Purpose

To explain OSC’s automatic processing of Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments and Time Entry procedures.

Affected Employees

Eligible employees represented by Negotiating Units DR, F8, G9, S9, SR, SY, 86 and 87

Effective Date(s)

Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8, S9, SR, SY and 87 will be made in a separate check dated 12/21/11.

The Uniform Blazer Allowance payment for employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate check dated 12/21/11.

The Uniform Allowance Payment for unrepresented employees (Negotiating Unit 86) and employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate check dated 1/18/12.

Background

Uniform and Equipment Allowance Payments to eligible employees are authorized under Chapter 276 of the Laws of 2008 that implementing agreements between the State of New York and various negotiating units in the Unified Court System.

Eligibility

Agencies should refer to the bi-annual uniform allowance memorandum issued by UCS for a list of eligible titles and payment amounts.

Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8, and 87

• Employees must be in an eligible title on 11/30/11 and active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS).

Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for Negotiating Unit G9

• Employees must be in an eligible title on 11/30/11 for the Uniform Blazer Allowance or 12/31/11 for the Uniform Allowance* and active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS).
• Eligible employees on an approved Leave without Pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the Uniform Blazer Allowance payment upon return from leave, provided the return to the payroll is prior to 5/31/12.
• Eligible employees on Workers’ Compensation Leave without pay, paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend or Military Training Stipend may be paid immediately.
• Part-time employees are eligible for the full Uniform Allowance or Uniform Blazer Allowance payment and no prorated amount will be applied.

*For employees in Negotiating Unit G9, the Uniform Allowance payment is payable in June to those employees appointed between July 1st and December 31st of the previous year, provided the employee remains in an eligible title on June 30th. These employees will be eligible for the allowance each December thereafter.

Uniform Allowance Payments for Negotiating Unit 86

• Employees must be in an eligible title on 12/31/11 and active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS).
• Eligible employees on an approved Leave without Pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the payment upon return from leave, provided the return to the payroll is prior to 5/31/12.
• Eligible employees on Workers’ Compensation Leave without pay, paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend or Military Training Stipend may be paid immediately.
• Part-time employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.
• Eligible full-time employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.

OSC Actions

On 12/9/11, OSC will automatically add the Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments (Earn Code UA5) in the Time Entry page for all employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who were Active or on a Paid Leave of Absence on 11/30/11. The Earnings Begin and End Dates will be 11/30/11. OSC will notify OCA when the automatic processing is completed.

Employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who are on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS) on 11/30/11 will not receive an automatic payment.

Agency Actions

Agencies must not make any changes until contacted by OSC.

Agencies are responsible for deleting the payment (Earn Code UA5) from the Time Entry page in Pay Period 18L for employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who are ineligible to receive the payment.

In Pay Period 18L, agencies are responsible for submitting the Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for eligible employees in Negotiating Unit G9 and the Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer allowance Payments for eligible employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8 and 87 and for those employees in negotiating Units SR, SY, and S9 who were not processed automatically, including those on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS), using the procedure stated below:

Miscellaneous Payment Information

The Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments are not pensionable and are not included in the calculation of overtime.

There will be no direct deposit for these payments.

Tax Information

This payment is subject income and payroll taxes. If an employee has an additional tax amount in the employee’s tax data record, the additional tax will be deducted from both the regular and the separate paycheck.

Control-D Reports

Control-D report NPAY771 will be available after the automatic payment is loaded into the Time Entry page. The report contains the following data:

DeptID
EmplID
EmplRecord
Name (Alpha order)
Earn Code
Grade BU
Percentage
Earns End Date
Amount
Number of Payments Processed
Total Payment Amount

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earn code UA5 and the amount paid will be displayed on the payroll register. The Earn Code description “Uniform Allowance UCS” and the amount will appear on the paycheck stub.

Questions

Questions about processing transactions may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.