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Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-214

Subject
April 2015 State of New York Unified Court System (UCS) Increments, Longevity Increments and Longevity Bonuses
Date Issued
March 25, 2015

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2015 UCS Increments, Longevity Increments and Longevity Bonuses and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Employees in the following bargaining units who meet the eligibility criteria:

Unrepresented Non-Judicial Employees Bargaining Units 86, 88, CT
Civil Service Employees Association Bargaining Unit 87
Court Officers Benevolent Association of Nassau County Bargaining Unit DR
Suffolk County Court Employees Association Bargaining Unit F8
Ninth Judicial District Court Employees Association Bargaining Unit G9
New York State Court Clerks Association Bargaining Unit S9
Citywide Association of Law Assistants of the Civil, Criminal and Family Courts Bargaining Unit SA
Communications Workers of America Bargaining Unit SD
Association of Surrogate’s and Supreme Court Reporters Bargaining Unit SG
District Council 37 Bargaining Unit SK
Court Attorneys Association Bargaining Unit SN
New York State Court Officers Association Bargaining Unit SR
New York State Supreme Court Officers Association Bargaining Unit SY

Background

The following Chapter Laws provide for payment of longevity bonuses and in conjunction with Section 37 of the Judiciary Law provide for payment of annual increments (increments) and additional increments (longevity increments) for eligible employees in the UCS.

Chapter 276 of the Laws of 2008 - implemented the 2007-2010 Agreements between the UCS and the above referenced Unions representing eligible non-judicial employees in Bargaining Units DR, F8, G9, S9, SR and SY.

Chapter 400 of the Laws of 2014 - implemented the 2011-2017 Agreement between the UCS and the above referenced Union representing eligible non-judicial employees in Bargaining Unit 87.  In addition, consistent with prior practice, when a CSEA Agreement is reached, the negotiated changes detailed in the Labor Relations Memorandum are extended to Management/Confidential and Unrepresented employees in Bargaining Units 86, 88 and CT.

Chapter 400 of the Laws of 2014 - implemented the 2011-2016 Agreements between the UCS and the above referenced Unions representing eligible non-judicial employees in Bargaining Units SA, SD, SG, SK and SN.

Effective Date(s)

The April 2015 UCS Increments, Longevity Increments and Longevity Bonuses will be paid using the following effective date and check date:

Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type Payment Effective Date Check Date
Administration 1 Lag 03/26/15 04/22/15

Eligibility Criteria

Increment

Employees in graded positions (Grade 501-537) are eligible for the April 2015 UCS Increment provided the employee:

  • Is in an eligible bargaining unit on the payment effective date: and
  • Has completed 120 full workdays between 04/01/14 and 03/31/15; and
  • Has a Pay Basis Code of ANN on the payment effective date; and
  • Received a performance rating of at least “Satisfactory” for service during the previous year.
Longevity Increment

Employees in graded positions (Grade 501-537) are eligible for the April 2015 UCS Longevity Increment provided the employee:

  • Is in an eligible bargaining unit on the payment effective date; and
  • Has completed four years in such grade at a salary equal to or greater than the Maximum Salary but less than Longevity Step 1 or four years in such grade at a salary equal to or greater than Longevity Step 1 but less than Longevity Step 2; and
  • Has completed 120 full workdays in each fiscal year; and
  • Has a Pay Basis Code of ANN on the payment effective date; and
  • Received a performance rating of at least “Satisfactory” for service in each fiscal year.
Longevity Bonus

Employees who have at least 20 years of continuous service in the UCS as of 03/31/15 are eligible for the April 2015 UCS Longevity Bonus provided the employee:

  • Is in an eligible bargaining unit on 04/01/15; and
  • Has completed 120 full workdays in each fiscal year; and
  • Has a Pay Basis Code of ANN or BIW (only if the employee is on a Paid Military Stipend Leave) on 04/01/15; and
  • Received a performance rating of at least “Satisfactory” for service during the previous year in each fiscal year.

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use on 03/26/15 (Administration).  This will give agencies time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the April 2015 UCS Increment and Longevity Increment.  The report will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the April 2015 UCS Increment, Longevity Increment or Increment Code Update based on information available as of the date the report is produced.  Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record will not be updated.

