Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-34

Subject

April 1, 1999 Increment Adjustments, October 1, 1999 General Salary Increases, and April 1, 2000 Recomputed Increments, General Salary and Location Pay Increases for the Unified Court System

Date Issued

September 21, 2000

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC's automatic processing and to provide instructions for processing salary changes and adjustments

Affected Employees

Eligible, represented employees in the following bargaining units:

SR	S8	G9	87
SY	SA	DR
SN;	S9	F8
SG	SD	SK

Eligible, unrepresented employees in bargaining units CT, 86 and 88

Effective Date

Payments will be included in the regular check dated October 11, 2000

Background

Chapter 69, as amended by Chapters 70 and 71 of the Laws of 2000, implements agreements between the State and various bargaining units in the Unified Court System and provides for general salary increases and other payments.

Contract Provisions and Eligibility Criteria

A new salary schedule (copy attached), effective March 31, 1999 payable April 1, 1999, includes:

Changes in the structure
New hiring rates for certain grades
New increment values
New longevity amounts for eligible employees
A second longevity step
March 31, 1999 Salary Schedule is attached

October 1, 1999 Salary Increase

3% salary increase, rounded to the next dollar, or an $800 minimum increase, for employees in graded (represented and unrepresented) or NS/grade 560 represented positions
Payable September 30, 1999
October 1, 1999 Salary Schedule is attached.

April 1, 2000 Increments and Salary Increase

Application of new increment values from October 1, 1999 Salary Schedule
3% salary increase, rounded to the next dollar, or an $850 minimum increase, for employees in graded (represented and unrepresented) or NS/grade 560 represented positions
Payable March 30, 2000
April 1, 2000 Salary Schedule is attached.

Location Pay

Effective April 1, 2000, payable March 30, 2000, location pay will be increased to $1000 for employees in NYC, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties
Monroe County remains at $200

Salary Increases Approved by UCS Administrative Board

Salary Increases, effective October 1, 1999 and/or April 1, 2000, for employees in NS/560 unrepresented positions (bargaining units 86, 88, and CT) require the approval of the UCS Administrative Board.
Approved salary rates will be provided by UCS to payroll agencies.

Effect of New Salary Schedules and the October 1999 and April 2000 Increases on Employee Salaries

The new March 31, 1999, October 1, 1999, and April 1, 2000 Salary Schedules will affect the salaries of employees who have earned service increments, changed grades and/or earned a longevity step since April 1, 1999. In addition, employees may be due a 2^nd longevity step (increment codes 1991 and earlier) or an adjusted hiring rate due to the new schedules. A new hiring rate is applied only if the new hiring rate is higher than the old hiring rate.

For example, the effect of the new salary schedules on an employee who earned an increment effective April 1, 1999 and March 30, 2000 under the old schedule is as follows:

Effective April 1, 1999, the employee is now entitled to the new increment from the March 31, 1999 Salary Schedule not to exceed the maximum.
Effective September 30, 1999, the employee is entitled to the 3% increase (rounded to the next dollar), a step to step increase or an $800 minimum increase.
Effective March 30, 2000, the employee is entitled to an increment from the October 1,1999 Salary Schedule, not to exceed the maximum, the 3% increase (rounded to the next dollar), a step to step increase or an $850 minimum increase.

Effect of Raises on Represented Hourly Employees

Raises for represented hourly employees will be calculated automatically as follows:

For rate increases effective 9/30/99, if hourly rate is equal to or less than $14.58, $.44 will be applied to the employee's hourly rate.

For rate increases effective 9/30/99, if hourly rate is greater than $14.58, 3% rounded up to the next cent will be applied to the employee's hourly rate.

For rate increases effective 3/30/00, if hourly rate is equal to or less than $15.49, $.47 will be applied to the employee's hourly rate.

For rate increases effective 3/30/00, if hourly rate is greater than $15.49, 3% rounded up to the next cent will be applied to the employee's hourly rate.

