Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the State University Construction Fund instructions for processing the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment.

Affected Employees

Employees in Bargaining Unit 96 in the SCF with an increment code of 1976-2016 who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background

Civil Service Law, Article 8, Section 130 and the Division of the Budget Bulletin D-1142 provide for payment of the 2021-2022 Longevity Payments effective April 2021 as a one-time, lump sum payment in the amount of $1,500, $3,000 or $4,500.

Effective Dates

Payment is effective 04/01/2021 and may be submitted beginning in Administration Pay Period 8L, paycheck date 08/04/2021. Due to the issues surrounding COVID-19, OSC will process this payment via direct deposit. For employees who do not have direct deposit, this payment will be processed in a separate paycheck.

Note: The distribution of the LLS direct deposit will be the same as an employee’s regular paycheck.

Eligibility Criteria

Employees in NS positions (Grade 600) which are equated to a grade (Grade 603-617) are eligible for the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment provided the employee:

• Is Active, on a Leave With Pay or on an Unpaid Military Stipend Leave in a BU96 position on 03/31/2021; and
• Has a Pay Basis Code of ANN or BIW (only if the employee is on a Paid Military Stipend Leave) on 03/31/2021; and
• Has of continuous service* at a base annual salary equal to or greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade (based on the 4/1/2020 Salary Schedule) as of 03/31/2021; and
• Did not have a withholding recommendation approved by the Division of the Budget.

*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.

Withholding Recommendation

If the agency determines the full or partial value of the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment should be withheld from an employee, the agency must request approval from the Division of the Budget as explained in Budget Bulletin D-1142. If the full value is withheld, the agency should submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using an effective date of 03/31/2021, the Reason code PWH (Perf Withheld) and an increment code of 7777 in the Incr. Code field. These transactions should be submitted as soon as possible following approval and as part of processing for Administration Pay Period 8L. If the agency does not submit the transaction to withhold the full value of the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment or if the agency chooses to withhold a partial, the transaction will be entered or updated by OSC based on information received from the Division of the Budget.

The following employees may become eligible for the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment upon processing of the April 2021 SCF M/C Performance Advance which results in Job Rate:

Lateral Position Change from a Non-M/C Position Where the Employee’s Salary was Equal to or Greater Than Job Rate to an M/C Position with a Higher Job Rate:

An employee with a salary equal to or greater than the Job Rate of their salary grade, who had a lateral position change to an M/C position with a higher Job Rate, and whose salary upon application of the April 2021 SCF M/C Performance Advance is equal to the Job Rate in the M/C position is entitled to job rate credit for service in the non-M/C position.

• The agency must enter the increment code reflecting the combined job rate credit in the Incr. Code field when submitting the Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page to pay the performance advance.
• If the employee’s combined job rate credit equals five (5) or more years, ten (10) or more years or fifteen (15) or more years, the agency must submit a transaction to make the LLS payment.

The following employees will become eligible for the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment during 2021-2022:

Leave of Absence/Preferred List on 03/31/2021:

An employee who otherwise qualifies for the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment but is on an approved Leave of Absence (including Workers’ Compensation Leave or Unpaid Military Leave) or on a preferred list on 03/31/2021 becomes eligible if they return to the payroll or are appointed to an eligible position between 04/01/2021 and 03/31/2022. There is no minimum service requirement following the employee’s return to active payroll status.

Demotions after 03/31/2021: An employee who was not eligible for the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment on 03/31/2021 becomes eligible if the employee returns to a lower graded position between 04/01/2021 and 03/31/2022, provided the employee:

• Otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had been in the lower graded position on 03/31/2021 and remains in the lower graded position for at least six (6) full 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.

Note: An employee demoted as a result of a disciplinary action or who takes a voluntary demotion from a permanent position after the completion of the 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 April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment, see Agency Actions – Payments Not Processed Automatically.

Control-D Report Available Before Processing

NPAY756 – Longevity Lump Sum (LLS) Eligibility Listing

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear eligible for the April 2021 LLS payment based on information available as of the date the report is produced. This report will be made available on 06/24/2021.

