State Agencies Bulletin No. 1571

Subject
Management/Confidential (M/C) Third 2% Parity Increase, Effective April 2017
Date Issued
May 15, 2017

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase and provide instructions for increases not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Employees designated management or confidential in the following bargaining units who meet the eligibility criteria:

Management Confidential BU06
Division of State Police BU18
Division of Military and Naval Affairs BU46
Public Employment Relations Board BU66
Legislative Commissions BU79
Temporary State Commissions BU98

Background

Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2015 and Chapter 8 of the Laws of 2017 provide for a salary increase of two percent (2.00%) for 2017.

The Division of the Budget Bulletin D-1135 issued April 12, 2017 provides additional guidelines regarding the implementation of the payment.

Effective Date(s)

The April 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase will be paid using the following effective dates and check dates:

Cycle Effective Date Check Date
Institution Lag 03/30/2017 06/08/2017
Administration Extra Lag 03/30/2017 06/14/2017
Administration Lag 04/06/2017 06/14/2017
Institution Extra Lag 04/06/2017 06/08/2017

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees are eligible to receive the April 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase:

  • Employees with a Pay Basis Code of HRY (Grade 600 or 800)
  • Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in a traineeship (Grade 800)
  • Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 600)
  • Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in an NS position (Grade 600) which is equated to a grade (Grade 603-668)
  • Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN who are in a graded position (Grade 603-668)
  • Employees with a Pay Basis Code of CAL who are in a Grade 700 position with Job Code 007979 (Supt Corr Fac)

Per Budget Bulletin D-1135, employees whose position is Exempt or Pending Exempt (Jurisdictional Class 2 or 7) who were appointed or received a salary increase other than a parity payment or prior general salary increase effective on or after the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) via the BDA process or a NS Salary Plan approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB) and whose basic annual salary is at or above $100,000/year will not automatically receive the April 2017 MC 2% Parity increase and require additional authorization by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in order to receive the increase. OSC will provide the DOB with a list of employees who will not automatically receive this payment based on the criteria associated with exempt or pending exempt positions. DOB will review the employee records to determine if an employee is eligible and will notify OSC of those employees who should receive the April 2017 M/C 2% Parity Salary Increase.

In addition, per guidance from DOB, employees whose position is NS (grade 600) or grade 668 in any jurisdictional class, who were appointed or received a salary increase other than a parity payment or prior general salary increase effective on or after the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) via the BDA process or a NS Salary Plan approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB) will not automatically receive the April 2017 M/C 2% Parity Salary Increase and require additional authorization by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in order to receive the increase.

An otherwise eligible employee who is on Leave of Absence (not related to Workers Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) will receive payment upon their return to the payroll.

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

Please note, certain employees may not be eligible to receive the increase or may only receive a partial increase as indicated below.

Employees Not Eligible for 2% Parity Increase:

M/C officers or employees who were promoted or appointed to positions in M/C from positions represented by one of the State’s public employee unions effective March 26, 2009 or later and whose salary, immediately prior to April 1, 2017 is at or above the job rate of their salary grade or equated salary grade on the April 1, 2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase are not eligible to receive the 2% Parity Increase.

Employees Eligible for Partial Parity Increase:

M/C officers or employees who were promoted or appointed to positions in M/C from positions represented by one of the State’s public employee unions effective March 26, 2009 or later are prohibited from receiving any portion of the increase which causes such officer’s or employee’s salary to exceed the job rate of the M/C salary grade or equated grade on the April 1, 2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase. Such employees may only receive a partial increase capped at the job rate of their salary grade or equated grade on the April 1, 2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase.

Note: Exceptions to the above may apply if it is determined an employee’s salary does not reflect the effect of the general salary increases paid to employees represented by one of the State’s public employee unions effective April 1, 2009 or April 1, 2010. Refer to Agency Actions Beginning in Institution Pay Period and or Administration Pay Period 5L for instructions.

Control-D Report and Listing of Employees Requiring Review Prior to Processing

The following Control-D report will be made available for agency use on 05/11/2017 (Institution) and 05/18/17 (Administration).

The report is 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 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase based on information available as of the date the report was produced. The report does not include employees who will not automatically receive the increase for the following reasons:

  • The employee occupied a position that is NS (grade 600) or grade 668 in any jurisdictional class, who were appointed or received a salary increase other than a parity payment or prior general salary increase effective on or after the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) using Reason Code BDA, SIC, or PAV.
  • Employees who will not receive the Parity Increase due to salary requirements explained under the Eligibility Criteria section will not be included on this report. These employees will be included on the list provided to agencies prior to automatic processing as mentioned below.