If employee had rate changes with effective dates other than 9/30/99 or 3/30/00, a straight 3% increase rounded up to the next cent will be applied.

OSC Actions: Automatic Update of Rows on Job Data Panels for Salary Increases

After payroll processing for pay period 13L is complete, OSC will process increases for raise eligible salaried and hourly employees as follows:

Increment Adjustments Effective April 1, 1999

Effective April 1, 1999, for employees who are entitled to an increment adjustment based on the new March 31, 1999 Salary Schedule:

OSC will automatically insert rows in the employee's Job Data panel, effective April 1, 1999, to reflect the increased rate using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of CSL (Cor Sal).

Note: If an employee is at the hiring rate of the October 1, 1998 Salary Schedule and that salary is higher than the hiring rate of the March 31, 1999 Salary Schedule, the salary will remain at the old hiring rate.

OSC will insert additional rows in the employee's Job Data panel to update the salary on all subsequent Job Data rows, using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of CSL (Cor Sal), provided the employee remains eligible.

Salary Increases Effective October 1, 1999 and April 1, 2000

For eligible employees who were active on September 30, 1999 and/or March 30, 2000, including those on Workers' Compensation Disability Leave (Action of LOA/ Reason of WDL), OSC will insert rows in the Job Data panels using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of CFS (Cor FY Sal) to reflect the following:
1. General salary increase effective September 30, 1999
2. Increment adjustment effective March 30,2000, if applicable
3. General salary increase effective March 30, 2000.
Additional rows will be inserted to update the salary on all subsequent rows on the employee's Job Data panel using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of CSL (Cor Sal), provided the employee remains eligible.

Employees Who Were Hired After the Effective Date of Any Increase

For employees who were hired after the effective date of any increase (April 1, 1999, September 30, 1999, and/or March 30, 2000), OSC will insert row(s) on the Job Data panel, commencing with the date of hire, to reflect any applicable pay changes. The Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of CSL (Cor Sal) will be used, except for rows inserted effective September 30, 1999 and/or March 30, 2000. For these dates, the Action of PAY(Pay Rate Change), Reason of CFS (Cor Fy Sal) will be used.

Employees Who Were Inactive or on a Leave of Absence Without Pay Between April 1,1999 and Beginning of Business (BOB) September 28, 2000

For eligible employees who were inactive or placed on a leave of absence without pay (except, Workers' Compensation Disability Leave/ WDL) prior to, or commencing, April 1, 1999, and have been returned to the payroll prior to September 28, 2000 BOB, the system will apply the applicable increase(s) and update all subsequent Job Data rows commencing with the date the employee returned to the payroll.
For eligible employees who became inactive or were placed on a leave of absence without pay (except, Workers' Compensation Disability Leave/WDL) after April 1, 1999, and returned to the payroll prior to September 28, 2000 BOB, the system will apply the applicable increase(s) and update all subsequent Job Data rows up to, and including, the effective date of the leave or removal action and again commencing with the date the employee was returned to the payroll.
For eligible employees who became inactive or were placed on a leave of absence without pay (except, Workers' Compensation Disability Leave/ WDL) after April 1, 1999 and have not returned to the payroll, the system will apply the applicable increase(s) and update all subsequent Job Data rows up to, and including, the effective date of the leave or removal action.

Multiple Sequenced Rows for the Same Effective Date

For employees with multiple rows on the Job Data panel for the same effective date, the system will process the increases based on the information on the highest sequenced row for each effective date.

Automatic Location Pay Increase on Additional Pay Panel

Location Pay Increase

OSC will automatically increase the Location Pay (LOC) amount on the existing March 30, 2000 row on the Additional Pay panel to $1000 for all employees currently receiving $823.
For employees with a Location Pay row on the Additional Pay panel that is effective after March 30, 2000 in the amount of $823, the earnings on the existing row will be increased to $1000.

Automatic Salary Increases for Partial Periods of Time

OSC will process automatic salary increases for the following eligible employees, but only for a partial period of time. Eligible employees are all employees in graded positions and represented employees in NS/grade 560 positions.

