Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-44

Subject
April 2001 General Salary Increase, Longevity Bonus, Service Increments, Longevity Pay, and Location Pay Increase
Date Issued
March 30, 2001

Purpose

To explain OSC's automatic processing and provide agencies with instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Eligible employees in the following bargaining units:

SR S8 G9 87
SY SA DR CT
SN S9 F8 86
SG SD SK 88

Effective Date

3/29/2001 (pay period 1-Lag), check date 04/25/2001

Background

Chapter 69, as amended by Chapters 70 and 71 of the Laws of 2000, implements agreements between the State and various bargaining units in the Unified Court System and provides for general salary increases and other payments.

Contract Provisions and Eligibility Criteria

April 1, 2001 Increments and Salary Increase
  • Application of increment amounts from April 1, 2000 Salary Schedule
  • 3 1/2% salary increase, rounded to the next dollar, or $900 minimum increase, for employees in graded (represented and unrepresented) or NS/grade 560 represented positions
  • Payable March 29, 2001
  • April 1, 2001 Salary Schedule is attached.
Location Pay
  • Effective April 1, 2001, payable March 29, 2001, location pay will be increased to $1100 for employees in NYC, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties
  • Monroe County remains at $200
Salary Increases Approved by UCS Administrative Board
  • Salary Increase effective April 1, 2001, payable March 29,2001, for employees in NS/560 unrepresented positions (bargaining units 86, 88, and CT) require the approval of the UCS Administrative Board.
  • Approved salary rates will be provided by UCS to payroll agencies.

Effect of Raises on Represented Hourly Employees

Raises for represented hourly employees will be processed automatically as follows:

For rate increases effective 3/29/01, if the hourly rate is equal to or less than $14.06, $.50 will be applied to the employee's hourly rate.

For rate increases effective 3/29/01, if the hourly rate is greater than $14.06, 3 1/2% rounded up to the next cent will be applied to the employee's hourly rate.

Service and Longevity Increments Eligibility

General rules are described in the Salary Manual for the Unified Court System, Part 1 Pages 11-12

Longevity Bonus Eligibility

Employees of the Unified Court System who, as of March 31 2001, have at least twenty years of continuous service in the Unified Court System shall receive a bonus payment of $1,500.

  • The amount of the Longevity Bonus is prorated based on the employee's part time percentage at the time of the payment.
  • The amount of the Longevity Bonus is included in the calculation of overtime and is pensionable.

OSC Actions

After processing for pay period 1L is complete, OSC will process increments, longevity pay, and salary increases for eligible salaried and hourly employees whose status is Active, on Paid Leave of Absence, or on Workers' Compensation Leave effective 3/29/01.

Rows entered by the agency directly on Job Data (e.g.: PLA, DTA, TER, etc.) with an effective date after 3/29/01 will be manually updated by OSC to reflect the increased salary. Exception: If the employee was on a leave without pay on 3/29/01 and is returned from leave after 3/29/01, the RFL or RFD row will not be updated by OSC. The agency must submit the appropriate pay change on the Job Action Request panel.

Increment (Increment code 0001)

Effective 3/29/01, for employees who are entitled to an increment based on the 3/30/00 Salary Schedule:

  • OSC will automatically insert a row in the employee's Job Data panel effective 3/29/01 to reflect the increment using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of INC (Increment).
Increment (Increment code 0006)

Effective 3/29/01, for employees who are entitled to an increment based on their FIS salary :

  • OSC will automatically insert a row in the employee's Job Data panel effective 3/29/01 to reflect the FIS salary amount on the Job Data 3 Panel using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of INC (Increment).
Longevity Pay (Increment code 1993 or 1997)

Effective 3/29/01, using the 3/30/00 Salary Schedule, for employees who are entitled to a Longevity Pay based on their Increment code:

  • OSC will automatically insert a row in the employee's Job Data panel effective 3/29/01 to reflect either a movement to Long Step 1 (increment code 1997) or a movement to Long Step 2 (increment code 1993) using the Action of PAY (Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of LGP (Longevity Pay).
Salary Increase (3 1/2% , $900 minimum or $.50 minimum)

Based on the 3/29/01 Salary Schedule, for employees who are Active, on Paid Leave of Absence or on Workers' Compensation Leave on 3/29/01:

  • OSC will automatically insert a row in the employee's Job Data panel effective 3/29/01 to reflect either a 3 1/2% salary increase, rounded to the next highest dollar, for annual salaried employees, or next highest cent, for hourly employees, or a minimum increase of $900 for salaried employees, or minimum increase of $.50 for hourly employees. The Action of PAY(Pay Rate Change) and the Reason of SAC (Mass Salary Increase) will be used.

Automatic Location Pay Increase

Location Pay

OSC will automatically insert a row on the Additional Pay panel for eligible employees whose status is Active, Paid Leave of Absence or Workers' Compensation Leave effective 3/29/01 to increase the Location Pay amount to $1100 for all employees currently receiving $1000 using the earn code LOC (Location Pay).

Longevity Bonus Increase

Longevity Bonus
  • OSC will automatically insert a row on the Additional Pay panel, effective 3/29/01, for employees whose status on 3/29/01 is Active, Paid Leave of Absence or Workers' Compensation Leave and whose Anniversary Date on the Job Data 3 panel is between 3/31/1930 and 03/31/1981 to pay Longevity Bonus of $1500. The Earn Code JLO (Judicial Longevity) will be used and the Longevity Bonus will be prorated for part-time employees.