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 603-667 or 600 with a value of 603-667 in the Equated to Grade field, the Salary Administration Plan is MAC, the Pay Basis Code is ANN 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 603-667 or 600 with a value of 603-667 in the Equated to Grade field, the Salary Administration Plan is MAC, the Pay Basis Code is ANN and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 0001, 0003, 0004, 0069, 2222, 7777, 19XX, 20XX
  • 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 603-667 or 600 with a value of 603-668 in the Equated to Grade field, the Salary Administration Plan is MAC, the Pay Basis Code is ANN 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 04/01/2016 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 or as part of payment processing in Institution or Administration Pay Period 4L, 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.

Employees who appear on the report but whose record was not corrected prior to automatic processing will not automatically receive the April 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase. Agencies should submit the appropriate transactions to correct the employee’s record and to pay the increase in Institution or Administration Pay Period 5L.

Per Budget Bulletin D-1135, employees whose position is Exempt or Pending Exempt (Jurisdictional Class 2 or 7) who were appointed or received a salary increase other than a parity payment or prior general salary increase effective on or after the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) via the BDA process or a NS Salary Plan approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB) and whose basic annual salary is at or above $100,000/year will not automatically receive the retroactive 2% increase and require additional authorization by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in order to receive the increase.

In addition, per guidance from DOB, employees whose position is NS (grade 600) or grade 668 in any jurisdictional class, who were appointed or received a salary increase other than a parity payment or prior general salary increase effective on or after the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) via the BDA process or a NS Salary Plan approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB) will not automatically receive the 2017 M/C 2% Parity Salary Increase and require additional authorization by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in order to receive the increase.

OSC will provide the Division of the Budget with a list of employees who will not automatically receive this payment based on the criteria described above.

DOB will review the employee records to determine if an employee is eligible and will notify OSC of those employees who should receive the M/C April 2017 Parity Salary Increase.

OSC will provide agencies with a list of these employees who have not been approved by DOB after Pay Period 4L is processed. 

Notification Requirement for Employees Ineligible to Receive the Parity Increase Due to a Salary Above Job Rate

OSC will provide agencies with a list of employees who are not eligible to receive the Parity Increase or who will receive a Partial Parity Increase so that they may inform the affected employees as instructed in Budget Bulletin D-1135. Lists will be emailed to the agencies the week of 05/15/17.

Agency Actions - Administration or Institution Pay Period 4L

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Institution or Administration Pay Period 4L:

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or before03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration):

  • The agency must not include the April 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field. The 04/01/2016 M/C Salary Schedule must be used to calculate the salary.

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date after 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration):

  • The agency must not include the April 2017 M/C Salary Increase in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field but must include the April 2017 M/C Performance Advance from the 04/01/2016 Salary Schedule, if applicable.
  • The agency must report the projected increment code based on the employee’s next performance advance cycle in the Incr. Code field.
For Administration Agencies Only

New Hire transactions submitted in Administration Pay Period 4L must use the Hiring Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date from the 04/01/2016 M/C Salary Schedule. Since the 04/01/2017 MC Parity Salary rates are loaded in PayServ as part of processing for the Institution cycle, 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.

OSC Actions

OSC will process the April 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase as follows:

  • 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, WPS or WSP) on the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
  • If the employee meets the eligibility criteria but has a Payroll Status of Terminated, Retired or Leave of Absence (not related to Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date and returns to Active status in an eligible position after the payment effective date but prior to payment processing in Institution or Administration Pay Period 4L, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Pay Basis Code is ANN or the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Change Rate) if the Pay Basis 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 in Institution or Administration Pay Period 1L but after 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/CSL (Correct Salary) if the Pay Basis Code is ANN or the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Change Rate) if the Pay Basis 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 the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary if the Pay Basis Code is ANN or the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Change Rate) if the Pay Basis Code is HRY for all subsequent rows provided the employee continues to meet the eligibility criteria.
Exceptions to Eligibility

Employees whose salary exceeds the job rate of their grade or NS equated grade may not be eligible for the Parity Increase or may be eligible for a partial Parity Increase as explained above. Please refer to OSC Actions –Reason Code PJR for information on special processing.