Eligible employees who were demoted:
Automatic increases will be processed up to the effective date of the 1^st demotion.
Represented employees in NS/grade 560 positions who were subsequently moved into graded positions and the salary of the graded position is not at the hiring rate:
Automatic increases will be processed up to the effective date of the move into the graded position.
Eligible employees who became grade 570:
Automatic increases will be processed up to the effective date of the grade 570 action.

Salary Increases Not Processed Automatically by OSC

OSC will not automatically process increases for the following employees:

Employees with an increment code of 0004 or 0006 on any Job Data row in their record at anytime between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.
NS/grade 560 employees in bargaining units 86, 88 and CT:
No increases will be applied for any employee who served in an NS/grade 560 position in bargaining units 86, 88, and CT at anytime between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.
Employees who moved from a grade 570 position to a graded position.
Employees whose Job Data and Position Data panels do not match on grade, bargaining unit, or salary plan at anytime between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.
Employees with a salary rate below the minimum at anytime between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.

Automatic Retroactive Processing

OSC will automatically calculate retroactive salary adjustments resulting from the salary and location pay increases automatically applied or entered by the agency in Period 13L.

Automatic retroactive adjustments will also be calculated for certain earnings (e.g. overtime, holiday pay) previously reported using the Time Entry Panel.
A listing of all the earn codes that will be automatically adjusted and their respective retroactive earn codes is attached.
For eligible employees who have worked in more than one agency since the effective date of the increases, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency, provided the employee was paid by all agencies using the same Employee Record #.
For eligible employees who have worked in more than one agency and have been paid from more than one Employee Record # since the effective date of the increases, the retroactive adjustment for earnings in each Employee Record #will be paid in the most current agency, on the appropriate pay cycle, under each Employee Record #.

Agency Procedures: Increases Not Processed Automatically

In Period 13L, the agency must submit the appropriate pay changes using the Action of PAY for eligible employees who will not receive the automatic pay increases. If applicable, pay changes must be requested effective April 1, 1999, September 30, 1999, and March 30, 2000. The Reason of CSL (Cor Sal) must be used for the April 1, 1999 increase and the Reason of CFS (Cor Fy Sal) must be used for the September 30, 1999 and March 30, 2000 pay changes.

The agency must also submit the appropriate pay changes to update the salary rate on all applicable rows on the employee's Job Data record that are subsequent to April 1, 1999, September 30, 1999, and/or March 30, 2000. The Action of PAY, Reason of CSL (Cor Sal), and the next higher sequence number must be used when requesting the pay changes for the subsequent rows.

Employees Who Changed Agencies

For employees who do not meet the eligibility criteria for automatic processing and require pay changes for employment in an agency other than the agency in which the employee is currently employed, the current agency, regardless of whether it is an agency within UCS or not, must submit all pay changes for increases due in the former UCS agency.

Employees Who Require Pay Changes

Agencies must submit pay changes for the following:

Employees who have an increment code of 0004 or 0006 in their Job Data record between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB
NS/grade 560 employees in bargaining units 86,88, and CT at any time between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.

For these employees, agencies must submit pay changes, if approved by the UCS Administrative Board, for the period of time the employee served in the NS/grade 560 unrepresented position

if the employee also served in an eligible position, all pay changes for the period of time in the eligible position.

Employees in a grade 570 position who moved to a graded position. For these employees, agencies must submit the appropriate pay changes for the graded position.
Employees whose Job Data and Position Data panels do not match on grade, bargaining unit, or salary plan at anytime between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.
Employees with a salary rate below the minimum at anytime between March 31, 1999 and September 28, 2000 BOB.
Eligible employees who were demoted since 4/1/99. For these employees, the system will apply the applicable increases up to the effective date of the first demotion only. The agency must request all applicable pay changes commencing with the effective date of the first demotion.
Represented employees in NS grade 560 positions who were subsequently moved into graded positions and the salary of the graded position is not at the hiring rate. For these employees, automatic increases will be applied up to the move to the graded position. The agency must request pay changes commencing from the effective date of the move to the graded position.

