CUNY Bulletin No. CU-553

Subject
CUNY PSC (Professional Staff Congress) Ratification Bonus Payment
Date Issued
October 14, 2016

Purpose

To explain the manual processing of Ratification Bonus Payments

Affected Employees

Eligible employees of the PSC (Professional Staff Congress) in the NYS Bargaining Units AJ, GA, TC, T8, CA, CB, CE

Background

Memorandum of Agreement between CUNY (City University of New York) and the PSC for the Term of 10/20/2010 – 11/30/2017.

Effective Date(s)

Payments will be made in Pay Period 14C (Institution), paychecks dated 10/13/2016

Eligibility Criteria

Full-time annual employees in the TC & T8 bargaining units are eligible for a $1,000.00 Ratification Bonus Payment if the employee is active on the payroll on 09/01/2016 and 05/01/2016.

Full-time annual employees in Grad Asst A, B and C titles will receive a $750 Ratification Bonus payment. Full-time annual employees in Grad Asst D will receive a $500 Ratification Bonus payment.

Hourly employees are eligible to receive a prorated amount based on the number of hours worked during the 2015-16 academic year. Adjuncts who do not have a Fall Contract are not eligible for the bonus.

Employees in multiple Active positions may be eligible for multiple Ratification Bonus payments (not to exceed a combined total of $1,000.00).

Agency Actions

CUNY will identify all employees who are eligible for the Ratification Bonus payment. CUNY will send a NPAY502 Miscellaneous Time Entry file containing the eligible employees and payment amounts to OSC for processing.

CUNY will submit the bonus payment for eligible employees in Leave of Absence status upon Return from Leave.

OSC Actions

On 9/30/16, OSC will process the Time Entry file which will automatically insert a row on the Time Entry page to create the Ratification Bonus Payment for employees who meet the eligibility criteria. The following information will be inserted:

Earns Begin Date: 9/1/16
Earns End Date: Same as Earns Begin Date
Earn Code: RBP – Ratification Bonus Payment
(XAI – Ratification Bonus Payment – IC17, YAI - Ratification Bonus Payment – IC18, or ZAI – Ratification Bonus Payment – IC19 for non-resident aliens)
Amount: As submitted by NPAY502 file

Agency Actions Overtime Earnings Adjustments

The value of the Ratification Bonus payment should contribute to the calculation of the hourly overtime rate for FLSA overtime hours paid during the fiscal year 7/1/15 – 6/30/16.

In January 2017, during the retroactive general increase processing, CUNY will submit OT earnings adjustments in Time Entry using the following code:

BOO – Bonus Overtime Hourly Override This code will not calculate the per hour adjustment and is to be used for all OT adjustments.

To process a retroactive adjustment, agencies must submit the following information on Time Entry as indicated below:

Earns Begin Date: The first date included in the adjustment
Earns End Date: The last date included in the adjustment
Earns Code: BOO
Hours: Number of hours paid
Amount: Amount to be adjusted
Comments: An explanation of the adjustment

Tax and Retirement Information

The Ratification Bonus (Earnings Code “RBP”) is taxable income subject to employment and income taxes and will be taxed using the Supplemental Optional Flat Rate Method.

The Ratification Bonus Payment is included as salary for retirement purposes and is pensionable.

Questions

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