  • Position and Job do not match – if the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal
  • FIS Missing – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004, 0006 or 0415 and the FIS Amount field is blank
  • FIS At or Below Current – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004, 0006 or 0415 and the value in the FIS Amount field is less than or equal to the employee’s current salary
  • FIS Below Hiring Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004, 0006 or 0415 and the value in the FIS Amount field is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • FIS Over Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004 or 0006 and the value in the FIS Amount field is greater than the Maximum Salary for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Current Salary < Longevity Step 1 – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2007 or 0515 and the employee’s salary is less than Longevity Step 1 for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal At or Above Longevity Step 1 – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2011 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than Longevity Step 1 for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal At or Above Longevity Step 2 – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2007 or 0515 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than Longevity Step 2 for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Increment Code Missing – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is blank or ‘0000’
  • Increment Code Invalid – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 0001, 0003, 0004, 0006, 19XX, 20XX, 04XX or 05XX
  • Sal Below Hiring Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0001 or 0003 and the employee’s salary is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal Below Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2011 and the employee’s salary is less than the Maximum Salary for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal At or Above Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0001 or 0003 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than the Maximum Salary for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule

If an employee appears on this report but is due an increment, longevity increment or increment code update, the agency must submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s).  If the row(s) is corrected prior to Administration Pay Period 1, the automatic increment, longevity increment or increment code update will be processed.

Agency Actions – Pay Period 1L

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Administration Pay Period 1L.

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or before 03/26/15 (Administration):

  • The agency must not include the increment or longevity increment in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
  • The agency must report the proper increment code for April 2015 in the Incr. Code field.

For pay changes requested on the Job Action Requests page with an effective date after 03/26/15 (Administration):

  • The agency must include, if applicable, the increment or longevity increment in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
  • The agency must report the projected increment code for April 2016 in the Incr. Code field.

For position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date after 03/26/15 (Administration):

  • The agency must include, if applicable, the increment or longevity increment in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
  • No automatic processing will be done by OSC provided the agency reports Increment Code 5555.
Ineligible for Increment or Longevity Increment

Employees with an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date are ineligible to receive the April 2015 UCS Increment or Longevity Increment.  The agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page effective 03/26/15 using the Reason code USP (Unsat Perf) and an increment code of 0003 in the Incr. Code field to withhold the increment or longevity increment.

Longevity Bonus

Eligible employees whose Payroll Status is Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Unpaid Military Leave (Action/Reason code of Leave of Absence/WDL, MLL or MLS) on the payment effective date will not be processed automatically.  Therefore, agencies must submit the following information on the Additional Pay page using Earnings Code JLO.

Earnings Code: JLO
Effective Date: 03/26/15
OT Eff Date: Same as Effective Date
Annual Addl Earnings: Payment Amount
End Date: 03/23/16
Ineligible for Longevity Bonus

Employees with an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date are ineligible to receive the April 2015 UCS Longevity Bonus.  The agency must submit a list of ineligible employees to OSC to have the JLO transaction deleted.

Time Entry

To report miscellaneous earnings that are automatically calculated by the system (e.g. overtime), agencies must separate earnings by pay period so the earnings will not overlap the effective date of the Pay Change transaction.

OSC Actions

OSC will process the April 2015 UCS Increments, Longevity Increments and Increment Code Updates for those employees who meet the eligibility criteria and have 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.

In addition, OSC will update all subsequent rows on the Job Data page, except as noted above, in which the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit regardless of Payroll Status.  A row will be inserted with the same effective date as the row being evaluated using the Action/Reason code Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary).

Increment Processing

Increments will be processed for eligible employees with one of the following increment codes on the payment effective date.

  • Increment Code 0001:  If the employee’s annual salary is equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate but less than the Maximum Salary of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/INC (Increment) and will increase the employee’s salary to reflect payment of the increment.  The employee’s salary will be capped at the Maximum Salary of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule.
  • Increment Code 0004:  If the FIS Amount is greater than the employee’s salary on the payment effective date, equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate but less than or equal to the Maximum Salary of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) and will increase the employee’s salary to reflect payment of a partial increment to the Maximum Salary based on the FIS (Fixed Incremented Salary) Amount.
  • Increment Code 0006:  If the FIS Amount is greater than the employee’s salary on the payment effective date, equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate but less than or equal to the Maximum Salary of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/INC (Increment) and will increase the employee’s salary to reflect payment of a partial increment based on the FIS (Fixed Incremented Salary) Amount.
  • Increment Code 0415:  If the FIS Amount is greater than the employee’s salary on the payment effective date and equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/379 (Jud Law 37.9) and will increase the employee’s salary to reflect the FIS (Fixed Incremented Salary) Amount.  The FIS Amount may exceed the Maximum Salary.
Longevity Increment Processing
  • Increment Code 2011:  If the employee’s annual salary is equal to or greater than the Maximum Salary but less than Longevity Step 1 of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/LGP (Longevity Pay) and will increase the employee’s salary to Longevity Step 1.
  • Increment Code 2007:  If the employee’s annual salary is equal to or greater than Longevity Step 1 but less than Longevity Step 2 of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/LGP (Longevity Pay) and will increase the employee’s salary to Longevity Step 2.
  • Increment Code 0515:  If the employee’s annual salary is equal to or greater than Longevity Step 1 but less than Longevity Step 2 of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the appropriate Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/373 (Jud Law 37.3) and will increase the employee’s salary to Longevity Step 2.
Appropriate Salary Schedule
BU’s F8, DR, G9, S9, SR, SY 04/01/10
BU’s 86, 87, 88, CT, SA, SD, SG, SK, SN 10/01/14
Increment Code Update Processing

