Purpose

To inform the State University Construction Fund of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2016 Retroactive SCF M/C Salary Increase and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically

Affected Employees

Employees in Bargaining Unit 96 who meet the eligibility criteria

Background

The State University Construction Fund’s Board of Trustees Resolution and Chapter 8 of the Laws of 2017 provide for a retroactive salary increase of two percent (2.00%) for fiscal year 2016-2017.

The Division of the Budget Bulletin D-1135 provides guidelines regarding the implementation of this payment.

Effective Date(s)

The April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase will be paid using the following effective date and check date:

Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type	Payment Effective Date	Check Date
Administration Lag 3L	04/07/2016	5/31/2017

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees are eligible to receive the April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase:

• Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 600)
• Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 600) which is equated to a grade (Grade 603-668)

In addition per Budget Bulletin D-1135, on 03/03/2017 (the date of enactment of Chapter 8 of the Laws of 2017), an employee must occupy an eligible M/C position and be Active, on a Leave With Pay or on a Leave of Absence to be eligible for the increase.

Employees who do not meet the eligibility criteria on 3/3/2017 are not eligible for this payment. Exception: If, as a result of not receiving the retroactive increase, an employee’s salary is below the hiring rate of their grade based on the April 1, 2016 SCF M/C Salary Schedule, the salary will be increased to the hiring rate.

Employees who are Terminated, Retired or Deceased on 03/03/17 and who are rehired will have their salary at the time of the rehire determined using the April 1, 2016 SCF M/C Salary Schedule or set via a Budget Director’s Approval (BDA) Form, if appropriate; these employees are not eligible to receive the retroactive increase.

An otherwise eligible employee who is on Leave of Absence (not related to Workers Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date 4/7/2016 (Administration) will receive payment upon their return to the payroll.

Employees with a Pay Basis Code of FEE are not eligible for the salary increase unless the employee is budgeted as per diem but is paid using FEE.

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use on 05/04/2017 (Administration) This will give the agency time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase. The report is sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the April 2016 Retroactive SCF M/C Salary Increase based on information available as of the date the report is produced. The report does not include employees who will not automatically receive the increase for the following reason:

• An employee who is ineligible due to a status of Inactive or who occupied an ineligible position on 03/03/17 Included on the NHRP709 report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record will not be updated.

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE – if the employee’s Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 600 and a value exists in both the Equated to Grade field and the Approved Salary Rate field
• Position and Job do not match – if the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal
• Increment Code Requires Manual Calculation – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2222

If an employee appears on this report but is due a salary increase, the agency must take the following action:

• Submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s). If the row(s) is corrected prior to or as part of Administration Pay Period 3L, the automatic salary increase will be processed.
• Submit a Position Change Request to the Position Management Unit if the position information is incorrect on the Position Data page in PayServ. The position will be updated to reflect the change and the automatic salary increase will be processed.

Agency Actions – Administration 3L

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Administration Pay Period 3L.

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or after 04/0716 (Administration):

• The agency must not include the April 2016 M/C Retroactive Salary Increase in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The 04/01/16 SCF M/C Parity Salary Schedule must be used to calculate the salary.

OSC Actions

OSC will process the April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase for the following employees:

• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria and has 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, WPS or WSP) on the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 04/07/16 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has a Payroll Status of Terminated, Retired or Leave of Absence (not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date and returns to Active status in an eligible position after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Pay Basis Code is ANN. The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action.
• If the employee is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Pay Basis Code is ANN. The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Hire, Position Change or Transfer action.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Pay Basis Code is ANN for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position.

Calculating the New Compensation Rate

The salary on each inserted row will be calculated as follows:

• If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 600 (not equated to a grade), OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
• If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 603-667 and an Increment Code other than 2222, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
• If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 668, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.

Exceptions to Automatic Processing

Employees in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) will not be processed automatically.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing

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

NHRP704 – Mass Salary Increase Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase and includes all employees’ salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive an automatic April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated. The explanation associated with each message is described above under the section Control-D Reports Available Before Processing.

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE
• Position and Job do not match
• Increment Code Requires Manual Calculation

The following listing will be emailed to agency payroll officers after the automatic increases have been processed:

• Listing of employees ineligible to receive the April 2016 SCF M/C Salary Increase due a status of Inactive on 03/03/17 or who occupied an ineligible position on 03/03/17.

Agency Actions - Beginning in Administration Pay Period 4L

Employees Who Appeared on the NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

Employees who appeared on the NHRP709 Mass Salary Increase Exception Report made available after processing did not automatically receive the April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase. The agency should submit the appropriate transactions to correct the employee’s record and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason code (see below) to pay the salary increase beginning in Administration Pay Period 4L.

Composite Positions

Beginning in Administration Pay Period 4L, the agency must review employees in composite positions (identified by Increment Code 2222) and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason code (see below) to pay the salary increase. Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page.

To Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason code(s) must be used to pay the April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase to eligible employees not processed automatically:

• Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) – for transactions effective on 04/07/16 (Administration).
• Reason code CSL (Correct Salary) – for transactions effective after 04/07/16 (Administration).

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 for Annuals (OTA) and Holiday Pay (HPA), resulting from payment of the April 2016 SCF M/C Retroactive Salary Increase.

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 4L, the agency must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as Extra Time Override (EXO) 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 for Annuals (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

To process a retroactive adjustment or correct an automatic retroactive adjustment, the agency must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using the Earnings Code AJR.

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

Military Stipend Leave

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).

Deduction Information

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
410	Health Care Spending Account
420	NY Dependent Care Contribution
425	Repay State Loans/Debt
426	Higher Ed Repay State Loan
428	Dependent Care
433	Total Unemployment Ins Owed
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 and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. The monies will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

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.

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. The agency should utilize Locked Query #49 to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.

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 Deduction mailbox.

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