Agency Action After Period 13L for Employees Returning from Leave of Absence Without Pay

For an employee who was placed on a leave of absence without pay (except Workers' Compensation Disability Leave /WDL) prior to the effective date of an increase, and the employee has not yet returned to the payroll, the agency must submit an Action of PAY/Reason of CFS, upon the employee's return to the payroll, in addition to the Action of RFL (return from leave). The pay change action is required to increase the salary on the RFL row on the employee's Job Data panel.

For example, if an eligible employee was placed on a leave of absence without pay before the March 30, 2000 increase (e.g. February 1, 2000), the employee will automatically receive the appropriate salary increases up to, and including, the effective date of the leave transaction, when the raise is processed in period 13L.

If the employee returns from leave in period 14L, the system will default the salary from the LOA (leave of absence) row on the RFL (return from leave) row. Therefore, the agency must request a pay change to reflect the increased salary, including, if applicable, an increment, using the April 1, 2000 Salary Schedule.

Agency Responsibility: Retroactive Adjustments

The agency must submit the retroactive adjustment when the following conditions exist in the employee's Additional Pay panel:

If the earn code ALP (Adjust Location Pay) was reported since the effective date of the location pay increase (March 30, 2000), because the employee was retroactively Hired, Rehired, or Returned from Leave With No Pay, the agency must submit a retroactive adjustment for the ALP earnings previously reported.
If the earn code ALP (Adjust Location Pay) was previously reported because Location Pay was started, ended, or changed (employee's percentage of time worked was changed), and the effective date was mid-pay period, the agency must submit an additional retroactive adjustment to decrease or increase the adjustment calculated by the system. The system will adjust the location pay earnings in full pay periods only based on the status on the last day of the pay period.

The agency must submit adjustments for the following earnings reported in the Time Entry panel that will not be adjusted automatically:

Override earnings codes: RGO (Regular Salary Override), LSI (Lump Sum Payment Override), HPL (Holiday Pay Override), OTO (Overtime Override), LTO (Lost Time Override), ASO (Additional Shift Override), OWO (Overtime Waiver Override)
Earn codes reported using a flat amount: ADJ (Adjustment), OTT (Out of Title Overtime), EMG (Emergency Work)

The agency must review the retroactive adjustment when the following conditions exist:

RGS previously submitted as a negative amount
The earn code RGS will be automatically adjusted. However, if the RGS is submitted as a negative amount, the system calculates the adjustment incorrectly.

Therefore, OSC will manually calculate the appropriate adjustment and correct the automatic calculation accordingly.

