Purpose

To notify Unified Court System of the procedures for processing Military Stipend payments

Eligible Employees

Salaried (full and part-time) and hourly represented employees in bargaining units 87, DR, F8, G9, S9, SA, SD, SG, SK. SN, SR, SY, S8 and unrepresented employees in bargaining units CT, 86 and 88 who are federally ordered, or ordered by the Governor, to active military duty related to the events of September 11, 2001

Effective Date

Immediately

Specifics

The State Attendance Rules have been amended, effective September 11, 2001, to provide additional military benefits to employees in Unified Court System who are federally ordered, or ordered by the Governor, to active military duty related to the events of September 11, 2001.

Agencies should refer to the Memorandum of Understanding issued for each represented bargaining unit and the Administrative Order issued by Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau dated 10/11/01 for unrepresented employees. This Memorandum of Understanding and Administrative Order provides an explanation of the military benefits for eligible employees as related to the events of September 11, 2001. These benefits include the following:

• Military Leave under Section 242 of the State Military Law,
• Supplemental Military Leave Benefit at Full Pay,
• Leave with pay while charging existing leave credits, except sick leave, if applicable,
• Military Leave at Reduced Pay (Military Stipend).

Calculation of Military Stipend

Employees eligible for a military stipend are to be paid regular State salary (including Location if applicable) on the employee's last day in full pay status reduced by the amount of military pay (including housing and food allowance) in effect on the employee's first date of activation during the period September 11, 2001 through September 10, 2002.

Once an employee has received the military stipend, there is no recalculation of stipend when new and separate sets of orders commence, even though the employee may have returned to full pay status between such intermittent periods of ordered military duty and the employee's State salary and/or military salary have changed.

Agency and OSC Procedures

Following exhaustion of military leave under Section 242 of the Military Law, the supplemental military leave, and if the employee opts to use available leave credits (except sick leave), after exhaustion of such credits, the agency must remove the employee from the payroll by placing her/him on a leave without pay.

If the employee is eligible to receive a military stipend payment because the State salary exceeds the military salary, the employee's status will be changed to Leave With Pay, the pay basis code will be changed to BIW (biweekly), and the biweekly amount of military stipend will be added to the employee's Job Data panel. The changes made to the employee's record will provide the employee continuous automatic biweekly stipend payments.

The following identifies agency and OSC procedures regarding Military Stipend:

• Agency must report the Action of LOA and Reason of MLS (Mil Stip) on the employee's Job Data panel using the appropriate effective date and must also fax a copy of the military orders to OSC (Attn: Chris Nolette) at (518) 474-2601. The cover sheet should identify the agency contact person, phone number, and if available, e-mail address. Note: The orders must state that the activation is related to the events of September 11, 2001.
• After the military orders are received, OSC will contact the Division of Military and Naval Affairs to obtain the military rate of pay that was in effect on the first date of activation and will calculate the amount of the military stipend, if any.
• If the employee is not due a military stipend (military salary exceeds State salary), no further action is required.
• If the employee is due a military stipend (State salary exceeds military salary), OSC will perform the following actions:
  1. OSC will update the position attributes on the Position Management panels to change the employee's pay basis code to BIW (biweekly) and the earn program to MST, using the same effective date as the LOA/MLS action.
  2. The employee's Job Data panel will automatically be updated to reflect the change in position attributes using the Action of POSN CHG and Reason of MLS. The effective date will be the same as the LOA/MLS action.
  3. To change the employee's pay status from leave without pay to leave with pay, OSC will insert a row on the employee's Job Data panel using the Action of Paid LOA and Reason of MLS using the same effective date.
  4. OSC will insert the biweekly rate of the military stipend in the Comp Rate field on the Paid LOA row. The system will automatically pro-rate the earnings based on the effective date of the Paid LOA/MLS action. Refer below to Retroactive Military Stipend Payments when the effective date of the Paid LOA action is retroactive.
  5. OSC will advise the agency of the biweekly stipend amount and any additional information via e-mail or an Auditor Correction Report.

Retroactive Military Stipend Payments

When the agency submits the military orders to OSC and reports the LOA action on the Job Data record, OSC will make every effort to pay the employee timely to ensure the employee's pay status remains uninterrupted.

However, if an employee does have a break in pay status (e.g.: timing issue or the agency removing the employee from the payroll and not submitting military orders to OSC), the system will not automatically pay the retroactive stipend for the previous period when the employee was not paid on the payroll.

A new earn code, MSP (Military Stipend Payment), has been created to pay the retroactive stipend due. OSC will enter the earn code MSP in the Time Entry panel and complete the following fields:

• Earnings Begin Date
• Earnings End Date
• # of Days
• Amount

Agency and OSC Procedures for Processing a Return from Leave Action

The following procedures are required when an employee must be reinstated to full pay status:

If the employee's current status on the Job Data 1 panel is "Leave of Absence":

• The agency must select the Action of Return-Lv on the employee's Job Data panel and use the Reason of RLV (Rein Leave).
• If necessary, the agency must request a Pay Rt Chg on the Job Action Request panel effective the date of reinstatement using the appropriate Reason code.
• The agency must restart the appropriate earnings on the Additional Pay panel, if applicable, using the appropriate Earnings Code.

If the employee's current status on the Job Data 1 panel is "Paid Leave of Absence":

• The agency must notify Chris Nolette, via e-mail or the Position Data form, to update the employee's position to reflect the appropriate pay basis code and earn program effective the date of the reinstatement.
• OSC will update the position and the employee's Job Data panel to reflect the change in the position attributes using the Action of POSN CHG and the Reason of RLV (Rein Leave).
• After OSC updates the employee's position and Job Data record to reflect the change in pay basis code and earn program, the agency must select the Action of Return-Lv on the employee's Job Data panel and use the Reason of RLV (Rein Leave).
• The agency must request a Pay Rt Chg on the Job Action Request panel effective the same date as the reinstatement action, using the appropriate Reason code.
• The agency must restart the appropriate earnings on the Additional Pay panel, if applicable, using the appropriate Earnings Code.

Deductions

If the employee is receiving a stipend, all payroll deductions in effect prior to the Military Stipend will be deducted, except Health Insurance, if there is sufficient gross salary.

The Department of Civil Service will automatically stop Health Insurance deductions based on transactions reported from Agency Health Benefit Administrators. The Employee Benefits Division of the Department of Civil Service has issued instructions to State Agency Health Benefit Administrators for reporting of military leave transactions and continued health insurance coverage for employees impacted by the events of September 11, 2001.

Questions

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