an ineligible bargaining unit prior to Pay Period 8L, OSC will insert rows in the Additional Pay page to end the overtime eligibility.

Correcting the Automatic Bonus Payment-Bargaining Unit 08

Bargaining Unit 08

In Pay Period 8-Lag, after the BON (Bonus) is added to the Additional Pay page, the agency must submit a Job Action Request of Data Change/Cor Hist on the Job Action Request page, requesting a change to the correct Bonus amount.

The appropriate Bonus amount must be reported in the Status Reason block.

OSC will correct the Additional Pay page and the Bonus payment will be adjusted accordingly.

After the Initial Payment by OSC

After the initial BON (Bonus) payment is entered by OSC, the agency must submit the following corrections to the Bonus that was paid:

If the employee has been overpaid, the agency must submit a Data Change/Cor Hist on the Job Request page, requesting that OSC correct the data on the Additional Pay page. The agency must recover the Overpayment according to Overpayment Recovery Rules in Payroll Bulletin No. 470 and set up an Overpayment to recover the money if necessary.

If the employee has been underpaid, the agency must enter an effective dated row for the Earnings Code BON on the Additional Pay page and enter the new total amount of the Bonus in the Annual Addl Earnings field. The payroll system will pay the difference between what was paid in the Goal Balance and the new Bonus amount. The page should be populated as follows:

Earnings Code:	BON
Effective Date:	The first date of the pay period being processed.
OT Effective Date:	The effective date will default in this field. This date must be changed to repeat the original OT effective date, 7/01/04.
Earn End Date:	6/29/05
Annual Addl Earnings:	Enter the new total amount of the Bonus.
Goal Balance:	Bonus amount that has been paid. (When this row is added, this field will be blank and the original Bonus amount must be re-entered).
Ok to Pay:	Click field

Overpayment Recovery for Inactive Employees

For employees Inactive at the time of payment, the Lump Sum Bonus Payment will be applied to any Overpayment set up in Additional Pay that has a Goal Amount and Goal Balance that are not equal. The system will recover as much of the Overpayment as possible.

Payroll Register and Employee's Paycheck/Advice

The Earn Code BON description and amount will be displayed on the payroll register and the employee's pay stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

Questions regarding Lump Sum Bonus Payments should be directed to the agency's Payroll Auditor.

Questions about this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Audit mailbox.