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) however, the agency must submit a transaction to make the payment.
• Delete employees who should not appear on the listing, such as:
  • Employees who had a withholding recommendation submitted to the Division of the Budget for the full value of the LLS payment; requires DOB approval in order for OSC to take action. In addition, once the withhold is approved, the agency should submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using an effective date of 03/31/2021, the Reason code PWH (Perf Withheld) and an increment code of 7777 in the Incr. Code field.
• Identify employees appearing on the listing who had a withholding recommendation submitted to the Division of the Budget for a partial value of the LLS payment; requires DOB approval for OSC to update the value.
• 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.

Correction Sheets should be submitted as soon as possible but must be received no later than 07/05/2021. Please email completed Correction Sheets to the Payroll Earnings mailbox; please include the Department ID and ‘LLS Correction Sheet’ in the Subject line.

Agency Actions

The agency must submit transactions to make the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment to those employees who meet the eligibility criteria by inserting a row on the employee’s Additional Pay page as shown below. The payment amount is $1,500 for employees with five (5) or more years of continuous service (identified by Increment Code 2012-2016), $3,000 for employees with ten (10) or more years of continuous service (identified by Increment Code 2007-2011) or $4,500 for employees with fifteen (15) or more years of continuous service (identified by Increment Code 1976-2006) or a prorated amount.

The Additional Pay page should be populated for eligible employees with the following information:

Earnings Code:	LLS
Effective Date:	04/01/2021
OT Eff Date:	04/01/2021
Annual Addl Earnings:	$1500 or prorated amount (Increment Codes 2012-2016) $3000 or prorated amount (Increment Codes 2007-2011) $4,500 or prorated amount (Increment Codes 1976-2006)
End Date:	03/31/2022*

*If an employee is eligible for the April SCF M/C 2021 LLS payment but has moved to an ineligible position between 04/01/2021 and when payment is processed in pay period 8L (Administration), the End Date should reflect the last date the employee was in the eligible position. For instructions, see Overtime Calculation Information.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing

After the processing of the April 2021 M/C LLS payment in pay period 8L 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 April 2021 LLS payment effective 04/01/2021.

Overtime Calculation Information

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 > Time Entry Payments > Overtime Compensation). The April 2021 SCF M/C 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 an ineligible position (including a position which results in a salary below the Job Rate of the grade of the new position) after the effective date of the April 2021 SCF M/C LLS payment, the 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.

Effective Date:	Last date in eligible position (date prior to appointment)
OT Eff Date:	Same as original OT Eff Date
Annual Addl Earnings:	Same as original amount (populates automatically)
End Date:	Same as Effective Date
Goal Balance:	Same as Annual Addl Earnings (to prevent making another payment)

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 8L, agencies 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

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
Earn Code:	AJR, ARC, or ARO
Amount:	Amount to be adjusted
Comments:	An explanation of the adjustment

All general deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired, or Deceased will be automatically canceled by OSC with the exception of percentage based dues and the following:

Code	Description
404	SUNY 403(b)
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 Suspense BTax Arrears
GARNSH	Garnishments
HIATRG	Regular After Tax Health
HIATSP	Special After Tax Health Adj

Tax Information

The LLS payment is supplemental taxable income, will be added to the employee’s taxable gross wages for tax withholding purposes, and is subject to employment and income taxes.

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. Yonkers Flat Rate Withholding is 1.61135% 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

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

This payment will be made in a separate check or Direct Deposit regardless of when it is paid. The payment will be issued with the employee’s regular paycheck or with the direct deposit advice based on information for that check date. Agencies should verify the employee’s mailing address is up-to-date.

Note: If the employee has direct deposit, the direct deposit distribution will be the same as the employee’s regular paycheck. For example, if an employee has $200 deposited into a loan account and the remainder going into a balance account, the same distribution will be applied.

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

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

Questions regarding retirement may be directed to the Payroll Retirement mailbox.

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