State Agencies Bulletin No. 305

Subject
April 2002 PS&T Longevity Lump Sum Payment (LLS)
Date Issued
March 12, 2002

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the LLS and to provide instructions to agencies for payments not processed automatically

Affected Employees

Longevity-eligible employees in BU 05 with an increment code of 1976 –1997

Effective Date

Payment will be processed in a separate check dated April 18, 2002 (Institution) and April 24, 2002 (Administration). There will be no direct deposit for this payment.

Background

Chapter 74 of the Laws of 2000, which implements the negotiated agreement between the State and the Public Employees Federation (PEF), provides for a Longevity Lump Sum payment of $1,250 or $2,500.

Eligible PEF Employees

Employees in graded positions (Grades 001-037) and NS (Grade 600) positions which are equated to grade, are eligible for the payment if they:

  1. are on the payroll on March 31, 2002, (active or on leave with partial pay or on Workers’ Compensation leave) in a position in the PS&T Bargaining Unit and have 5 or more years or 10 or more years of continuous service at a salary equal to or above the job rate, or maximum of the grade of their position on March 31
  • And
  1. did not receive an “Unsatisfactory” rating during the rating period ending between January 1 and December 31, 2001. Employees who were not rated during the period will receive the payment.

Continuous service, as used in determining eligibility for the lump sum payment, is paid service (including part-time annual-salaried service and sick leave at half pay) or time on Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave without pay.

The following will become eligible for the LLS payment upon processing of Performance Advances in Period #1L, 2002:

An employee occupying a position that has been reallocated in recent years, whose salary was equal to or above the job rate of the lower grade, and whose salary, upon application of April 1, 2002 performance advance, reaches the job rate of the reallocated grade, is entitled to the job rate credit of the lower grade. Such an employee is increment code ‘0001' and OSC will automatically update the increment code to ‘2002'. Such an employee will not receive an automatic payment; therefore, the agency must submit a transaction in period 2L to make the payment and update the increment code. For instructions, see the section entitled “Payments to Employees Not Paid Automatically” below.

The following will become eligible for the LLS payment during 2002-2003:
  1. An employee who otherwise qualifies but who is on an approved leave of absence without pay or on a preferred list on March 31, 2002 and who returns from such leave between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2003, is eligible for the payment. There is no minimum service requirement following the employee’s return to active payroll status.
  1. Demotion after March 31, 2002 - An employee who is not eligible for the payment becomes eligible if he/she returns to a lower graded position between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2003, in which he/she would otherwise have been eligible, if he/she had been in the lower graded position on March 31, 2002 and remains in the lower graded position for at least 6 payroll periods.
  • And
  1. The promotion was temporary and the employee has been reinstated to his or her previous position or appointed to another lower graded qualifying position.

    Or
     
  2. The promotion was permanent, but the demotion occurred:
    1. in lieu of layoff;
    2. voluntarily during the probationary period; or,
    3. as a result of failure of a probationary period.

The agency should request the LLS after the completion of 6 full payroll periods in the lower grade.

An employee demoted as a result of a disciplinary action or who takes a voluntary demotion from a permanent position after the completion of a probationary period in the higher grade, is not eligiblefor a longevity payment in the lower grade.

Amount of Longevity Lump Sum Payment and Automatic Processing

The longevity payment is $1,250 for 5 years at the job rate and $2,500 for 10 years at job rate or a pro-rated amount, as described below:

  1. Employees who are full-time on March 31, 2002, full-time employees who are on leave with partial pay or Workers’ Compensation Leave, or employees on a Voluntary Reduction in Work Schedule (VRWS), receive the full payment.
  2. Employees who are part-time on March 31, 2002 receive a pro-rated payment based upon their part-time percentage on March 31.
  3. Part-time employees who are on leave with partial pay or Worker’s Compensation Leave on March 31, 2002 receive a pro-rated payment based upon their regular part-time percentage prior to the leave.

The LLS is a one-time, lump sum payment which is included as salary for retirement purposes and in the calculation of overtime compensation (refer to “OVERTIME COMPENSATION), Part III, Page 1 of the OSC Salary Manual). The 2002 longevity payment be included in the calculation of overtime earned from April 1, 2002 through March 31, 2003 for all agencies.

OSC will automatically insert a row on the Additional Pay Panel for eligible employees with the following:

Earnings Code: LLS
Effective Date: 04/01/2002
OT Effective Date: 04/01/2002
Annual Additional Earnings: Payment Amount
Earn End Date: 03/31/2003

Reveal Report and Preparation for Payment

Prior to the automatic processing, NPAY756, PS&T Longevity Eligibility Listing, will be available for agency review on March 12, 2002. This report is a preliminary listing of employees eligible for the LLS as of March 11, 2002.

Agencies should review this listing carefully, paying particular attention to employees who are ineligible due to an “Unsatisfactory” rating between January 1 and December 31, 2001.

Corrections to the preliminary listing should be submitted on the Correction Sheet (Duplicate this form if you need additional copies.) This form should be used to add employees who do not appear on the listing, to delete employees who should not appear on the listing, or to change incorrect information pertaining to an employee on the listing.

This form should also be used to add eligible employees in NS positions who are equated to grades. If the equated grade is not listed on the Budget Certificate, agencies must submit documentation of the salary equation along with the Correction Sheet.

Corrections should be submitted as soon as possible and must be received no later than March 27, 2002. Please fax corrections to the Salary Determination Unit, attention Mike Heroux, at (518) 474-2601.

After the automatic processing, NHRP703, Mass Additional Pay Report, will identify all employees receiving the automatic payment.

Deductions & Withholding Taxes

Deductions will be taken for Federal, State, New York City and Yonkers City taxes, Social Security/Medicare, retirement normal contributions, garnishees and Federal levies. There will be no special tax calculations. For employees receiving the payment who have an additional tax amount in their record, the additional tax will also be included in the tax calculation for this payment.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck

The earnings code LLS and the amount will be displayed on the payroll register. The earnings description PS&T Longevity LSP and the amount will be printed on the employee’s paycheck.

Payments to Employees Not Paid Automatically

To pay an employee after the automatic payment has been processed, use the Additional Pay Panel as follows:

Earnings Code: LLS
Effective Date: Enter eligibility date*
OT Effective Date: Same as effective date
Annual Additional Earnings: Payment Amount
Earn End Date: 03/31/2003

*If an Institution agency enters a transaction in period 2L for an employee who returned to the payroll on April 18,2002, the effective date should be 04182002. If an Administration agency enters a transaction in Period 2L for an employee who returned to the payroll on April 11, 2002, the date should be 04112002.

To Correct an Increment Code

If the employee did not receive an automatic LLS payment because the increment code was incorrect, the agency must, in additional to submitting the LLS earnings, request a Data Chg (DTA), Reason of Cor Inc Code (CIC) on the Job Action Request panel. The appropriate increment code must be entered in the increment code field.

Separate Check

This payment will be made in a separate check, regardless of when it is paid. There will be no direct deposit for this payment. The separate check will be issued along with the employee’s regular check or direct deposit for the check date submitted.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Salary Determination mailbox.