Exceptions to Automatic Processing

Employees Requiring Additional Authorization by DOB
Per DOB Bulletin D-1135, an employee in an Exempt or Pending Exempt position (NS (Grade 600) or grade 668 with jurisdictional class 2 or 7) whose salary is derived from a Budget Director Approval (BDA) and who received an increase in salary other than from a parity increase or prior general salary increase effective on or after 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration) and whose salary is at or above $100,000/year will not be processed automatically and will require additional authorization in order to receive the retroactive increase.

In addition, per guidance from DOB, employees whose position is NS (grade 600) or grade 668 in any jurisdictional class, who were appointed or received a salary increase other than a parity payment or prior general salary increase effective on or after the payment effective date 03/30/17 (Institution) or 04/06/17 (Administration) via the BDA process or a NS Salary Plan approved by the Division of the Budget (DOB) will not automatically receive the 2017 M/C 2% Parity Salary Increase and require additional authorization by the Division of the Budget (DOB) in order to receive the increase.

  • OSC will process payment for employees described above if authorization is received from DOB no later than pay period 4L (05/24/17 Institution and 05/31/17 Administration). Agencies must submit the transactions through Job Action Request to process payment manually for employees for whom authorization is received pay period 5L or later.

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

OSC Actions - Reason Code PJR

Certain employees whose salaries exceed job rate require special processing. OSC created Reason Code PJR (Parity Job Rate) to identify employees who did not receive the April 2017 M/C 2% Parity Increase or received a partial Parity Increase. Action/Reason code Data Change/PJR or Pay Rate Change/PJR will be inserted to update the records of affected employees as described below.

  • 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, WPS or WSP) on the payment effective date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration) using the Action/Reason code of:
    • Data Change/PJR – For employees not eligible for Parity Increase because their salary prior to processing exceeds the job rate of their grade or NS equated grade on the April 1, 2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase.
    • Pay Rate Change/PJR – For employees only eligible for a Partial Parity Increase because their salary prior to processing exceeds the job rate of their grade or NS equated grade on the April 1, 2016 M/C Salary Schedule but is less than the job rate of the April 1, 2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase.
  • If an employee in the preceding situation meets the eligibility criteria but has a Payroll Status of Terminated, Retired or Leave of Absence (not related to Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the payment effective date and returns to Active status in an eligible position after the payment effective date but prior to payment processing in Institution or Administration Pay Period 4L, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using Action/Reason code of Data Change/PJR or Pay Rate Change/PJR as described above. The row will be inserted using the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave action.
  • If an employee in either of the preceding situations is newly hired or transfers into an eligible position after the payment effective date but prior to payment processing in Institution or Administration Pay Period 4L, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Data Change/PJR or Pay Rate Change/PJR as described above. 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 the Action/Reason code of Data Change/PJR or Pay Rate Change/PJR for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position and the salary is subject to the limitations as explained above.

Employees for whom a Data Change/PJR or Pay Rate Change/PJR was inserted as explained above but who were in an eligible position effective 03/26/09 through current are eligible to receive the full Parity Increase. Therefore, a row with Action/Reason code Pay Rate Change/SAC or Pay Rate Change/CSL will also be inserted to increase the salary.

OSC Actions - Calculation of the Parity Increase

Calculating the New Compensation Rate

The increase to salary will be calculated as follows:

  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of HRY and a Grade equal to 600 or 800, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest cent.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of CAL, a Grade equal to 700 and a Job Code equal to –007979 (Supt Corr Fac), OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
  • OSC will automatically increase the salary of the following employees by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar not to exceed job rate, if applicable:
    • Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 668, 600 (not equated to a grade or with an equated grade equal to 668) or 800
    • Pay Basis Code of ANN and a Grade equal to 603-667 or Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 603-667 and whose salary is not equal to a salary step but is less than job rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2016 Salary Schedule or has Increment Code 0069
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 603-667 or Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 603-667 and an increment code other than 0069 and the salary is equal to a salary step of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2016 Salary Schedule, OSC will automatically increase the salary to the same salary step on the 04/01/2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase.
  • If the employee has a Pay Basis Code of ANN, a Grade equal to 603-667 or Grade equal to 600 with an equated grade equal to 603-667 and an increment code other than 0069 and the salary is not equal to a salary step and is above the job rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2016 Salary Schedule, OSC will process as follows:
    • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2016 Salary Schedule but less than the job rate of the 04/01/2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase and the employee occupied an eligible position at all times effective 3/26/09 through current the employee is eligible for the Parity Increase, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
    • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase and the employee occupied an eligible position at all times effective 3/26/09 through current the employee is eligible for the Parity Increase, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar.
    • If the salary is greater than the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the 04/01/2016 Salary Schedule but less than the job rate of the 04/01/2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase and the employee occupied an ineligible position at any time effective 3/26/09 through current the employee is eligible for a Partial Parity Increase, OSC will automatically increase the salary by applying 2.00% rounded to the nearest dollar not to exceed Job Rate of the grade on the 04/01/2016 MC Salary Schedule increased by the April 1, 2017 2% Parity Increase.
Employees Who Switch Cycles

