State Agencies Bulletin No. 211

Subject
Lump Sum Payment for Security Services Bargaining Unit 01
Date Issued
December 20, 2000

Purpose

To explain the automatic processing of the Lump Sum payment for Security Services employees and to provide instructions to agencies for processing or correcting payments

Affected Employees

Employees in Bargaining Unit 01 who meet the eligibility criteria

Effective Date

Paychecks dated November 30, 2000 Institution agencies

Paychecks dated December 6, 2000 Administration agencies

Background

Chapter 72 of the Laws of (2000), which implements the agreement between the State and NYSCOPBA, provides for a Lump Sum payment for employees in the Security Services Unit (BU01).

Payment Amount and Eligibility Criteria

The Lump Sum payment will be $500 for eligible full-time employees. To be eligible, such employees must:

  • Be in full-time employment status on March 31, 2000. Full-time employment includes employees on Sick Leave at 50% Pay and on Occupational Disability Leave with Pay.
  • Have six months or more of continuous service as defined by Section 130.3(c) of the Civil Service Law
    The lump sum payment will be prorated for eligible employees who are in other than full-time status. To be eligible, such employees must:
  • Be part-time annual salaried or hourly on March 31, 2000
  • Have a total time in pay status of six months or more during the fiscal year 1999-2000

    Seasonal employees who meet the eligibility criteria, but did not receive a paycheck for the pay period ending 4/5/00 for the Institution payroll or 4/12/00 for the Administration payroll are entitled to the payment, if they return to the payroll in the 2000-2001 fiscal year.

    Employees who retired under the provisions of the 1999 Retirement Incentive Program, but who were separated from service within 30 days prior to April 1, 2000, and who would have otherwise qualified for the payment, are eligible to receive it. Employees who meet the eligibility criteria, but were on authorized leave on March 31, 2000, are entitled to the payment, if they return to the payroll during the fiscal year 2000-2001.

Employees Not Eligible for Payment

Employees who have been laid off, terminated, retired or died, with an effective date on or before March 31, 2000 are not entitled to this payment.

Overtime and Retirement Information

The Lump Sum Payment is included in the calculation of overtime compensation earned from November 2, 2000 through October 31, 2001 for Institution agencies and November 9, 2000 through November 7, 2001 for Administration agencies. The Lump Sum payment is included as salary for retirement purposes.

OSC Actions: Automatic Update of Lump Sum on the Additional Pay Panel

During the week of November 13, 2000, OSC will automatically insert a row on the Additional Pay panel to process the Lump Sum payment for full-time and part-time employees for Institution and Administration payrolls who meet the eligibility criteria. The following information will be inserted:

Earnings Code: BON
Effective Date: 3/31/00
OT Effective Date: 11/02/00 (Institution)
11/09/00 (Administration)
Earn End Date: 10/31/01 (Institution)
11/07/01 (Administration)
Annual Addl Earnings: Bonus amount

OSC Actions: Calculating the Automatic Lump Sum

The automatic Lump Sum will be calculated as follows:

  • For annual salaried employees who were in full-time employment status on 3/31/2000 and have 6 months of continuous service as defined by Section 130.3 of the Civil Service Law, the payment will be $500.
  • For annual salaried employees who were active in part-time employment status on 3/31/2000 and received a paycheck for work performed during the pay period ending 4/5/00 (check dated 4/20/2000) for the Institution payroll or 4/12/00 (check dated 4/26/2000) for the Administration payroll, the amount will be based on the number of service days accumulated in the previous 13 paychecks starting with, and including, the pay period ending 4/5/00 for the Institution payroll or 3/29/00 for the Administration payroll. The paychecks do not have to be consecutive, but the employee must have had 13 paychecks in the qualifying period (fiscal year 1999-2000) to receive the automatic payment.
  • For hourly and exception hourly employees who were active on 3/31/2000 and received a paycheck in the pay period ending 4/5/00 for the Institution payroll or 4/12/00 for the Administration payroll, the amount will be based on the number of hours accumulated in the previous 13 paychecks starting with, and including, the pay period ending 4/5/00 for the Institution payroll or 3/29/00 for the Administration payroll. The paychecks do not have to be consecutive, but the employee must have had 13 paychecks in the qualifying period (fiscal year 1999-2000) to receive the automatic payment. To determine the number of service days, the total number of hours paid in the 13 paychecks will be divided by 8.
  • For part-time salaried and hourly employees, the automatic payment will be calculated based on the following service chart:

Days of Service in the
Qualifying Period

Lump Sum Amount

130 or more

$500

97 but less than 130

$375

65 but less than 97

$250

32 but less than 65

$125

NOTE: For hourly and part-time employees, the earn codes RGS, RGH, OTB, LT1, LT3, LTO, and EXT will also be used to determine the number of service days, provided the earnings was processed in the paychecks used in the Bonus calculation. The total number of service days will be adjusted by the number of hours or days related to each of the earnings.

