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Payroll Manual

Pay Cycle and Pay Type Information

Pay Cycle Information

  • There are 2 pay cycles: Institution and Administration.
  • The employee’s pay cycle is determined by the agency in which the employee works and is defined in PayServ on the Department Table.
  • Each pay cycle is 2 weeks long, commencing on a Thursday and ending on a Wednesday, two weeks later.
  • The Administration cycle begins on the Thursday opposite the Institution cycle.
  • Administration checks are dated Wednesday; Institution checks are dated Thursday. Exception: If a holiday occurs on a check date, the check is dated on the day prior.

Pay Type Information

There are 3 Pay Types in PayServ as described below:

1. Current

  • This is the pay type that is used for agencies whose employees are paid on a current basis; that is, the employees receive a check at the end of a two week pay period, as defined by pay cycle (Administration or Institution) for days served in the two weeks immediately prior to the check date.
  • For example, if an employee is hired on the first day of an Administration pay cycle and is paid on a current basis, and the dates of the pay period are Thursday 4/10 through Wednesday 4/23, the employee will receive his/her first check on 4/23 for service performed 4/10-4/23.
  • The following are examples of employees paid on a current basis: Elected officials (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Members of the NYS Senate and NYS Assembly, NYS Judges) and employees who work within the City University of New York other than those on the Executive Pay Plan (i.e. 70XX9 payroll departments).

2. Lag

  • This is the pay type that is used for agencies whose employees are paid on a lag basis; that is, the employees receive a check at the end of a pay period, as defined by pay cycle (Administration or Institution) for service performed in the 2 week pay period that began 4 weeks earlier than the check date and ended 2 weeks earlier than the check date.
  • For example, if an employee is hired on the first day of an Administration pay cycle and is paid on a lag basis, and the dates of the employee’s first pay period are Thursday, 4/10 through Wednesday, 4/23, the employee will not receive a check on 4/23. Rather, the employee will have to wait another 2 weeks to receive his/her first check. Therefore, the employee will receive his/her first check on 5/7 for service performed 4/10-4/23, since the employee will be paid on a 2 week lag basis. Likewise, if an employee that is paid on a lag basis is terminated on the last day of a pay period, the employee will receive his/her final check 2 weeks after the termination date for service performed in the 2 weeks immediately prior to the termination date.

3. Administrative and/or Institution Extra Lag

  • This is the pay type that is used for agencies whose hourly employees are paid on an extra lag basis; that is, unlike the 2 week lag described above, the employees are paid on a 3 week lag.
  • Employees on an Extra Lag payroll are paid on the check dates of the opposite pay cycle. For example, an Extra Lag employee that works on the Administration pay cycle dates of 4/14-4/27/11 would be paid on the Institution check date of 5/19/11.