Purpose

To provide agency procedures to process Longevity Payments and adjustments for overtime payments.

Affected Employees

Certain seasonal hourly employees in the Department of Environmental Conservation (09180) and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (49xxx) who meet the eligibility criteria and are in Bargaining Units 02, 03, and 04 represented by CSEA

Background

Chapter 10 of the Laws of 2008 provide for retroactive and current $500.00 Longevity Payments for long-term seasonal employees who meet the eligibility criteria stated below.  The Longevity Payments are effective the first pay period of the fiscal year. If the employee is not Active in the first pay period of the fiscal year, the Longevity Payment is effective upon the employee’s return to the payroll, provided the employee returns within the fiscal year.

Effective Date(s)

April 2007 payments may be submitted in Pay Period 26, paychecks dated 4/16/08 Administration Extra Lag (49xxx) and 4/24/08 Institution Extra Lag (09180)

April 2008 payments may be submitted in Pay Period 1, paychecks dated 4/30/08 Administration Extra Lag (49xxx) and 5/8/08 Institution Extra Lag (09180)

Contract Provisions and Eligibility Criteria

2007 Seasonal Longevity Payments

Employees who were Active in Pay Period 1 of Fiscal Year 2007-08 in a CSEA (BU 02, 03, 04) seasonal hourly position in Agency 49xxx or 09180 and had at least 1500 hours in pay status as a seasonal employee in each of the previous five (5) calendar years in either of these agencies are eligible for a retroactive $500.00 Longevity Payment.

For seasonal employees who were not Active in Pay Period 1 but became Active in a seasonal hourly position after Pay Period 1 and before 3/31/08 and otherwise met the eligibility criteria stated above, the payment is effective the date of the return to the payroll.

2008 Seasonal Longevity Payments

Employees who are Active in Pay Period 1 of Fiscal Year 2008-09 in a CSEA (BU 02, 03, 04) seasonal hourly position in Agency 49xxx or 09180 and had at least 1500 hours in pay status as a seasonal employee in each of the previous five (5) calendar years in either of these agencies are eligible for a $500.00 Longevity Payment.

For seasonal employees who are not Active in Pay Period 1 but become Active in a seasonal hourly position after Pay Period 1 and before 3/31/09 and otherwise meet the eligibility criteria stated above, the payment is effective the date of the return to the payroll.

Agency Actions - Pay Period 26

2007 Seasonal Longevity Payments

Agencies may submit the 2007 Longevity Payments for eligible employees and adjustments for overtime worked since the effective date of the payment in Pay Period 26.

The agency must use the following procedure when reporting the 2007 Longevity Payment of $500.00 on the Additional Pay page:

Agency Actions - Pay Period 1

2008 Seasonal Longevity Payments

Agencies may submit the 2008 Longevity Payments for eligible employees and adjustments for overtime worked since the effective date of the payment beginning in Pay Period 1.The agency must use the following procedure when reporting the 2008 Longevity Payment of $500.00 on the Additional Pay page:

* The End Date Field may be left blank because the system will not include the earnings in the overtime calculations for hourly employees. Agencies must use the procedure as stated in the section below to report any adjustments to overtime.

Agency Actions - Overtime Adjustments

Overtime Adjustments

The agency must use the following procedure when reporting the Earn Code LAO (Longevity Payment Adjustment) in the Time Entry page to adjust overtime payments for the period 4/5/07 through 4/2/08 and for any overtime adjustment due during the 2008 fiscal year for those employees receiving the 2008 Longevity Payment.

When this code is used, the system will determine the amount of the LAO by multiplying the number of hours reported by $.38.

If a seasonal employee has a position change or transfer into a non-seasonal position (e.g. Pay Basis Code is ANN) after the effective date of the LPS, the employee is no longer eligible for the Longevity Payment to be included in the calculation of overtime. However, no changes to the LPS Additional Pay page are required, since LPS is not included in the calculation of overtime for Annual employees (OTA).

Deduction Information

All general deductions for employees whose status is Terminated, Retired or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of the following:

Undeliverable Checks

Inactive employees may be eligible for a payment as a result of the adjustments.  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 Tax and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 456.

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).

For recipients of a previously deceased employee's payroll checks where a Next of Kin Affidavit and Report of Check Exchange forms have been submitted, OSC will accept a photocopy of these forms to process the exchange of the check.

Miscellaneous Payment Information

The payment is pensionable and must be used in the calculation of overtime worked within the fiscal year in which it became effective, provided the employee continues to remain in a seasonal position.

Payroll Register and Employee Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Codes LPS and LAO will appear on the payroll register.  The earnings code descriptions, Longevity Payment Seasonal and Longevity Adjustment Overtime, will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

Questions regarding salary may be directed to the Salary Determination mailbox.