Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-161

Subject
June 2010 UCS Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments
Date Issued
June 1, 2010

Purpose

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

Affected Employees

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

Effective Date(s)

Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payments for employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8 and 87 will be made in a separate paycheck dated June 23, 2010.

The Uniform Blazer Allowance payment for employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate paycheck dated June 23, 2010.

The Uniform Allowance payment for Negotiating Units G9 and 86 (unrepresented employees) will be made in a separate paycheck dated July 21, 2010.

Background

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

Eligibility

Agencies should refer to the annual uniform allowance memorandum issued by UCS for a list of eligible titles and payment amounts.

Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8 and 87
  • Employees must be in an eligible title on May 31, 2010 and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Leave Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS).
  • 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 November 30, 2010.
  • Eligible employees on Workers' Compensation Leave without pay, 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.
  • Eligible full-time employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.
Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for Negotiating Unit G9
  • Employees must be in an eligible title on May 31, 2010 for the Uniform Blazer Allowance or June 30, 2010 for the Uniform Allowance* and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Leave Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS).
  • Eligible employees on an approved Leave without Pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the Uniform Blazer Allowance payment upon return from leave, provided the return to the payroll is prior to November 30, 2010.
  • Eligible employees on Workers' Compensation Leave without pay, 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.
  • Eligible full-time employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.

* For employees in Negotiating Unit G9, the Uniform Allowance payment is payable in June to those employees appointed between July 1st and December 31st of the previous year, provided the employee remains in an eligible title on June 30th. These employees will be eligible for the allowance each December hereafter.

Uniform Allowance Payments for Negotiating Unit 86
  • Employees must be in an eligible title on June 30, 2010 and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay , paid Military Leave Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS).
  • 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 November 30, 2010.
  • Eligible employees on Workers' Compensation Leave without pay, paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend or Military Training Stipend may be paid immediately.
  • Part-time employees are eligible for the full Uniform Allowance payment and no prorated amount will be applied.
  • Eligible full-time employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.

OSC Actions

On June 11, 2010, OSC will automatically add the Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payment (Earn Code UA5) in the Time Entry page for all employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who were Active or on paid Leave of Absence on May 31, 2010.  The Earnings Begin and End Dates will be May 31, 2010. OSC will notify OCA when the automatic processing is complete.

Employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who are on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Leave Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS) on May 31, 2010 will not receive an automatic payment.

Agency Actions

Agencies are responsible for deleting the payment (Earn Code UA5) from the Time Entry page in Pay Period 5L for employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who are ineligible to receive the payment. OCA Main Office must contact OSC when the corrections are completed.

In Pay Period 5L, 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 SY, SR and S9 who were not processed automatically, including those on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay, paid Military Leave Stipend (MLS), or Military Training Stipend (MTS), using the procedure stated below:

Earnings Begin Date: 5/31/10 (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 7L, 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: 6/30/10 (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 his/her 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 pensionable and are not included in the calculation of overtime.

There will be no direct deposit for these payments.

Control-D Report

The Control-D report NPAY771 will be available after the automatic payment is loaded into the Time Entry page and the agency has completed their deletions.

The report contains the following data:

DeptID
EmplID
Empl Record
Name (Alpha order)
Earn Code
Earns End Date
Grade
BU
Percentage
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 be printed on the employee’s paycheck stub.

Questions

Questions about processing transactions may be directed to the Non-Executive Audit mailbox.