State Agencies Bulletin No. 598

Subject
Eligibility and Processing of Overtime Meal Allowances for Executive Agencies
Date Issued
November 23, 2005

Purpose

To provide information about eligibility and Time Entry instructions for overtime meal allowances.

Affected Employees

Employees who are eligible for overtime meal allowances

Effective Date(s)

Immediately

Background

Various agreements between the State and NYS bargaining units and agreements for employees designated Management/Confidential provide for overtime meal allowances for employees who meet the eligibility criteria.

Criteria

The attachment contains eligibility criteria and appropriate Earn Codes by bargaining unit.

Note: Employees are not allowed an overtime meal allowance when in travel status or when the employer provides a meal while the employee is working in an overtime capacity.

General Eligibility Rules

The attachment lists overtime meal allowance rates, overtime status and payment conditions. These rules and requirements are general and should apply to most employees. Payments that may require exception to these rules and requirements must be approved by the Governor's Office of Employee Relations (GOER) and confirmed with OSC’s Bureau of State Payroll Services’ Earnings Section prior to submission.

Full-Time Employees
  • All overtime worked must be continuous with the employee's regularly scheduled work shift or be worked on other than a regular working day (pass day).
  • All overtime hours worked must be consecutive. For example: An employee’s regular workday/workweek schedule is 7 ½ hours per day, 37 ½ hours per week, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with one (1) hour for lunch each day. On a regular workday, the agency requires the employee to begin his/her workday at 7:00 a.m. and end the workday at 6:30 p.m. Therefore, the beginning of the employee’s workday was moved one (1) hour earlier to 7:00 a.m; the employee works 7 ½ hours, excluding one (1) hour for lunch, until 3:30 p.m., plus an additional three (3) hours until 6:30 p.m. for a total of 10 ½ hours. The additional hours are consecutive and continuous and the employee is eligible for one (1) meal allowance.
  • An overtime meal allowance is not payable on a holiday unless the employee's work on that holiday is in an overtime capacity.
  • An employee who leaves work at the end of the day and is then recalled to work an additional three (3) hours is not eligible for an overtime meal allowance because the hours are not continuous with the employee’s regularly scheduled work shift. Similarly, an employee who at the end of the regular workday has a meal break and then works three (3) additional hours of work is not eligible for an overtime meal allowance because the hours are not continuous with the employee’s regularly scheduled work shift.
Part-Time Employees
  • Part-time employees are eligible for an overtime meal allowance subject to the provision of the agreement covering these employees.
  • On a regularly scheduled work day, a part-time employee must work the same total hours (regular work day plus overtime) that would make a full-time employee eligible for an overtime meal allowance.
  • On other than a regularly scheduled work day (pass day), a part-time employee must work the same total hours that would make a full-time employee eligible for an overtime meal allowance.

Note: For employees who occupy positions in the Unified Court System or City University of New York, refer to the appropriate Negotiated Agreement for eligibility rules and payment amounts.

Agency Actions

The agency must use the following procedure to submit a Time Entry transaction:

Earnings Begin Date:Enter the date of the first OT allowance for which the employee will be paid.
Earnings End Date:Enter the date of the last OT allowance for which the employee will be paid.
Earn Code:Enter the appropriate Earn Code (see attachment).
Hours/Units:Enter the total number of OT Meal Allowances to be paid.

Note: If an OT Meal Allowance is not submitted within nine (9) pay periods from the date earned, use the General Comments page to explain the delay. OSC may require additional documentation.

Related Bulletins

This bulletin supersedes Bulletins P840 dated 3/15/95 and P881 dated 1/29/96.

Miscellaneous

The overtime meal payment is taxable but not pensionable and will be paid in the employee’s regular paycheck.

Paycheck/Advice

The appropriate Earn Code and corresponding Earn Code description will appear on the paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

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

Questions regarding interpretation of Negotiated Agreements should be directed to the appropriate GOER Contract Negotiation Unit.