Employees who are on the Institution cycle on the payment effective date but are on the Administration cycle on the processing date will have the Institution rows inserted when the program runs for the Institution cycle and the Administration rows inserted when the program runs for the Administration cycle. All retroactive adjustments will be paid in the Administration check dated 06/14/17.

Employees who are on the Administration cycle on the payment effective date but are on the Institution cycle on the processing date will have the Institution rows inserted when the program runs for the Institution cycle and the Administration rows inserted when the program runs for the Administration cycle.

Retroactive adjustments generated as a result of rows inserted for the Institution cycle will be paid in the Institution check dated 06/08/17. Retroactive adjustments generated as a result of rows inserted for the Administration cycle will be paid in the Institution check dated 06/22/17.

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 2017 M/C Parity Salary Increase and includes all employees’ salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

Exception: Employees who received a Partial Parity Increase will not be included on this report. These employees were included on the list provided to agencies as mentioned under Notification Requirement in the OSC Actions –Reason Code PJR section.

NHRP709 – Mass Salary Increase Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive an automatic April 2017 MC Parity Salary Increase. 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 Increment
  • Code Requires Manual Calculation
  • Sal Below Hiring

Exception: Employees who did not receive the Parity Increase due to salary requirements explained under the Eligibility Criteria section will not be included on this report. These employees were included on the list provided to agencies as mentioned under. Control-D Report and Listing of Employees Requiring Review Prior to Processing.

The following listing will be emailed to agency payroll officers after the automatic increase have been processed:

Listing of employees in NS positions (grade 600) or grade 668 who are ineligible for automatic processing due to the eligibility criteria stated above (see Eligibility Criteria) who were not approved by DOB in time for Pay Period 4L processing.

Agency Actions - Beginning in Institution or Administration Pay Period 5L

Employees Who Receive an Increased Hiring Rate in Institution or Administration Pay Period 5L

Employees who receive an Increased Hiring Rate on or after the payment effective date (03/30/17 Institution or 04/06/17 Administration) may not be entitled to have the increase applied to their entire salary. OSC will manually update the salaries after the automatic increase is applied. If any additional corrections are needed, agencies should submit transactions as soon as possible in order to avoid an overpayment to the employee.

Composite Positions

Beginning in Institution or Administration Pay Period 5L, 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 the salary increase. Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page.

Employees Requiring Additional Authorization

Agencies must submit transactions through Job Action Request to pay the increase to employees in NS (grade 600) or grade 668 positions who did not receive the automatic increase for reasons described above but for whom DOB authorized payment after automatic processing was complete in Pay Period 4L (Institution and Administration).

Employees Whose Salary Exceeds Job Rate on the 04/01/16 Salary Schedule and Who Were In a Position Represented by One of the State’s Public Employee Unions at any Time on or After 03/26/09

Agencies must review the records of certain employees included on the list provided by OSC prior to automatic payment processing who did not receive the Parity Increase or received a Partial Parity Increase. Agencies must work with the Division of the Budget to determine the employees eligible to receive the Parity Increase and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason code (see below) to pay the salary increase.

To Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason code(s) must be used to pay the Parity Increase to eligible employees not processed automatically:

  • Pay/Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) – for transactions effective on 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration)
  • Pay/Reason Code CSL (Correct Salary) – for transactions effective after 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration)
  • Pay/Reason Code PJR (Parity Job Rate) - for transactions effective on 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration)
  • Data Change/Reason Code PJR (Parity Job Rate) - for transactions effective on 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration)
Employees Receiving Occupational Differential Pay (OPD) or Geographic Pay (GEO)

For employees receiving OPD or GEO pay and whose salary exceeds job rate of their grade or equated grade, the amount of OPD or GEO must be reduced by the difference between the employee’s salary and the job rate for their grade.

