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 SY, SR, S9, DR, FS, 87, G9 and 86

Background

Uniform and Equipment Allowance and Maintenance Allowance Payments to eligible employees are authorized under Chapter 276 of the Laws of 2008 that implemented the 2007-2011 agreement between the State of New York – Unified Court System and various negotiating units.

Effective Date(s)

Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, FS and 87 will be made in a separate paycheck dated 12/19/12.

The Uniform Blazer Allowance payment for employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate paycheck dated 12/19/12.

The Uniform Allowance Payment for Negotiating Unit G9 and 86 (unrepresented employees) will be made in a separate paycheck dated 1/16/13.

Eligibility

Agencies should refer to the bi-annual uniform and uniform blazer allowance memorandum dated 11/12/12 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 11/30/12 and active on the payroll (including Leave with Pay), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, or paid or unpaid Military 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 5/31/13.
• 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.
• Employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment

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

• Employees must be in an eligible title on 11/30/12 for the Uniform Blazer Allowance or 12/31/12 for the Uniform Allowance* and active on the payroll (including Leave with Pay), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay or paid or unpaid Military 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 5/31/13.
• 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.
• Employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment

*For employees in Negotiating Unit G9, the initial Uniform Allowance payment is payable in June 2013 to those employees appointed between 7/01/12 and 12/31/12 provided the employee remains in an eligible title on 6/30/13. These employees’ eligibility for continuing payments will be determined each December thereafter beginning December 2013.

Uniform Allowance Payments for Negotiating Unit 86

• Employees must be in an eligible title on 12/31/12 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 5/31/13.
• 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
• Employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.

OSC Actions

On 12/7/12, 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 11/30/12. The Earnings Begin and End Dates will be 11/30/12. OSC will notify OCA when the automatic processing is completed.

Note: The following Job Codes and Titles will not be processed automatically.

• 014049 – Court Assistant
• 014076 – Court Assistant (PT)
• 014077 – Court Assistant (HND SA PROG)
• 019364 – Court Assistant JS

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 11/30/12 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 following:

• Uniform Allowance Payment for eligible employees in Negotiating Unit 86
• Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for eligible employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8, 87 and G9
• 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 to 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 this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.