Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase and the April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase.

Affected Employees:

Employees in BU68 lifeguard titles in specific Regions who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Chapter 189 of the Laws of 2023, which implemented the 2022-2026 Agreement between the State of New York and UUP, provides for an April 2022 retroactive 2.00% salary increase and an April 2023 retroactive 3.00% salary increase for employees in BU68 positions with a lifeguard title.

In addition, Division of the Budget Bulletin D-1149 on Wage Rates for Seasonal/Temporary Part-Time Lifeguard Employees provides a schedule of the hourly wage rates effective April 2022, June 2022, and April 2023.

Effective Dates:

The April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase and the April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase will be processed using the following effective dates and check dates:

Eligibility Criteria:

April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase

Employees in the following BU68 lifeguard titles in the specified Region who have an hourly rate equal to the Current Rate and a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence on or after the 2022 Effective Date are eligible to receive the April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase.

*Note:  The Current Rate effective 06/22/2022 is $26.00.

April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase

Employees in the following BU68 lifeguard titles in the specified Region who have an hourly rate equal to the Current Rate or Rate After 2022 Raise Processing with a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence on or after the 2023 Effective Date are eligible to receive the April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase.

Position Locations on the Job Data Page Associated with the Region

Downstate:  03xx, 24xx, 31xx, 41xx, 43xx, 60xx

Long Island:  30xx, 52xx

Upstate:  All Location Codes except 03xx, 24xx, 30xx, 31xx, 41xx, 43xx, 52xx, 60xx

OSC Actions:

In Administration Pay Period 23 Extra Lag, Administration Pay Period 24 Lag and Institution Pay Period 24 Extra Lag, OSC will automatically process the April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% and the April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increases as follows:

April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase

If the employee meets the eligibility criteria as provided in the Eligibility Criteria – April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase section on the applicable 2022 Effective Date:

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the applicable 2022 Effective Date and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2022 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employe’s Job Data page using the same effective date as the row being evaluated and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for all subsequent rows, provided the employee meets the eligibility criteria, and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2022 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.

If the employee becomes eligible after the applicable 2022 Effective Date:

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the effective date of the row being evaluated and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2022 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employe’s Job Data page using the same effective date as the row being evaluated and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for all subsequent rows, provided the employee meets the eligibility criteria, and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2022 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.

April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase

If the employee meets the eligibility criteria as provided in the Eligibility Criteria – April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increase section on the applicable 2023 Effective Date:

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the applicable 2023 Effective Date and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2023 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employe’s Job Data page using the same effective date as the row being evaluated and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for all subsequent rows, provided the employee meets the eligibility criteria, and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2023 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.

If the employee becomes eligible after the applicable 2023 Effective Date:

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the effective date of the row being evaluated and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2023 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employe’s Job Data page using the same effective date as the row being evaluated and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for all subsequent rows, provided the employee meets the eligibility criteria, and will increase the salary to the appropriate 2023 rate as provided in Budget Bulletin D-1149.

OSC Automatic Retroactive Processing:

OSC will automatically calculate retroactive adjustments for regular earnings and Time Entry earnings that are calculated by the system based on annual salary or hourly rate such as OT for Annuals (Earnings Code OTA) or OT-Hourly/Biweekly (Earnings Code OTK) and Holiday Pay (Earnings Code HPA) or Holiday Pay – Hourly (Earnings Code HPH), resulting from payment of the April 2022 Retroactive 2.00% and the April 2023 Retroactive 3.00% Lifeguard Salary Increases.

If an employee is eligible for a retroactive increase and has been paid by multiple agencies in the same Employee Record Number since the effective date of the increase, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency within that record number.  If an employee has been paid in multiple record numbers, each record number will be evaluated separately, and retroactive payments will be processed in the record number(s) in which the increase occurred.

Agency Actions – Retroactive Processing:

Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes that are submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically.  Therefore, agencies must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as Regular Pay Override (Earnings Code 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 (Regular Pay Salary Employee) 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 (Earnings Code OTA) or OT-Hourly/Biweekly (Earnings Code OTK), 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 results 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

When an adjustment is needed for COVID-19 related overtime such as Covid-19 OT Override (Earnings Code CVO), Earnings Code ARC (Adjust Retro Raise for C19 OT) must be used to process the adjustment. When an adjustment is needed for non-COVID-19 related overtime or recall such as OT Override (Earnings Code OTO), Earnings Code ARO (Adj Retro Raise for OT and RCL) must be used to process the adjustment.  Please refer to Payroll Bulletin No. 1893 – Reporting Adjustments to Overtime for more information.  Agencies must continue to use Earnings Code AJR (Adjust Raise) for all other override Time Entry Earnings Codes requiring a manual adjustment as a result of a retro salary increase.

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 Earnings Code AJR, ARC, or ARO:

Control-D Report Available After Processing:

The following Control-D report will be available for agency review after the automatic payments have been processed.  The report is sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

Mass Salary Increase Report (NHRP704)

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic salary increase.  The report will identify all employees’ salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

Military Leave Stipend:

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 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 Earnings Code AMS (Adjust Military Stipend).

General Deductions:

All general deductions for employees whose Employee Status is Terminated, Retired or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of percentage-based dues and the following:

Tax Information:

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

The adjustments (Earnings Codes AJR, ARC, and ARO) and retroactive payments (Earnings Code RXX) are supplemental taxable income and will be included in the employee’s taxable gross subject to all employment and income taxes.

Federal, State, and New York City income tax withholding will be calculated using the Aggregate method.  Yonkers income tax withholding will be calculated using the Flat Rate method (1.95975% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents).

Special Wage Payments for Individuals Who Filed for Retirement Social Security Benefits:

Per Internal Revenue Service Publication 957, OSC will be reporting retroactive payments made to individuals who have filed for Social Security benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As PayServ does not include this information, OSC will be mailing a Request for Special Wage Payment Report to inactive individuals who are 62 or older in the calendar year and to active employees with the New York Retiree Indicator checked in Modify a Person who receive the retroactive payment.  Recipients of this mailing will be asked to fill out the request and return it to OSC for inclusion on the Special Wage Payment Report to SSA.  This report will be submitted to SSA after the close of the 2024 tax year.

It is important that agencies ensure the New York Retiree Indicator box is checked for rehired retirees.  Please see Payroll Bulletin No. 1728 – New York Retiree Indicator for further details on the New York Retiree Indicator box.

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 LQ_PCD_PAYCHECK_EARNINGS_BY_ID to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.

Undeliverable Checks:

When a valid payroll check is undeliverable due to the agency’s inability to locate the employee, the agency should follow the Agency Actions identified in Payroll Bulletin No. 1786 – Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be submitted as a Stop Payment Request with a reason of Exchange in PayServ.  The Report of Check Exchange (AC 1476-P), Next of Kin Affidavit (AC 934-P), and original death certificate should be submitted to the Payroll Reversal and Exchange mailbox at the same time as the Stop Payment Request. 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.

Questions:

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

Questions regarding deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.