Agencies must review employees who have OPD or GEO in effect on the Parity Increase payment effective date and who will receive a partial increase or no increase to salary to determine the appropriate amount of the Additional Pay due to the change in job rate and update the employee’s record.

To update the Additional Pay Page, agencies must submit a row with the appropriate Earn Code effective 03/30/2017 (Institution) or 04/06/2017 (Administration) and enter the new amount in the Annual Addl Earnings field.

Agency Actions - Retroactive Processing

Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes that are submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically. Therefore, beginning in Administration or Institution Pay Period XL, agencies must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as Extra Time Override (EXO) and Regular Salary Override (RGO).

Correcting an Automatic Retroactive Adjustment

When certain conditions exist in an employee’s record, the automatic retroactive adjustment may be incorrect. Therefore, the agency is responsible for identifying employees who meet the following conditions and, if necessary, submitting the necessary adjustment.

  • If an employee has a check returned or exchanged on an AC-230 for dates on or after the effective date of the payment, the payroll system does not consider the AC-230 when calculating the automatic retroactive adjustment.
  • If earnings were previously reported using Earnings Code RGS and a date range that exceeded the number of days reported, the system will calculate the adjustment of earnings based on the number of workdays within the range.
  • Adjustments for earnings that are calculated automatically, such as OT for Annuals (OTA), will be calculated incorrectly if the dates previously reported as a single entry on the Time Entry page overlap the effective date of the payment. The system will calculate an adjustment for all earnings reported in a single entry based on the salary in effect on the Earnings End Date.
  • For employees who had a change reported on the Job Data page, since the effective date of the payment and the action resulted in an overpayment of earnings, the automatic negative retroactive adjustment may not have been processed because the overpayment was either not recoverable or was recovered using an overpayment earnings code or an AC-230. In this case, the negative retroactive adjustment may be re-generated when the payment is processed. OSC will turn off (not process) the automatic negative adjustment for these employees since in most cases these overpayments were either not recoverable or recovered using another method.

If an overpayment of earnings is identified after the automatic payment is processed but before the paycheck is received by the employee, the employee must be notified of the overpayment and the adjustment that will be reported in a subsequent pay period.

Submitting an Adjustment

To process a retroactive adjustment or correct an automatic retroactive adjustment, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using the Earnings Code AJR.

Earnings Begin Date: The first date included in the adjustment
Earnings End Date: The last date included in the adjustment
Earn Code: AJR
Amount: Amount to be adjusted
Comments: An explanation of the adjustment

Military Stipend Leave

OSC will recalculate the military stipend amount for employees who were placed on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave on or after the effective date of the payment as the result of new military orders.

  • If the employee received a stipend, OSC will insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective the date the employee is entitled to the increase using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and will increase the employee’s biweekly stipend amount. In addition, updates will be made to all subsequent rows requiring an increased biweekly stipend amount.
  • If the employee did not receive a stipend but becomes eligible for a stipend as a result of the payment, OSC will insert the following in PayServ.
    • A row on the employee’s Job Data page effective the date the employee is entitled to a stipend using the Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
    • A row on the employee’s Job Data page for each affected subsequent row using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
    • A row on the Time Entry page using the Earnings Code MSP (Military Stipend Payment) to pay the stipend for each pay period the employee is eligible.
  • Any additional adjustment that is required due to the increased biweekly stipend amount that will not be calculated automatically will be reported by OSC on the Time Entry page using the Earnings Code AMS (Adjust Military Stipend).

Deduction Information

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

Code Description
410 Health Care Spending Account
420 NY Dependent Care Contribution
425 Repay State Loans/Debt
426 Higher Ed Repay State Loan
428 Dependent Care
433 Total Unemployment Ins Owed
500 Medicare Deficiency
501 Social Security Deficiency
502 NYS SS/Medicare Deficiency
GARNSH Garnishments
HIATRG Regular After Tax Health
HIATSP Special After Tax Health Adj
HIBTRG Regular Before Tax Health
HIBTSP Special Before Tax Health Adj

Tax Information

These monies are taxable income and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. The monies will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

Undeliverable Checks

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 Taxation and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 908.

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). If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

All retroactive adjustments will be displayed on the Payroll Register using the appropriate Earnings Code and the amount paid and will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice using the appropriate Earnings Description and the amount paid unless the number of earnings codes exceeds 13. Agencies should utilize Locked Query #49 to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.

Questions

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

Questions regarding Position information may be directed to the Position Management mailbox.

Questions regarding military information may be directed to the Military Stipend mailbox.