Purpose

To explain OSC’s automatic processing of payments.

Affected Employees

Arbitration-eligible Department of Corrections employees represented by NYSCOPBA (BU01) in the following titles:

• Correction Officer
• Correction Officer Spanish Language
• Correction Officer Trainee*
• Correction Officer Trainee Spanish Language*
• Correction Sergeant
• Community Correctional Center Assistant
• Institution Safety Officer

*Correction Officer Trainees who are in Department 10410 are not eligible for this Cash Advance Payment

Background

Pursuant to Chapter 113 of the Laws of 2006 which implements the Arbitration Award between New York State and the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association (NYSCOPBA) and provides for salary increases and other payments for those employees covered by the award.

Due to the complexity of processing the General Salary Increases and the length of time required to program their implementation, OSC will provide a one-time Cash Advance Payment to employees eligible to receive the retroactive increases. When the General Salary Increases are actually processed and paid, the advance amount will be deducted from the retroactive earnings generated.

Effective Date(s)

The Cash Advance Payment (CAP) will be processed in Pay Period 10L, paychecks dated 8/31/06 (Institution) and 9/6/06 (Administration)

Cash Advance Payment Eligibility and Payment Amounts

OSC has provided for a Cash Advance Payment (CAP) for employees affected by the arbitration award.

Correction Officer Trainees, Correction Officer Trainees Spanish Language, Correction Officers, Correction Officers Spanish Language, Correction Sergeants and Community Correctional Center Assistants

For eligible employees in the titles of Correction Officer Trainee, Correction Officer Trainee Spanish Language, Correction Officer, Correction Officers Spanish Language, Correction Sergeant and Community Correctional Center Assistant, the maximum Cash Advance Payment amount is $7,500.

Employees in these titles who were on the payroll full-time in BU01 from 3/27/03 through 6/28/06 (Administration) or 4/3/03 through 7/5/06 (Institution) with no break in service and remained in one of these titles will be eligible for $7,500. Employees not Active for the entire period are eligible for $88.20 for each full pay period and $8.82 per day for partial pay periods. Time served as a Correction Officer Trainee in Department 10410 during the eligibility period does not count toward the total number of eligible pay periods. Employees on paid Leave with a part-time percentage will receive a prorated amount based on the percentage.

Institution Safety Officers

For eligible employees in the title of Institutional Safety Officer (grade 109), the maximum Cash Advance Payment amount is $5,000.

Institution Safety Officers who were on the payroll full-time in BU01 from 3/27/03 through 6/28/06 (Administration) or 4/3/03 through 7/5/06 (Institution) with no break in service will be eligible for $5,000. Employees not Active for the entire period are eligible for $58.90 for each full pay period and $5.89 per day for partial pay periods. Employees on paid Leave with a part-time percentage will receive a prorated amount based on the percentage.

OSC Actions in Pay Period 10L

In Pay Period 10L, OSC will automatically process the Cash Advance Payment (CAP) as follows:

Correction Officer Trainees, Correction Officer Trainees Spanish Language, Correction Officers, Correction Officers Spanish Language, Correction Sergeants and Community Correctional Center Assistants

OSC will insert a row in Time Entry using the Earn Code CAP and insert the amount of $7,500 for those employees who were active from 3/27/03 through 6/28/06 (Administration) or 4/3/03 through 7/5/06 (Institution). For employees not Active for the entire time period, OSC will insert an amount equal to $88.20 for each full pay period and prorate partial pay periods at $ 8.82 per day. The Begin and End Dates in Time Entry will be the last date the employee was eligible for the payment.

Institution Safety Officers

OSC will insert a row in Time Entry using the Earn Code CAP and insert the amount of $5,000 for those employees who were Active from 3/27/03 through 6/28/06 (Administration) or 4/3/03 through 7/5/06 (Institution). For employees not Active for the entire time period, OSC will insert an amount equal to $58.90 for each full pay period and prorate partial pay periods at $5.89 per day. The Begin and End dates in Time Entry will be the last date the employee was eligible for the payment.

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:

Employees whose current employee status in PayServ is Terminated, Retired, or on a leave with or without pay who have since died should have the employee status changed to Deceased by entering a transaction in PayServ using Terminate/Deceased (DEC) with the date of death. Any paycheck issued to a deceased employee on record will then be correctly taxed with any applicable Federal or State taxes.

Undeliverable Checks

Inactive employees may be eligible for a payment as a result of the salary adjustment. 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 retroactive advance payment.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earn Code CAP and the payment amount will be displayed on the payroll register.

The earnings description, Cash Advance Payment, and amount will appear on the employees’ paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Control-D Report

The Time Entry Payment Report (NPAY771) will be available following processing of the automatic payment in the Time Entry page. This report will be available on 8/18/06 for Institution agencies and 8/25/06 for Administration agencies.

Fields on the report include EmplID, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Earn Code, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Amount, Number of Payments Processed and Total Payment Amount.

Questions

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