RGS previously submitted using partial days
The earn code RGS will be automatically adjusted based on full days only. For example, if 1.5 days was previously submitted, the system will adjust for 2 days. Agencies must calculate the appropriate adjustment for all RGS earnings reported previously using partial days and, as stated in Teri Collins memorandum, dated August 18, 2000, notify Kelly Flanigan of the corrected amount.
Adjustments not reported to Kelly for Period 13L, must be submitted by the agency in a subsequent pay period. The adjustment submitted is the amount the employee was overpaid when the automatic retroactive adjustment was processed.
RGS previously submitted using a date range that exceeds the number of days reported
If the agency reported a date range that exceeded the number of days of RGS, the system will calculate the adjustment of earnings based on the number of work days within the date range. The agency must calculate the correct adjustment amount for the RGS earnings and report the corrected amount to Kelly Flanigan, as stated in Teri Collins' memorandum, dated August 18, 2000. Adjustments not reported to Kelly for Period 13L, must be submitted by the agency in a subsequent pay period. The adjustment submitted is the amount the employee was overpaid when the automatic retroactive adjustment was processed.
Earnings that will be adjusted automatically, such as overtime, will be calculated incorrectly, if the dates previously submitted at the time the earnings was reported overlap the effective date of a salary or location pay increase
If the earnings dates reported on a single line in a previous pay period on the Time Entry panel overlap the effective date of a salary or location pay increase, the retroactive adjustment for the earnings will be calculated for all earnings using the salary and/or location pay amount in effect on the date reported as the Earn End date. Agencies must review the automatic retroactive adjustment when an earn code was previously submitted and the dates overlap the effective date of a salary increase and/or location pay increase and submit an adjustment for the amount overpaid or underpaid by the system.
The earn code OVP (overpayment) was reported in the Additional Pay panel since the effective date of an increase
If the earn code OVP was reported to recover an over-payment since the effective date of an increase, the agency must review the automatic retroactive adjustment and determine if it is correct. The agency must submit the appropriate adjustment of earnings, if applicable, after period 13L is processed.
An AC230 was submitted to reduce earnings previously overpaid since the effective date of an increase
The agency must review the retroactive adjustment for all employees who had a check returned or exchanged on an AC230. In most cases, AC230's are not considered when automatic retroactive adjustments are calculated. If applicable, for active employees, the agency must submit an adjustment of earnings after period 13L is processed.
Employees who had a change in Pay Basis Code from HRY to ANN or ANN to HRY
The agency must review the retroactive adjustment to determine if it was correct and submit an adjustment of earnings, if applicable, after period 13L is processed.
Employees who have received earnings on an AC39 (Typewritten Payroll) prepared by OSC since the effective date of an increase
Agencies must submit an adjustment for all earnings paid on the typewritten payroll.

Agency Responsibility: Negative Retroactive Adjustments

Retroactive adjustments will be calculated automatically based on the employee's status commencing with the effective date of the employee's initial increase processed in period 13L (includes increases done automatically and those submitted by the agency). If an employee had a retroactive action reported since the effective date of the employee's initial increase, and the action resulted in an overpayment of salary that was not recovered automatically, the system will again try to recover the overpayment when the raise is processed in period 13L. In many cases, the agency has already recovered the overpayment using the Earn Code OVP or by returning the check to OSC.

To prevent the system from processing the negative adjustment again in Period 13L, OSC will again disable the automatic adjustment for any pay period in which the adjustment results in a negative amount, unless the agency informs OSC in the General Comments panel to process the entire negative adjustment in Period 13L.

For employees whose negative retroactive adjustments will again be disabled, the agency must review the retroactive adjustment paid to the employee to determine if it was correct. Employees may be due additional adjustment amounts for the pay periods in which the negative adjustments were disabled.

To assist the agency in determining if the retroactive adjustment paid to these employees was correct, OSC will provide the agencies with the following listings after the raise is processed in period 13L. The listings will identify all employees whose negative retroactive adjustment was disabled (not processed) previously and again in period 13L.

The first listing will identify employees and their negative earnings, by pay period, calculated before the increases are applied in period 13L.
The second listing will identify employees and their negative earnings, by pay period, calculated after the increases are processed.

Employees appearing on these listings will receive retroactive adjustments for all periods in which positive amounts are calculated by the system.

The agency should compare the listings to determine if an additional adjustment of earnings is required. Generally, the difference between the amounts identified on the listings is the amount that the employee may be due as an additional adjustment or the amount by which the original overpayment may be reduced.

Recovery of Outstanding Overpayments from Retroactive Adjustment

If an employee has an outstanding overpayment, OCA has directed OSC to advise agencies to recover the overpayment in full, to the extent practicable, from the retroactive adjustment in Period 13L.

For employees who are active in period 13L and do not have an existing OVP set up in the Additional Pay Panel:
The agency must enter the Earn Code OVP on the Additional Pay Panel to recover the overpayment. The effective date of the OVP should be September 14, 2000. The amount of the overpayment to be recovered must be entered in both the Earnings and Goal Amount fields with a negative symbol.

For employees who are active in period 13L and have an existing OVP set up in the Additional Pay Panel:
The agency must insert a new row at the effective date for the OVP earnings. The agency should enter the new effective date as September 14, 2000 and the Earnings and Goal Amounts field should be the difference between the current goal balance and the goal amount using the negative symbol.

