Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-143

Subject
December 2008 UCS Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments and 2008 Retroactive Adjustment
Date Issued
December 1, 2008

Purpose

To explain OSC’s automatic processing of Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments and Time Entry procedures.

Affected Employees

Eligible employees represented by Negotiating Units DR, F8, G9, S9, SR, SY, 86 and 87

Background

Uniform and Equipment Allowance Payments to eligible employees are authorized under Chapter 276 of the Laws of 2008 that implement agreements between the State of New York and various negotiating units in the Unified Court System.

Employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8, G9, S9, SR, SY, and 87 who received a June or July 2008 payment are eligible for an adjustment due to the retroactive increase in the amounts paid at that time.

Effective Dates

Adjustments to June 2008 Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8, G9, S9, SR, SY and 87 will be made in a separate check dated December 24, 2008.

Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8, S9, SR, SY and 87 will be made in a separate check dated December 24, 2008.

The Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate check dated December 24, 2008.

The Uniform Allowance Payment for unrepresented employees (Negotiating Unit 86) and employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate check dated January 21, 2009.

Eligibility

Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for Negotiating Units DR, F8, S9, SR, SY and 87 and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for Negotiating Unit G9

Employees must be in an eligible title on November 30, 2008 and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS).

Uniform Allowance Payments for Negotiating Units G9 and 86

Employees must be in an eligible title on December 31, 2008 and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS).

Agencies should refer to Teri Collins’ revised memo dated November 28, 2008 for a list of eligible titles and payment amounts.

Eligible employees on an approved Leave Without Pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the payment upon return from leave, provided the return to the payroll is prior to May 31, 2009.

Eligible employees on Workers' Compensation Leave, paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend or Military Training Stipend may be paid immediately.

Part-time employees are eligible for the full Uniform Allowance or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment and no prorated amount will be applied.

OSC Actions

On December 12, 2008, OSC will automatically add the Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments (Earn Code UA5) in the Time Entry page for all employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who were Active or on Paid Leave of Absence on November 30, 2008. The payment amounts will be $627.50 for Negotiating Units SR and SY, and $437.50 for Negotiating Unit S9. The Earnings Begin and End Dates will be November 30, 2008. OSC will notify OCA when the automatic processing is completed.

Employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who are on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS) on November 30, 2008 will not receive an automatic payment.

OSC Actions for Retroactive Adjustment

On December 12, 2008, OSC will automatically add a Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Adjustment Payment using Earn Code UA5, and the original payment Begin and End dates,in the Time Entry page for all employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8, G9, S9, SR, SY and 87 who received a June 2008 Uniform Allowance. 

BU UA5 Paid in June or July Uniform or Blazer Increase ADJ to be paid
87, DR, F8, SR, SY $615.00 $627.50 $12.50
DR, F8 $499.00 $512.00 $13.00
87, DR, F8, G9, S9 $425.00 $437.50 $12.50

Agency Actions

Agencies are responsible for deleting the payment (Earn Code UA5) from the Time Entry page in Pay Period 18L for employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who are ineligible to receive the payment.

In Pay Period 18L, agencies are responsible for submitting the Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for eligible employees in Negotiating Unit G9 and the Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for eligible employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8 and 87 and for those employees in Negotiating Units SR, SY and S9 who were not processed automatically, including those on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) and employees on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS), using the procedure stated below:

Earnings Begin Date: 11/30/08
  • For all Uniform Allowances Payments
  • For those employees eligible to be paid the December Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment
(If employee is on a Leave Without Pay on the eligibility date, enter the Return From Leave Date.)
Earnings End Date: Enter the same date as the Earnings Begin Date
Earn Code: Enter UA5
Amount: Enter applicable amount

In Pay Period 20L, agencies are responsible for submitting the Uniform Allowance Payment for eligible employees in Negotiating Unit G9 and unrepresented employees in Negotiating Unit 86 using the procedure stated below:

Earnings Begin Date: 12/31/08 (If employee is on a Leave Without Pay on the eligibility date, enter the Return From Leave date.)
Earnings End Date: Enter the same date as the Earnings Begin Date
Earn Code: Enter UA5
Amount: Enter applicable amount

Miscellaneous Payment Information

If an employee has an additional tax amount in the employee’s record, the additional tax will be deducted from both the regular and the separate checks.

The Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments are not prorated for part-time employees.

The Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments are not pensionable and are not included in the calculation of overtime.

There will be no direct deposit for these payments.

Control-D Report

Control-D report NPAY771 will be available after the automatic payment is loaded into the Time Entry page. The report contains the following data:

DeptID
EmplID
Empl Record
Name (Alpha order)
Earn Code
Grade BU
Percentage
Earns End Date
Amount
Number of Payments Processed
Total Payment Amount

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earn Code UA5 and the amount paid will be displayed on the payroll register. The Earn Code description “Uniform Allowance UCS” and the amount will appear on the paycheck stub.

Questions

Questions about processing transactions may be e-mailed to the Non-Executive Audit Mailbox.