Purpose

To provide the State University Construction Fund instructions for processing the October 2013 LLS payment

Affected Employees

Employees in BU97 with an increment code of 0510, 0610, 0710 or 0810 who meet the eligibility criteria

Background

The State University Construction Fund’s 2011-2015 Board Resolution provides for payment of the 2013-2014 Longevity Payment in October 2013 as a one-time, lump sum payment in the amount of $1,250 or $2,500.

Effective Date(s)

Payment may be submitted in Administration Pay Period 14 and will be paid in a separate check dated 10/23/13 (Administration). There is no direct deposit for this payment.

Eligibility Criteria

Employees in NS positions (Grade 600) which are equated to a grade are eligible for the payment provided the employee:

• Is on the payroll on 09/30/13 (Active, on a Leave With Pay or on an Unpaid Military Stipend Leave) in a BU97 position; and
• Has a Pay Basis Code of ANN or BIW (only if the employee is on a Paid Military Stipend Leave); and
• Has five (5) or more years or ten (10) or more years of continuous service* at a base annual salary equal to or greater than the Job Rate for the employee’s grade as of 09/30/13; and
• Did not receive an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date.

*Continuous service, as used in determining eligibility for the LLS payment, is paid service (including part-time annual salaried service, Paid Military Leave and Sick Leave at Half Pay) or time on Workers’ Compensation Leave or Unpaid Military Leave.

Note: If an employee first meets the five year continuous service criteria in October 2013, the employee becomes established and remains on the October LLS payment cycle even if the employee does not receive the October 2013 LLS payment due to an “Unsatisfactory” rating.

The following employees will become eligible for the October 2013 LLS payment:

• Leave of Absence/Preferred List on 09/30/13: An employee who otherwise qualifies but is on an approved Leave of Absence (including Workers’ Compensation Leave or Unpaid Military Leave) or is on a preferred list on 09/30/13 and who returns to the payroll between 10/01/13 and 09/30/14 is eligible for the payment. There is no minimum service requirement following the employee’s return to active payroll status. The agency should submit a transaction to make the LLS payment in the same pay period the employee returns to active payroll status.
• Demotions after 09/30/13: An employee who is not eligible for the payment on 09/30/13 becomes eligible if the employee returns to a lower graded position between 10/01/13 and 09/30/14, provided the employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had been in the lower graded position on 09/30/13, and remains in the lower graded position for at least six (6) pay periods; and
• The promotion was temporary and the employee has been reinstated to their previous position or has been appointed to another lower graded qualifying position; or
• The promotion was permanent, but the demotion occurred:
  • in lieu of layoff; or
  • voluntarily during the probationary period; or
  • as a result of failure of the probationary period.

The agency should submit a transaction to make the LLS payment after the employee completes six (6) full pay periods in the lower grade using the same effective date as the demotion.

An employee demoted as a result of a disciplinary action or who takes a voluntary demotion from a permanent position after the completion of a probationary period in the higher grade is not eligible for an LLS payment in the lower grade.

For instructions on submitting transactions to make the October 2013 LLS payment, see the section entitled “Agency Actions – Payments Not Processed Automatically”.

Control-D Report and Agency Actions Prior to Payment

Prior to the automatic processing of the October 2013 LLS payment, the following Control-D report will be available for agency use.

NPAY756 – Longevity Lump Sum (LLS) Eligibility Listing

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear eligible for the LLS payment based on information available as of the date the report is produced.  The report was run on 09/04/13 and is currently available.

Agencies should review the listing carefully paying particular attention to the following:

• Employees who appear on the listing but are ineligible due to an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date.
• The ‘LAST LLS Date’ and ‘PMT AMT’ fields, if applicable. If the employee received an LLS payment after October 2012, ensure it represents an October 2012 payment and not a prior April payment. If the payment represents an April LLS payment, the agency must review the employee’s increment code and if necessary, take appropriate action.

The following corrections to the preliminary listing should be submitted on the Correction Sheet. The form may be duplicated if additional copies are needed.

• Add employees who do not appear on the listing, such as:
  • Eligible employees in NS positions where the equated grade does not appear on the Position Data page. Agencies must submit documentation supporting the salary equation with the Correction Sheet.
  • Eligible employees who are in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) even though the agency must submit a transaction to make the payment.
• Delete employees who should not appear on the listing such as:
  • Employees with an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date. In addition, the agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code UPS (Unsat Perf).
• Identify employees appearing on the listing who have incorrect information appearing in PayServ affecting their eligibility for the LLS payment. In addition, the agency must submit the appropriate transaction to correct the information.

Do not add or delete employees whose eligibility will change due to transactions that will be processed prior to or in Administration Pay Period 14.

Correction Sheets should be submitted as soon as possible but must be received not later than 09/27/13. Please fax completed Correction Sheets to (518) 402-4949 and send an email to the Payroll Earnings mailbox stating that a Correction Sheet has been faxed; please include the Deptid and ‘LLS Correction Sheet’ in the Subject line.

Agency Actions

The agency must submit transactions to make the October 2013 LLS payment to those employees who meet the eligibility criteria on 09/30/13. The payment amount is $1,250 for employees with five (5) or more years of continuous service (identified by Increment Code 0510, 0610, 0710, 0810) or $2,500 for employees with ten (10) or more years of continuous service (currently not applicable), or a prorated amount.

