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Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-218

Subject
October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9)
Date Issued
June 11, 2015

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9) and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

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

Suffolk County Court Employees Association Bargaining Unit F8
Ninth Judicial District Court Employees Association Bargaining Unit G9

Background

The 2011-2016 Agreements between the State of New York Unified Court System (UCS) and the above referenced Unions provide for a salary increase of two percent (2.00%) or $1000, whichever is greater, effective October 1, 2014 and a salary increase of two percent (2.00%) or $1000, whichever is greater, effective April 1, 2015 for all eligible represented non-judicial employees in Bargaining Units F8 and G9 and include the October 1, 2014 and April 1, 2015 Salary Schedules.

The increases are authorized pursuant to Section 7 of Chapter 400 of the Laws of 2014.

Effective Date(s)

The October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9) will be paid using the following effective dates and check date:

Year Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type Payment Effective Date Check Date
2014 Administration 6 Lag 09/25/14 07/01/15
2015 Administration 6 Lag 03/26/15 07/01/15

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees are eligible to receive the October 2014 and/or April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9):

  • 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)
Incumbency Criteria

2014: Employees who are Active or on an approved leave of absence on 09/24/14 are considered incumbents and are eligible for the October 2014 two percent (2.00%) salary increase or $1000, whichever is greater.

2015: Employees who are Active or on an approved leave of absence on 03/31/15 or who receive the October 2014 salary increase are considered incumbents and are eligible for the April 2015 two percent (2.00%) salary increase or $1000, whichever is greater.

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use on 06/05/15 (Administration). This will give agencies time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9). The report is sorted by Department ID, then alphabetically by employee name.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the October 2014 and/or the April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9) 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 Position Data page are not equal
  • Sal Below Hiring Rate – if the employee’s Pay Basis Code is ANN and Grade is equal to 501-538 but the salary is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule

If an employee appears on this report but is due a salary increase, the agency must submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s) or update the information on the Position Data page. If the information is corrected prior to or as part of processing for Administration Pay Period 6L, the automatic salary increase will be processed.

Agency Actions – Administration Pay Period 6L

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Administration Pay Period 6L:

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date before 09/25/14 (Administration):

  • The agency must not include the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Units F8 and G9), if applicable, in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The 04/01/10 Salary Schedule must be used to calculate the salary.
  • The agency must report the proper increment code for 2015 in the Incr. Code field.

For pay changes requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or after 09/25/14 (Administration) but before 03/26/15 (Administration):

  • The agency must not include the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Units F8 and G9), if applicable, in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The 04/01/10 Salary Schedule must be used to calculate the salary.
  • The agency must report the proper increment code for 2015 in the Incr. Code field.

For position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or after 09/25/2014 (Administration) but before 03/26/15 (Administration):

  • No automatic processing will be done by OSC provided the agency reports Increment Code 5555 in the Incr. Code field. The agency must include the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Units F8 and G9), if applicable, in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
  • If the agency does not report Increment Code 5555 in the Incr. Code field, OSC will automatically apply the October 2014 Salary Increase (Bargaining Units F8 and G9) if the employee meets the eligibility criteria.

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

  • The agency must not include the October 2014 or April 2015 Salary Increase (Bargaining Units F8 and G9), if applicable, in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The 04/01/10 Salary Schedule must be used to calculate the salary.
  • The agency must report the proper increment code for 2015 in the Incr. Code field.

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

  • No automatic processing will be done by OSC provided the agency reports Increment Code 5555 in the Incr. Code field. The agency must include the October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9), if applicable, in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
  • If the agency does not report Increment Code 5555 in the Incr. Code field, OSC will automatically apply the October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9) if the employee meets the eligibility criteria.

Salary Administration Plan Update

Prior to implementation of the 2011-2016 Agreements, many of the bargaining units in the Unified Court System were processed using the same salary schedule and as a result were linked to one Salary Administration Plan (UCS – Unified Court System).

Since the 2011-2016 Agreements contained new October 1, 2014 and April 1, 2015 salary schedules, Salary Administration Plan NUC (NYS Unified Court System) was created and linked to the new salary schedules.