OSC will automatically update the increment code, as appropriate, on the inserted row for employees who receive an increment or longevity increment as follows:

Current Code Updated Code
0001 0001 if the new salary is below the Maximum Salary
2015 if the new salary is equal to the Maximum Salary
0006 0001 if the new salary is below the Maximum Salary
2015 if the new salary is equal to the Maximum Salary

OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/26/15 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Data Chg/CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and update the following increment code:

Current Code Updated Code
0003 0001 if the salary on the payment effective date is equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate but less than the Maximum Salary
Longevity Bonus (Earnings Code JLO)

OSC will process the April 2015 UCS Longevity Bonuses for those employees who meet the eligibility criteria and have a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay on 04/01/15 by inserting a row on the employee’s Additional Pay page as shown below.

The payment amount is $1,900 for employees with less than 25 years of service (Anniversary Date is 04/01/1990 through 03/31/1995), $2,000 for employees with at least 25 years but less than 30 years of service (Anniversary Date is 04/01/1985 through 03/31/1990) and $2,100 for employees with at least 30 years of service (Anniversary Date is less than 04/01/1985) or a prorated amount for part-time employees.

Active employees (including employees on a Leave With Pay or Paid Military Stipend Leave) receive an amount based on the employee’s years of service and percentage in effect on 04/01/15.  The full JLO payment amount based on the employee’s years of service is multiplied by the employee’s Empl Work Percent on the Job Data/Job Information page in effect on 04/01/15.

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

Earnings Code: JLO
Effective Date: 03/26/15
OT Eff Date: Same as Effective Date
Annual Addl Earnings: Payment Amount
End Date: 04/06/16

Control-D Reports Available After Processing

The following Control-D reports will be available for agency review after the payments have been processed. All reports will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Increment Payment Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic April 2015 UCS Increment or Longevity Increment and includes the Action/Reason code used as well as the old compensation rate and new compensation rate.

NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive the automatic April 2015 UCS Increment, Longevity Increment or Increment Code Update.  Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated.

  • Position and Job do not match – if the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal
  • FIS Missing – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004, 0006 or 0415 and the FIS Amount field is blank
  • FIS At or Below Current – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004, 0006 or 0415 and the value in the FIS Amount field is less than or equal to the employee’s current salary
  • FIS Below Hiring Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004, 0006 or 0415 and the value in the FIS Amount field is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • FIS Over Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004 or 0006 and the value in the FIS Amount field is greater than the Maximum Salary for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Current Salary < Longevity Step 1 – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2007 or 0515 and the employee’s salary is less than Longevity Step 1 for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal At or Above Longevity Step 1 – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2011 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than Longevity Step 1 for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal At or Above Longevity Step 2 – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2007 or 0515 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than Longevity Step 2 for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Increment Code Missing – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is blank or ‘0000’
  • Increment Code Invalid – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 0001, 0003, 0004, 0006, 19XX, 20XX, 04XX or 05XX
  • Sal Below Hiring Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0001 or 0003 and the employee’s salary is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal Below Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2011 and the employee’s salary is less than the Maximum Salary for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
  • Sal At or Above Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0001 or 0003 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than the Maximum Salary for the employee’s grade on the appropriate Salary Schedule
NPAY770 – One Time Payment Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic April 2015 UCS Longevity Bonus.

Agency Actions – Beginning Pay Period 2

Beginning in Administration Pay Period 2L, agencies must submit transactions to make the April 2015 UCS Increment, Longevity Increment, Increment Code Update or Longevity Bonus payment to eligible employees who were not processed automatically.

Increments and Longevity Increments

Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason code for eligible employees who return from a Leave of Absence (except a Workers’ Compensation Leave) and employees who are eligible for an increase but were not processed as a result of an error as identified on the NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report.

Agency Update of Increment Codes

Agencies must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AddDt/ or FIS Sal) and update the following increment codes:

Current Code Updated Code
0415 4 digit max year of current grade or 0519 if salary is between 1st and 2nd longevity steps
0515 4 digit max year of current grade
0004 04 with 2 digit year for future application of Judicial Law Section 37.9
5555 The appropriate 2016 increment code

If the employee’s increment code is 0001 after being automatically updated from Increment Code 0003 (the result of an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation), the agency must review and update the increment code accordingly.

Longevity Bonus

To report a Longevity Bonus for an eligible employee who did not receive an automatic payment, agencies must enter the following information on the Additional Pay page.

Earnings Code: JLO
Effective Date: 03/26/15 or date employee returns to payroll
OT Eff Date: Same as Effective Date
Annual Addl Earnings: Payment Amount
End Date: 04/06/16

Questions

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