For employees who are inactive or on a leave of absence without pay in period 13L:
The agency must enter the earn code ADJ with the minus amount in the Time Entry Panel to recover the outstanding balance. The agency must enter a comment to explain the ADJ transaction.

Note: The earn code OVP cannot be used in the Additional Pay Panel because the system does not recognize the OVP Earn Code when an employee is inactive or on a leave of absence without pay.

If there is an existing OVP in the Additional Pay Panel, a row must be inserted effective September 14, 2000 for the Earn Code OVP and the Earnings and Goal Amount fields must be changed to zero.

Agency Procedure: Reporting Adjustments Due to Raise Processing

A new earn code has been established to report all retroactive adjustments that are necessary as a result of the salary and location pay increases.

EARN CODE - AJR - Adjust Raise
Earns Begin Date	First date to be adjusted
Earns End Date	Last date to be adjusted
Amount	Total adjustment amount (may be negative, if recovering overpayment.
Comments	Enter explanation of adjustment calculation.

Note: Although not required, the agency may enter more than one AJR transaction if more than one earnings is being adjusted (e.g. EMG and OTO), provided the earnings begin and end dates are not the same.

Reveal Reports and Agency Responsibility

The following Reveal reports will be available for agency review on October 4, 2000. All reports will be sorted by agency code and then by employee name in alphabetical order.

Mass Salary Increase Exception Report (NHRP709)

This report will identify employees who did not receive an automatic increase. Fields on the report include EmplID, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Pay Basis Code, Part time Percentage and FTA Salary.

The report will identify the reason the employee's salary was not increased by identifying one of the following messages:

Position and Job Do Not Match
Salary Below Minimum

Agency Responsibility:

Agencies must submit Pay Changes for eligible employees identified on the report with either of the messages identified below. Pay changes are also required for all rows on the employee's Job Data panel that are subsequent to the effective dates of the increases. For pay changes effective on the effective date of the general salary increases (September 30, 1999 and/or March 30, 2000), the Reason code is CFS. For pay changes effective on any other date, the reason code is CSL.

Salary Below Minimum - The agency must review the Job Data records of these employees to determine the appropriate action. The employees may be in incorrect positions and a position change may be required, in addition to applicable pay changes.
Position Data and Job Data Do Not Match - The agency must review the Job Data records of these employees to determine the appropriate action. Pay Changes must be submitted to pay all applicable salary increases.

Mass Additional Pay Report (NHRP703)

This report will identify all employees receiving an automatic increase for the earn code LOC (Location Pay). Fields on this report include EmplID, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Earn Code, Grade, Sal Plan, Bargaining Unit and Additional Pay Amount.

Mass Salary Payment Report (NHRP704)

This report will identify all employees who received the automatic increases. The report will identify the employee's last salary in an eligible bargaining unit that was automatically increased. Other fields on the report include EmplID, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Pay Basis Code, Part time Percentage, Action Reason and Increment Code.

Public Queries

The following generic public queries have been produced for agency use and may be used to extract data for agency and vendor updates for salaries and location pay.

00-SalaryIncr_CurrentRowUCS
00-SalaryIncr_AllRowsUCS

These queries include selected fields from the JOB table for employees eligible for a salary increase based on the terms of the contract.

The 00-SalaryIncr_CurrentRowUCS is limited to the row with the most recent effective date and highest sequence number of the current row. 00-SalaryIncr_AllRowsUCS contains the same fields but includes all rows added to the JOB table as part of the mass salary increase program. It includes retroactive adjustments, where applicable.

00-AddlPayIncr_CurrentRowUCS
00-AddlPayIncr_AllRowsUCS

These queries include selected fields from the Addl_Pay_Data table for those employees whose location pay was affected by the terms of the contract.

00-AddlPayIncr_CurrentRowUCS is limited to the current row. The 00-AddlPayIncr_AllRowsUCS includes all rows added to the Addl_Pay_Data table as part of the program.

Questions

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