Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the State University Construction Fund instructions for processing the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment.

Affected Employees:

Employees designated management or confidential in Bargaining Unit 96 in the SCF with an increment code of 1976-2019 who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Civil Service Law, Article 8, Section 130 and the Division of the Budget Bulletin D-1152 provide for payment of the 2024-2025 Longevity Payments effective April 2024 as a one-time, lump sum payment in the amount of $1,500, $3,000 or $4,500.

Effective Dates:

The April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment is effective 04/01/2024 and may be submitted beginning in Administration Pay Period 5L, paycheck dated 06/18/2024. 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 2024 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 03/31/2024; and
• Has a Comp Rate Code of ANN or BIW (only if the employee is on a Paid Military Stipend Leave) on 03/31/2024; and
• Has five (5) or more years, ten (10) or more years, or fifteen (15) or more years of continuous service* at a base annual salary equal to or greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade as of 03/31/2024; and
• Did not have a withholding recommendation approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB).

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

Withholding Recommendation

If the agency determines the full or partial value of the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment should be withheld from an employee, the agency must request approval from DOB as explained in Budget Bulletin D-1152. 

If the full value is withheld, the agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using an effective date of 03/31/2024, the Reason code PWH (Perf Withheld) and an increment code of 7777 in the Incr. Code field. (The prior increment code will be restored after the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS processing is complete.)  These transactions should be submitted as soon as possible following approval but prior to or as part of processing for Administration Pay Period 5L. If the agency does not submit the transaction to withhold the full value of the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment or if the agency chooses to withhold a partial payment, the transaction will be entered or updated by OSC based on information received from DOB.

The following employees may become eligible for the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment upon processing of the April 2024 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 SCF 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 SCF M/C position with a higher Job Rate, and whose salary upon application of the April 2024 SCF M/C Performance Advance is equal to the Job Rate in the SCF 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 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment during 2024-2025:

Leave of Absence/Preferred List on 03/31/2024:  An employee who otherwise qualifies for the April 2024 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 03/31/2024 becomes eligible if they return to the payroll or are appointed to an eligible position between 04/01/2024 and 03/31/2025. There is no minimum service requirement following the employee’s return to active payroll status.

Demotions after 03/31/2024: An employee who was not eligible for the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment on 03/31/2024 becomes eligible if the employee returns to a lower graded position between 04/01/2024 and 03/31/2025, provided the employee:

• Otherwise, would have been eligible if the employee had been in the lower graded position on 03/31/2024 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 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment, see Agency Actions – Payments Not Processed Automatically.

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing:

The following Control-D report was made available for agency use on 03/01/2024.

NPAY756 – Longevity Lump Sum (LLS) Eligibility Listing

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear eligible for the April 2024 LLS Payment based on information available as of the date the report was produced.

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 provide documentation supporting the salary equation with the Correction Sheet and submit a transaction to make the payment.
  • Eligible employees who are in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222). 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 DOB 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 must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using an effective date of 03/31/2024, 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 DOB 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 06/03/2024. Please email completed Correction Sheets to the Payroll Earnings mailbox; please include the Department ID and ‘SCF M/C LLS Correction Sheet’ in the Subject line.

Agency Actions:

The agency must submit transactions to make the April 2024 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 2015-2019), $3,000 for employees with ten (10) or more years of continuous service (identified by Increment Code 2010-2014) or $4,500 for employees with fifteen (15) or more years of continuous service (identified by Increment Code 1976-2009) or a prorated amount.

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

*If an employee is eligible for the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment but has moved to an ineligible position between 04/01/2024 and when payment is processed in Pay Period 5L (Administration), the End Date should reflect the last date the employee was in the eligible position. For instructions, see Overtime Calculation Information.

Control-D Report Available After Processing: 

After processing of the April 2024 M/C LLS Payment in Administration Pay Period 5L 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 2024 M/C LLS Payment effective 04/01/2024.

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 2024 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 2024 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.

Retroactive Adjustment

OSC will automatically calculate retroactive adjustments for overtime earned on or after the OT Eff Date associated with the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment and paid prior to the automatic processing of the April 2024 SCF M/C LLS Payment.

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 6L, the agency must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as Out of Title Overtime (OTT).

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.
• Adjustments for earnings that are calculated automatically, such as OT for Annuals (Earnings Code 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 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 retroactive LLS payment.

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:

Retirement and Deduction Information:

The LLS payment is included as salary for retirement purposes but is not subject to union dues. Deductions will be taken from the LLS payment for normal retirement contributions, garnishments and federal levies.

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:

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 (Earnings Codes AJR, ARC, and ARO) and retroactive payments (Earnings Code 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 1.95975% 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 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 2024 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 New York Retiree Indicator 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 submitted as a Stop Payment Request with a reason of Exchange in PayServ. The Report of Check Exchange (AC 1476-P), Next of Kin Affidavit (AC 934-P), 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 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.