• Employees who are on a Voluntary Reduction in Work Schedule (VRWS) on 09/30/13 receive the full LLS payment amount based on the employee’s increment code. Agencies must verify that the Full/Part field on the Job Data/Job Information page is ‘Voluntary’.
• Employees who are on a Leave With Pay with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on 09/30/13 receive an amount based on the employee’s increment code and percentage. The full LLS payment amount based on the employee’s increment code is multiplied by the employee’s Empl Work Percent on the Job Data/Job Information page prior to the leave.
• All other employees (including employees on a Leave With Pay, Paid Military Stipend Leave and Unpaid Military Stipend Leave) receive an amount based on the employee’s increment code and percentage in effect on 09/30/13. The full LLS payment amount based on the employee’s increment code is multiplied by the employee’s Empl Work Percent on the Job Data/Job Information page in effect on 09/30/13.
• Increment Code 2222 on 09/30/13: The agency must submit transactions for eligible employees who are in a composite position on 09/30/13. Transactions should be submitted in Administration Pay Period 14; the effective date of the LLS payment should be 10/01/13. The LLS payment amount should be calculated based on the increment code of the employee’s qualifying position (noted in General Comments) and the percentage attributed to such position on 09/30/13. Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page

In addition, the agency must submit transactions to make the October 2013 LLS payment to the following employees who subsequently become eligible for the payment.

• Leave of Absence on 09/30/13: Agencies must submit transactions for employees who are otherwise eligible on 09/30/13 but whose Payroll Status is Leave of Absence (except those on Unpaid Military Stipend Leave) and who return from such leave by 09/30/14 as explained above. Transactions should be submitted in the pay period the return from leave is processed; the effective date of the LLS payment should be the same as the return from leave effective date. The LLS payment amount should be calculated based on the employee’s increment code and Empl Work Percent on the Job Data/Job Information page in effect on 09/30/13.

Note: The employee’s increment code may need to be adjusted as a result of the leave of absence and could impact the employee’s October 2013 LLS eligibility.

• Preferred List on 09/30/13: Agencies must submit transactions for employees who are otherwise eligible on 09/30/13 but who are on a preferred list and who return to active payroll status by 09/30/14 as explained above. Transactions should be submitted in the pay period the employee returns to the payroll; the effective date of the LLS payment should be the same as the effective date of the return to active payroll status. The LLS payment amount should be calculated based on the employee’s increment code and Empl Work Percent on the Job Data/Job Information page in effect on 09/30/13.

Note: The employee’s increment code may need to be adjusted as a result of time off the payroll and could impact the employee’s October 2013 LLS eligibility.

• Demotions after 09/30/13: Agencies must submit transactions for employees who are ineligible on 09/30/13 but become eligible by 09/30/14 due to a demotion as explained above. Transactions should be submitted after the employee completes (6) full pay periods in the lower grade; the effective date of the LLS payment should be the same as the effective date of the demotion. The LLS payment amount should be calculated based on the employee’s increment code and Empl Work Percent on the Job Data/Job Information page in effect on the date of the demotion. Information regarding the reason the demotion occurred must be included on the General Comments page.

Submitting Payment

To make the October 2013 LLS payment to eligible employees, the agency must submit the following information on the Additional Pay page using Earnings Code LLS.

Increment Code Correction

If the employee did not receive an automatic LLS payment due to an incorrect increment code, in addition to submitting the LLS payment, the agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and the appropriate increment code in the Incr. Code field.

Control-D Report Available After Processing

After the automatic processing of the LLS payment is completed, the following Control-D report will be available for agency use.

NPAY770 – One Time Payment Report

This report identifies all employees who received the LLS payment effective 10/01/13.

Overtime Calculation

The LLS payment is included in the calculation of overtime compensation (refer to the Online Payroll Manual accessed from the PayServ Bulletin Board – Payroll Manual > Earnings Manual > Payments/Withholdings > Overtime Compensation). The October 2013 LLS payment will be included in the calculation of overtime earned from the OT Eff Date through the End Date on the employee’s Additional Pay page for Earnings Code LLS.

If an employee is appointed to a position which results in a salary below the Job Rate of the grade of the new position and has received an October 2013 LLS payment, the LLS payment cannot be included in the compensation calculation of any overtime earned after the date of the appointment. Therefore, agencies must insert a row on the Additional Pay page at the Effective Date level of Earnings Code LLS and enter the following information.

Retirement and Deduction Information

The LLS payment is included as salary for retirement purposes. Deductions will be taken from the LLS payment for normal retirement contributions, garnishments and federal levies.

Tax Information

The LLS payment is taxable income subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. If the employee has any additional tax amount on the Update Employee Tax Data page, the additional amount will be deducted from both the employee’s regular paycheck and the separate paycheck.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code LLS and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description Longevity LSP and the amount will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

This payment will be made in a separate check regardless of when it is paid. The separate check will be issued with the employee’s regular paycheck or direct deposit advice based on information for that check date. There is not direct deposit for this payment.

Undeliverable Checks

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 Taxation and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 908.

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). 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 and payment information may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.

Questions regarding deductions and retirement may be directed to the Payroll Deductions mailbox.

Questions regarding withholding taxes may be directed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.