Reveal Reports

The following Reveal reports will be available for agency review after the payments have been made. All reports will be sorted by agency code, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

Mass Increment Payment Exception Report (NHRP708)

This report will identify employees who did not receive an automatic increment. Fields on the report include Emplid, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Pay Basis Code, Part-time Percentage, FTA Salary, FIS Amount and Increment Code. The report will identify the reason the employee's salary was not increased by identifying one of the following messages:

  • Salary below minimum
  • Position and Job do not match
  • FIS missing
  • FIS below current
  • Increment code missing
  • Increment code invalid
Mass Salary Increase Exception Report (NHRP709)

This report will identify employees who did not receive an automatic Salary Increase. Fields on the report include Emplid, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Pay Basis Code, Part time Percentage and FTA Salary. The report will identify the reason the employee's salary was not increased by identifying one of the following messages:

  • Salary below minimum
  • Position and Job do not match
Mass Salary Payment Increase/Mass Increment Payment Report (NHRP704)

Two generations of this report will be run. The first report will identify all employees who received an automatic Increment or Longevity Pay.

The second report will identify all employees who received an automatic Salary Increase. The report will identify the employee's increased salary. Other fields on the report include Emplid, Employee Record#, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Pay Basis Code, Part time Percentage, Action Reason and Increment Code.

Mass Additional Pay Report (NHRP703)

This report will identify all employees receiving an automatic increase for the earn code LOC (Location Pay) and JLO (Judicial Longevity). Fields on this report include Emplid, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Earn Code, Grade, Sal Plan, Bargaining Unit and Additional Pay Amount.

Agency Actions For Period 1

The following procedures must be used by the agency when reporting transactions in pay period 1 lag:

  1. For Pay Changes, Position Changes, and Transfers requested on the Job Action Request or Transfer Request panel, and the effective date of the Action is on or before 3/29/01:
    • The agency mus NOT include the Increment, Longevity Pay, or the 3 % increase in the salary rate reported in the Pay Rate field.
    • The agency must report the April 2000 increment code.
    • For eligible employees, OSC will automatically apply the Increment or Longevity payment based on the increment code reported, effective 3/29/01.
    • OSC will automatically apply the 3% increase effective 3/29/01.
  2. For Pay Changes, Position Changes, and Transfers requested on the Job Action Request or Transfer Request panel, and the effective date of the Action is after 3/29/01:
    • The agency must include, if applicable, the increment or longevity payment, and the 3% increase in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.
    • The agency must report the projected increment code for 2001.
  3. For employees who are on a leave without pay on 3/29/01 and who are returned from leave after 3/29/2001, the agency must submit the appropriate pay change on the Job Action Request panel, effective the date of the return.
  4. Location Pay :
    • If the agency adds the earn code LOC (Location Pay) to the Additional Pay panel, and the effective date is prior to 3/29/01, the location amount must be entered as $1000.
    • Effective 3/29/01, OSC will automatically insert a row on the Additional Pay panel to increase the amount of the Location Pay to $1100.
    • If the agency adds the earn code LOC (Location Pay) to the Additional Pay panel and the effective date is on or after 3/29/01, the agency must enter the amount of the Location Pay as $1100.

Agency Procedures: Reporting Earnings in the Time Entry Panel

To report miscellaneous earnings (e.g.: overtime), it is necessary to enter multiple rows in the Time Entry panel if the earnings dates being reported overlap the effective date of the salary increase.

The first row must be inserted with the inclusive dates prior to the effective date of the salary change. The second row must be inserted with the inclusive dates equal to, and after the effective date of the salary change.

Agency Responsibility: Reporting in Period 2L/3C

  • For employees identified on the Mass Salary Increase Exception Report (NHRP709):

Salary Below Minimum - Agencies must review the Job Data records of these employees to determine the appropriate action. The employees may be in incorrect positions and a position change may be required, in addition to a Pay Change. The Reason of CFS (Cor FY Sal) must be used for Pay Changes effective 3/29/01.

Position and Job Data Do Not Match - Agencies must review the Job Data records of these employees and submit the appropriate Position Change and/or Pay Change on the Job Action Request panel. The Reason of CFS (Cor Fy Sal) must be used for Pay Changes effective 3/29/01.

  • For employees identified on the Mass Increment Payment Exception Report (NHRP708):

Agencies must submit Pay Changes, if applicable, using the Reason of INC (Increment) on the Job Action Request panel for employees having any of the following messages identified on the report:

  • FIS missing
  • FIS below current
  • Increment code invalid
  • Increment code missing

Salary Below Minimum - Agencies must review the Job Data records of these employees to determine the appropriate action. The employees may be in incorrect positions and a Position Change may be required, in addition to a Pay Change(s). The Reason of CFS (Cor Fy Sal) must be used for Pay Changes effective 3/29/01.

Agency Responsibility: Reporting in Period 2L/3C

Position and Job Data Do Not Match - Agencies must review the Job Data records of these employees and submit the appropriate Position Change and/or Pay Change on the Job Action Request panel. The Reason of CFS (Cor Fy Sal) must be used for Pay Changes effective 3/29/01.

  • Increments Not Processed Automatically

To process an increment or longevity payment for an employee after period 1L for an employee not appearing on the Reveal reports identified above, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Request panel using the Reason of INC (Increment) or LGP (Longevity Payment).

  • Longevity Bonus

To process a Longevity Bonus for an employee who did not receive an automatic payment, process the transaction through the Additional Pay panel as follows:

Earnings Code JLO
Effective Date 3/29/01*
OT Effective Date Same as effective date
Annual Additional Earnings Payment Amount
Earnings End Date 3/27/02

*If an employee was eligible and on the payroll 3/29/01, the agency must enter 3/29/01. If the employee was off the payroll on 3/29/01, enter the return to payroll date.

Questions

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