Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2024 PEF Salary Increase and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees:

Employees in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Unit – BU05 who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Chapter 190 of the Laws of 2023, which implemented the 2023-2026 Agreement between the State of New York and PEF, provides for a salary increase of three percent (3.00%) for fiscal year 2024-2025 and includes the April 1, 2024 PEF Salary Schedule.

Effective Dates:

The April 2024 PEF Salary Increase will be paid using the following effective dates and check dates:

Eligibility Criteria:

The following employees are eligible to receive the April 2024 PEF Salary Increase:

• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P or CAL who are in a traineeship (Grade 800)
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P or CAL who are in an NS position (Grade 600)
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P or CAL who are in an NS position (Grade 600) which is equated to a grade (Grade 001-038)
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P or CAL who are in a graded position (Grade 001-038)
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of HRY (Grade 600 or 800)

Employees with a Comp Rate Code of FEE are not eligible for the salary increase unless the employee is budgeted as per diem but is paid using FEE.

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing:     

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use on 03/28/2024 (Administration) and 04/04/2024 (Institution). This will give agencies time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases. The report will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases based on information available as of the date the report is produced. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record will not be updated:

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE – If the employee’s Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 600 and a value exists in both the Equated to Grade field and the Approved Salary Rate field.
• Position and Job Do Not Match - If the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal.
• Increment Code Missing – If the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 001-037 or 600 with a value of 001-037 in the Equated to Grade field, and the Comp Rate Code is ANN, CAL or 21P and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is blank or ‘0000.’
• Increment Code Invalid – If the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 001-037 or 600 with a value of 001-037 in the Equated to Grade field, and the Comp Rate Code is ANN, CAL or 21P and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 0001, 0003, 0004, 1001, 1003, 1004, 2222, 7777, 19XX, 20XX, or XX10.
• Increment Code Requires Manual Calculation – If the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2222.
• Sal Below Hiring Rate – If the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 001-037 or 600 with a value of 001-037 in the Equated to Grade field, and the Comp Rate Code is ANN, CAL or 21P and the employee’s salary on any of the Job Data rows being evaluated is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule.

If an employee appears on this report but is due a salary increase, the agency must take the following action:

• Submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s). If the row(s) is corrected prior to Administration Pay Period 1L or Institution Pay Period 1L, the automatic salary increase will be processed.
• Submit a Position Change Request to the Position Management Unit if the position information is incorrect on the Position Data page in PayServ but is correct in NYSTEP. The position will be updated to reflect the change and the automatic salary increase will be processed provided the agency’s position request contains the same information as the position information in NYSTEP.

OSC Actions:

OSC will process the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases for the following employees:

• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria and has a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave (Action/Reason Code of Leave of Absence/WCL, WDL or WPS) on the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase) using the following effective dates:
  • 2024 3% Increase: Effective 03/28/2024 (Administration) or 04/04/2024 (Institution)
• If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has a Payroll Status of Terminated, Retired, or Leave of Absence (not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date and returns to Active status in an eligible position, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using:
  • Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) if the Comp Rate Code is ANN, 21P, or CAL
  • Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) if the Comp Rate Code is HRY. 

The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action.

• If the employee is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position after the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using:
  • Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) if the Comp Rate Code is ANN, 21P or CAL 
  • Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) if the Comp Rate Code is HRY. 

The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Hire, Position Change or Transfer action.

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using:
  • Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) if the Comp Rate Code is HRY for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position.
  • Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) if the Comp Rate Code is ANN, 21P or CAL or

Calculating the New Compensation Rate

The salary on each inserted row will be calculated as follows:

2024 3% Increase Processing

• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of HRY and a Grade equal to 600 or 800, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest cent.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P, or CAL and a Grade equal to 038, 600 (not equated to a grade) or 800, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P, or CAL and a Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 038, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P or CAL, a Grade equal to 001-037, an increment code other than 2222, and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule.
• If the employee has a Comp Rate Code of ANN, 21P or CAL, a Grade equal to 001-037 and an increment code other than 2222 and the salary is not equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will process as follows:
  • If the salary is less than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar. If the resulting salary is greater than the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule, OSC will reduce the salary to the Job Rate.
  • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 3.00% rounded to the nearest dollar OR increase the salary to the Job Rate based on the 04/01/2024 Salary Schedule, whichever is greater.

Exceptions

Employees in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) will not be processed automatically.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing:

The following Control-D reports will be available for agency review after the automatic increases have been processed.  All reports will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Salary Increase Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic April 2024 PEF Salary Increases and includes all employees’ salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive the automatic April 2024 Salary Increases. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated: 

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE
• Position and Job Do Not Match 
• Increment Code Missing 
• Increment Code Invalid 
• Inc Code Req Review 
• Sal Below Hiring Rate 

See Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing for an explanation of these messages.

Agency Actions- In Administration or Institution Pay Period 1L:

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Administration or Institution Pay Period 1L:

• For pay changes, positions changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or after 03/28/2024 (Administration) or 04/04/2024 (Institution):
  • The agency must not include the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The salary must be calculated using the 04/01/2023 Salary Schedule.

Institution Agencies Only

New Hire transactions submitted in Institution Pay Period 1L must use the Hiring Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date from the 04/01/2023 PEF Salary Schedule. The 04/01/2024 PEF Salary Schedules are loaded in PayServ as part of processing for the Administration cycle, and the agency will receive the automatic validation salary warning message, “Requested salary rate must be at the hiring rate when Action of PAY and Reason of NEW is used”. Please ignore this warning message.

Agency Actions – Beginning in Administration or Institution Pay Period 2L:

Composite Positions

Beginning Administration or Institution Pay Period 2L, agencies must review employees in composite positions (identified by Increment Code 2222) and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason Code (see below) to pay salary increase.  Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page. 

Employees Who Receive an Increased Hiring Rate Effective On or After Payment Effective Date

Employees who receive an Increased Hiring Rate effective on or after the payment effective date (03/28/2024 (Administration) or 04/04/2024 (Institution)) may not be entitled to have the increase applied to their entire salary. OSC will manually update salaries after the automatic increase is applied.  If any additional corrections are needed, agencies must submit transactions as soon as possible to avoid an overpayment to the employee.

Employees Who Appeared on the NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report 

Employees who appeared on the NHRP709 Mass Salary Increase Exception Report, made available after processing, did not automatically receive the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases. Agencies must submit appropriate transactions to correct employee’s record and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using appropriate Reason Code to pay the salary increase beginning in Administration or Institution Pay Period 2L. 

Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason Code(s) must be used to pay the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases to eligible employees not processed automatically:

• Reason Code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) – For transactions effective:
  • 2024 Increase –effective on 03/28/2024 (Administration) or 04/04/2024 (Institution)
• Reason Code CSL (Cor Sal) for ANN, 21P or CAL Comp Rate or CRT (Chg Rate) for HRY Comp Rate – For transactions effective other than the effective dates of salary increase:
  • 2024 Increase –effective after  03/28/2024 (Administration) or 04/04/2024 (Institution)

Geographic Pay Differential (GEO) and/or Occupational Pay Differential (OPD):

Agencies must review employees receiving GEO and/or OPD to determine if employees’ GEO and/or OPD pay needs to be updated as a result of the April 2024 PEF Salary Increases.  Agencies must insert a new row on the Additional Pay page using the appropriate effective date (as listed in Effective Dates above) and the new GEO and/or OPD amount. 

Questions:

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

Questions regarding position change requests may be directed to the Position Management mailbox.