Listing Provided to Agencies and Agency Responsibility

The following listing will be mailed to agencies after the payments are processed for pay period 16L for Institution payrolls and pay period 17L for Administration payrolls.

  • Listing of Employees Who Were on a Leave of Absence Without Pay on March 31, 2000 and May Not Have Received an Automatic Payment

Note: Some employees appearing on this listing are active in one Empl Record # and on a leave of absence without pay in another Empl Record # and therefore, may have received an automatic Lump Sum in the active Empl Record #.

For employees appearing on this listing who did not receive an automatic payment in another Empl Record #, the agency must submit the payment when the employee returns to the payroll, provided the employee returns within the fiscal year 2000-2001 and otherwise meets the eligibility criteria.

For employees who have returned to work since 3/31/2000 (currently active or inactive), the Bonus payment may be submitted immediately for eligible employees.

Calculating the Bonus Lump Sum

Employees who were full-time before being placed on a Leave of Absence without pay are entitled to the $500 bonus payment, provided they otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for a full-time employee.

Employees who were part-time before being placed on a Leave of Absence without pay are entitled to a pro-rated amount, provided they otherwise meet the eligibility criteria for a part-time employee.

This pro-rated amount should be calculated by determining the number of service days the employee accumulated in the 13 paid pay periods prior to the employee being placed on leave. These 13 paid pay periods must be within the fiscal year 1999-2000 or the employee is not eligible for the Bonus payment. The agency must use the service chart presented above to determine the pro-rated amount.

Additional Agency Responsibility for Employees Who May Be Eligible for Bonus Lump Sum

AGENCIES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IDENTIFYING EMPLOYEES IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES WHO DID NOT RECEIVE AN AUTOMATIC BONUS, BUT WHO MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR PAYMENT:

  • Seasonal employees who did not receive a paycheck for the pay period ending 4/5/2000 for Institution or 4/12/2000 Administration and who return to the payroll in the fiscal year 2000-2001:

    The agency must determine if these employees are eligible for the Lump Sum payment. To be eligible, such employees must have been paid at least 13 pay periods in the fiscal year 1999-2000.

    For employees who were paid at least 13 pay periods in the fiscal year, the agency, beginning with the last paycheck the employee received in the fiscal year 1999-2000, must total the number of hours paid in the previous 13 paid pay periods and divide the total by the appropriate number of hours in the normal workday (7.5 or 8) to arrive at the number of service days. Use the service chart presented above to determine the Bonus amount.
  • Hourly employees who were actively employed on 3/31/2000, but who did not receive a paycheck for the period ending 4/5/2000 for Institution or 4/12/2000 for Administration and are subsequently paid in the fiscal year 2000-2001:|

    For these employees, the agency must determine if the employee is eligible for the Bonus payment. To be eligible, the employee must have been paid for at least 13 pay periods in the fiscal year 1999-2000.

    If the employee had at least 13 paid pay periods in the fiscal year, the agency, beginning with the last paycheck received in the fiscal year 1999-2000, must total the number of hours paid in the previous 13 paid pay periods and divide the total by the appropriate number of hours in the normal workday (7.5 or 8) to arrive at the number of service days. Use the service chart presented above to determine the Lump Sum amount.
  • Employees who retired under the provisions of the 1999 Retirement Incentive Program, but who were separated from service within 30 days prior to April 1, 2000, and who would have otherwise qualified for the payment

    For eligible employees who were full-time before they retired under the Retirement Incentive Program, the Lump Sum amount is $500.

    For eligible employees who were part-time before they retired under the Retirement Incentive Program, the agency must calculate the pro-rated Bonus amount using the last 13 paid pay periods in the fiscal year 1999-2000 and the service chart presented above.
  • Employees who were active full-time salaried employees on 3/31/2000 who did not receive the automatic Lump Sum payment because they did not have 6 months of paid service since being converted to PaySR, but are otherwise eligible under Civil Service Law, Section 130.3. Employees who fall into this category are employees who were previously on extended leaves.

Reveal Report: Hourly Employees Working 7-Hours per Day

A Reveal report, Mass Additional Pay Report, NHRP703, will be available for agency review the week of November 20, 2000 for Institution and Administration payrolls.

This report, which will identify all employees receiving the automatic Lump Sum payment, will be sorted by agency code and then by employee name in alphabetical order. Fields on the report include Emplid, Employee Record #, Employee Name, Earn Code, Grade, Sal Plan, Barg Unit and Additional Pay Amount.

