Purpose

To provide agency instructions for processing the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Unit SD).

Affected Employees

Employees in Bargaining Unit SD who meet the eligibility criteria

Background

The 2011-2016 Agreement between the New York State Unified Court System (UCS) and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), provides for a salary increase of two percent (2.00%) or $1000, whichever is greater, effective October 1, 2014 for all eligible represented non-judicial employees in Bargaining Unit SD and includes the October 1, 2014 Salary Schedule. The increase is authorized pursuant to Section 7 of Chapter 400 of the Laws of 2014.

Effective Date(s)

The October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Unit SD) will be paid using the following effective date and check date:

Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type	Payment Effective Date	Check Date
Administration 22 Lag	09/25/14	02/11/15

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees are eligible to receive the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Unit SD):

• Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 560)
• Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in a graded position (Grade 501-538)

Employees who are Active or on an approved leave of absence on 09/24/14 are considered incumbents and are eligible for the two percent (2.00%) salary increase or $1000, whichever is greater.

OSC Action - Salary Administration Plan Update

Many of the bargaining units in the Unified Court System are currently processed using the same salary schedule and as a result are linked to one Salary Administration Plan (UCS – Unified Court System).

Since a new October 1, 2014 salary schedule now exists for Bargaining Unit SD, Salary Administration Plan NUC (NYS Unified Court System) has been created and linked to the new salary schedule.

Therefore, prior to processing the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Unit SD), OSC will automatically update the Salary Administration Plan on the Position Data page and Job Data page as follows:

Position Data Page

All positions in effect on or after the Effective Date with a bargaining unit equal to SD and a Status of Active will be updated with the following information. If a row does not currently exist with the Effective Date, a new row will be inserted; otherwise the information will be updated on the existing row. In addition, the Salary Administration Plan will be updated on all subsequent rows meeting the criteria.

Effective Date:	09/25/14
Reason:	Z11 (Update of Position Data)
Salary Admin Plan:	NUC (NYS Unified Court System)

Job Data Page

All employees with a bargaining unit equal to SD and a Payroll Status of Active (A), Leave With Pay (P) or Leave of Absence (L) on or after the Effective Date will be updated with the following information. A new row will be inserted using the Effective Date and the next available sequence number. In addition, a new row will be inserted using the next available sequence number for all subsequent rows meeting the criteria.

Effective Date:	09/25/14
Action:	Position Change
Reason:	Z11 (Update of Position Data)
Salary Administration Plan:	NUC (NYS Unified Court System

Agency Actions

The agency must process the October 2014 Salary Increase for eligible employees in Bargaining Unit SD as follows:

• 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/WDL) on the payment effective date, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page effective 09/25/14 using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has 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 in Administration Pay Period 22L but after the payment effective date, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action and the Reason code CSL (Correct Salary).
• If the employee is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position in Administration Pay Period 22L but after the payment effective date, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the effective date of the Hire, Position Change or Transfer action and the Reason code CSL (Correct Salary).
• If the employee has subsequent rows and remains in an eligible position, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page for each subsequent row using the effective date of the existing row and the Reason code CSL (Correct Salary).

Calculating the New Compensation Rate

The agency must calculate the salary on each transaction submitted on the Job Action Requests page as follows:

• If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 538 or 560, determine if the employee meets the incumbency criteria.
  • If the employee is an incumbent, apply 2.00% to the existing salary and round up to the next dollar. Compare the resulting salary increase amount to the minimum increase of $1000. Apply whichever is greater to the existing salary.
  • If the employee is not an incumbent, increase the existing salary by applying 2.00% and round up to the next dollar.
• If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537, determine if the employee meets the incumbency criteria.
  • If the employee is an incumbent and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule, determine the salary on the same salary step on the 09/25/14 Salary Schedule.
    • Calculate the difference between the employee’s salary steps on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule and the 09/25/14 Salary Schedule.
      • If the difference is less than the minimum increase of $1000, increase the existing salary by adding $1000.
      • If the difference is equal to or greater than the minimum increase of $1000, increase the salary to the same salary step on the 09/25/14 Salary Schedule.
  • If the employee is not an incumbent and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule, increase the salary to the same salary step on the 09/25/14 Salary Schedule.
  • If the employee is an incumbent and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule, apply 2.00% to the existing salary and round up to the next dollar. Compare the resulting salary increase amount to the minimum increase of $1000. Apply whichever is greater to the existing salary.
  • If the employee is not an incumbent and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule, increase the existing salary by applying 2.00% and round up to the next dollar.

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 at 1.5 (OTD) and Holiday Pay (HPA), resulting from payment of the October 2014 Salary Increase for employees in Bargaining Unit SD.

If an employee receives a payment and has been paid in the same Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency.

If an employee receives a payment and has been paid in more than one Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, the retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency of the Employee Record Number in which the payment was made.

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 23L, the agency must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as OT Override (OTO) 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 at 1.5 (OTD), 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

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 and/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.

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 Tax 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.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.