Therefore, prior to processing the October 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9), OSC will automatically update the Salary Administration Plan on the Position Data page and Job Data page as follows:

Position Data Page

The Salary Administration Plan will be updated to NUC (NYS Unified Court System) on all positions in effect on or after the Effective Date of the October 2014 Salary Increase with a bargaining unit equal to F8 or G9 and a Status of Active. If a row does not currently exist with the Effective Date, a new row will be inserted with the following information; otherwise the Salary Administration Plan 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

The Salary Administration Plan will be updated to NUC (NYS Unified Court System) for all employees with a bargaining unit equal to F8 or G9 and a Payroll Status of Active (A), Leave With Pay (P) or Leave of Absence (L) on the Effective Date of the October 2014 Salary Increase. If a row does not currently exist with the Effective Date, a new row will be inserted with the following information; otherwise the Salary Administration Plan will be updated on the existing row. In addition, the Salary Administration Plan will be updated on all subsequent rows meeting the criteria regardless of the employee’s Payroll Status.

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

OSC Actions

OSC will process the October 2014 Salary Increase for eligible employees in Bargaining Units F8 and G9 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, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/25/14 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
  • If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has a 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 after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal). The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action.
  • If the employee is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal).  The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Hire, Position Change or Transfer action.
  • OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position.

OSC will process the April 2015 Salary Increase for eligible employees in Bargaining Units F8 and G9 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, 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/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
  • If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has a 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 after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal). The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action.
  • If the employee is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal). The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Hire, Position Change or Transfer action.
  • OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position.

Note:Two rows will be inserted on Job Data on existing rows with an Effective Date equal to or greater than 03/26/15 if an employee receives both the October 2014 and the April 2015 salary increases.

Calculating the New Compensation Rate

The October 2014 Salary Increase on each inserted row will be calculated as follows:

  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 538 or 560 and the employee does not meet the 2014 incumbency criteria, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded up to the next dollar.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 538 or 560 and the employee meets the 2014 incumbency criteria, OSC will apply 2.00% to the existing salary and round up to the next dollar. The resulting salary increase amount will be compared to the minimum increase of $1000. OSC will apply whichever is greater.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee does not meet the 2014 incumbency criteria 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, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee does not meet the 2014 incumbency criteria 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, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded up to the next dollar.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee meets the 2014 incumbency criteria 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, OSC will compare the difference between the salary steps of the employee’s grade on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule and the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule to the minimum increase of $1000.  OCS will apply whichever is greater.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee meets the 2014 incumbency criteria 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, OSC will apply 2.00% to the existing salary and round up to the next dollar. The resulting salary increase amount will be compared to the minimum increase of $1000. OSC will apply whichever is greater.

The April 2015 Salary Increase on each inserted row with an Effective Date equal to or greater than 03/26/15 will be calculated as follows:

  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 538 or 560 and the employee does not meet the 2015 incumbency criteria, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded up to the next dollar.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 538 or 560 and the employee meets the 2015 incumbency criteria, OSC will apply 2.00% to the existing salary and round up to the next dollar. The resulting salary increase amount will be compared to the minimum increase of $1000. OSC will apply whichever is greater.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee does not meet the incumbency criteria and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee does not meet the incumbency criteria and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded up to the next dollar.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee meets the incumbency criteria and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule, OSC will compare the difference between the salary steps of the employee’s grade on the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule and the 04/01/15 Salary Schedule to the minimum increase of $1000. OCS will apply whichever is greater.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 501-537 and the employee meets the incumbency criteria and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 10/01/14 Salary Schedule, OSC will apply 2.00% to the existing salary and round up to the next dollar. The resulting salary increase amount will be compared to the minimum increase of $1000. OSC will apply whichever is greater.

Note:  If the employee has a row with an Effective Date equal to or greater than 09/25/14 and the bargaining unit is not equal to F8 or G9 OR the employee receives the minimum increase of $1000 rather than 2.00%, the new compensation rate for those rows with a bargaining unit equal to F8 or G9 will be provided by the Office of Court Administration Payroll Operations.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing

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

NHRP704 – Mass Salary Increase Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic October 2014 and/or April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9). The report identifies all employee’s salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report identifies all employees who did not receive the automatic October 2014 and/or April 2015 Salary Increases (Bargaining Units F8 and G9). Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s salary 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 Position Data page are not equal
  • Sal Below Hiring Rate – if the employee’s Pay Basis Code is ANN and Grade is equal to 501-538 but the salary is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the 04/01/10 Salary Schedule

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 and April 2015 Salary Increases for employees in Bargaining Units F8 and G9.

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 7L, 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 Taxation 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.