Agency Responsibility:

The Bonus payment for hourly and exception hourly employees appearing on the NHRP703 report was calculated automatically using an 8 hour day as described earlier in this bulletin. The agency must identify hourly employees who received less than a $500 Lump Sum payment and normally work a 7-hour day, (or a portion of a 7-hour day) to determine if the pro-rated Lump Sum amount was correct.

To determine the appropriate number of service days, refer to the calculation for hourly and exception hourly employees described earlier in this bulletin under OSC Actions: Calculating the Automatic Lump Sum, but divide the total service hours by 7.5 instead of 8. Use the service chart presented above to determine the appropriate Lump Sum amount.

Agency Procedures: Adding The Lump Sum Payment

Agencies must add the Bonus Earning Code (BON) on the Additional Pay panel for eligible employees who did not receive the automatic Lump Sum payment. The information needed is as follows:
 

Earnings Code: BON
Effective Date: If in active status on 03/31/2000, enter 03/31/2000. If on a leave without pay on 03/31/2000, enter the date the employee returned from leave.
OT Effective Date: Effective Date will default. If the defaulted date is prior to 11/2/2000 for Institution or 11/9/2000 for Administration, change the defaulted date to either of these dates, based on payroll cycle. If the defaulted date is later than 11/2/2000 for Institution or 11/9/2000 for Administration, no change is required.
Annual Addl
Earnings:
Enter the Bonus amount.
Earn End Date: Enter 10/31/2001 (Institution)
or 11/07/2001 (Administration).

Agency Procedures: Ending Overtime Eligibility

Agencies must end the overtime eligibility of the Lump Sum when an employee becomes ineligible to have the Lump Sum amount added to the overtime calculation. This will occur when the employee moves into a position that has a bargaining unit other than the following: PEF, Council 82, CSEA, DC-37 or M/C.

To end overtime eligibility, enter the following information on the Additional Pay panel:

Earnings Code BON
Effective Date Enter the last date the employee is eligible for the Bonus in the overtime calculation.
OT Effective Date Change the defaulted date to the original OT Effective Date.
Earn End Date Delete the existing Earns End Date and enter the last date the employee is eligible for the Bonus in the overtime calculation.
Annual Addl
Earnings
Bonus Amount will default in this field.
Goal Balance Enter the Bonus Amount that has been paid. When this row is added, this field will be blank and the bonus amount must be re-entered.

NOTE: For eligible employees who have since moved into an ineligible bargaining unit, OSC will insert rows on the Additional Pay panel to end the overtime eligibility.

Movement Between Eligible Bargaining Units and OSC Action

For employees who move between eligible bargaining units, overtime eligibility for the Lump Sum earnings will be determined using the begin and end dates for the bargaining unit in which the Lump Sum was earned.

Example 1: If an Institution cycle employee was in a CSEA position on 3/31/00 and was eligible for the Bonus and moved to a NYSCOPBA position effective 4/20/00, overtime eligibility commences effective 6/15/00 and ends on 6/13/01.

Example 2: If an Institution cycle employee was in a NYSCOPBA position effective 3/31/00 and was eligible for the Lump Sum and moved to an M/C position effective 7/13/00, overtime eligibility commences effective 11/2/2000 and ends 10/31/2001.

OSC Action:

For employees who earned the payment in a CSEA, M/C, PEF, DC-37, or Council 82 position and had their overtime eligibility stopped because they moved into a NYSCOPBA position, OSC will restart the overtime eligibility on the Additional Pay Panel using the employee's original Lump Sum OT Effective Date and Earn End Date.

Agency Action: Correcting the Automatic Lump Sum

The agency must request the Action of Data Change and Reason of COR HIST on the Job Action Request panel and enter the appropriate Bonus amount in the Status Reason block.

OSC will correct the Additional Pay panel and the Bonus payment will be adjusted accordingly.

Agency Action: Hourly Employees who Received Lump Sum and are Paid Overtime

When the earnings code OTK is submitted on the Time Entry panel to pay overtime to an hourly or exception hourly employee, the Lump Sum payment will not be included in the calculation.

To include the applicable lump sum payment in the overtime calculation for hourly employees who were paid a Lump Sum, the agency must enter one of the following new earn codes in the Time Entry panel, in addition to the OTK earn code.

BO1, enter for employees who received a $500 Bonus.

BO2, enter for employees who received a $375 Bonus.

BO3, enter for employees who received a $250 Bonus.

BO4, enter for employees who received a $125 Bonus.

The agency must submit one of the above codes with the same number of hours and begin and end dates as the OTK earnings being reported.

Payroll Register and Employee's Check or Advice

The earn code BON and amount will be displayed on the payroll register. The earning description 'Bonus' and amount will be displayed on the employee's check stub or advice.

Questions

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