State Agencies Bulletin No. 1305

Subject
April 2014 Retention Payment
Date Issued
March 4, 2014

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2014 Retention Payment.

Affected Employees

Employees who received the full or a prorated amount of the April 2013 Retention Payment

Background

Pursuant to the following Chapter Laws, a retention payment of $225 will be paid to all eligible employees in April 2014.

Chapter 491 of the Laws of 2011 implemented the 2011-2016 Agreements between the State of New York and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) for members of the Administrative Services Unit (BU02), the Operational Services Unit (BU03), the Institutional Services Unit (BU04) and the Division of Military and Naval Affairs Unit (BU47).

Chapter 261 of the Laws of 2012 implemented the 2009-2016 Agreement between the State of New York and the NYS Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association, Inc. (NYSCOPBA) for interest arbitration eligible members of the Security Services Unit (BU01).

Chapter 67 of the Laws of 2012 implemented the 2009-2016 Agreement between the State of New York and the NYSCOPBA for interest arbitration ineligible members of the Security Services Unit (BU21).

Chapter 15 of the Laws of 2012 implemented the 2005-2015 Agreement between the State of New York and the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, Inc. (PBANYS) for members of the Agency Police Services Unit (BU31).

Chapter 257 of the Laws of 2012 implemented the 2009-2016 Agreement between the State of New York and the NYS Law Enforcement Officers’ Union, District Council 82 (Council 82) for interest arbitration eligible members (BU61) and interest arbitration ineligible members (BU91) of the Security Supervisors Unit.

Effective Date(s)

The April 2014 Retention Payment will be paid using the following effective dates and check dates:

Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type Payment Effective Date Check Date
Administration Lag 03/27/14 04/23/14
Institution Extra Lag 03/27/14 05/01/14
Institution Lag 04/03/14 05/01/14
Administration Extra Lag 04/03/14 05/07/14

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible employees who received the full or a prorated amount of the April 2013 Retention Payment are eligible to receive a comparable amount of the April 2014 Retention Payment regardless of the employee’s Payroll Status or Bargaining Unit on the payment effective date.

Control-D Report and Agency Actions Prior to Payment Processing

The following Control-D report will be available for agency use the week of 03/03/14. The report will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NPAYTMP57 – April 2014 Retention Payment Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear eligible to receive the April 2014 Retention Payment based on information available as of the date the report is produced. Included on the report are the total April 2013 Retention Payment amount (total monies paid using Earnings Codes RTN, RTO and RTR) and the projected April 2014 Payment amount (see OSC Actions).

Agencies should review this listing to ensure only eligible employees receive the Retention Payment and that the correct payment amount is received. If any discrepancies are identified, please contact your OSC Payroll Auditor.

OSC Actions

OSC will process the April 2014 Retention Payment for those employees who meet the eligibility criteria as follows:

  • All monies earned using Earnings Code RTN (Retention Pymnt-CSEA/Security), Earnings Code RTO (Retention Payment Overpayments) and Earnings Code RTR (Retention Payment Reversals) are totaled.
  • If the total earnings equal $775, the April 2014 Retention Payment amount equals $225.
  • If the total earnings are greater than zero (0) and less than $775;
    • The total earnings are divided by $775.
    • The result is rounded to four places; this is the proration percentage.
    • The full payment amount of $225 is multiplied by the proration percentage and rounded to the nearest cent.

The Additional Pay page will be populated with the following information:

Earnings Code: RTN
Effective Date: 03/27/14 – Administration Lag & Institution Extra Lag
04/03/14 – Institution Lag & Administration Extra Lag
OT Eff Date: Same as Effective Date
Annual Addl Earnings: As determined above
End Date: 03/25/15 – Administration Lag & Institution Extra Lag
04/01/15 – Institution Lag and Administration Extra Lag
ORSame as Effective Date if the employee is in a Bargaining Unit other than 02, 03, 04, 47, 01, 21, 31, 61 or 91 or has a Payroll Status of Leave of Absence, Terminated, Retired or Deceased on the Payment Effective Date

Control-D Report Available After Processing

After the automatic processing of the April 2014 Retention Payment is completed, the following Control-D report will be available for agency use.

NHRP703 – Mass Additional Pay Report

The report identifies all employees who received the retention payment in one of the above check dates.

Overtime Calculation and Retirement Information

The retention payment is included as salary for retirement purposes and must be included in the calculation of overtime compensation (refer to the Online Payroll Manual accessed from the PayServ Bulletin Board – Payroll Manual > Earnings Manual > Payments/Withholdings > Overtime Compensation) earned while in Bargaining Unit 02, 03, 04, 47, 01, 21, 31, 61 or 91.

Annual Employees

The April 2014 Retention payment for annual employees will be included automatically in the calculation of overtime from the OT Eff Date through the End Date on the employee’s Additional Pay page for Earnings Code RTN.

Hourly and Exception Hourly Employees

The April 2014 Retention Payment for hourly and exception hourly employees will not be included in the calculation of overtime; therefore, an overtime adjustment is required.

To pay the overtime adjustment to eligible hourly and exception hourly employees, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry interface (NPAY502) using Earnings Code ROO.

Earnings Begin Date: The first overtime date to include RTN
Earnings End Date: The last overtime date to include RTN
Earn Code: ROO
Hours: The number of overtime hours to include RTN
Amount: Multiply the amount in the Annual Addl Earnings field on the employee’s Additional Pay page for Earnings Code RTN by .00075 and round to the nearest cent. Multiply this amount by the number of overtime hours that must include the retention payment.
Ending Overtime Eligibility

If an employee has received the retention payment and is appointed to a position that is not eligible to receive the retention payment (Bargaining Unit is not equal to 02, 03, 04, 47, 01, 21, 31, 61 or 91), the retention payment cannot be included in the compensation calculation of any overtime earned after the date of the appointment. Therefore, agencies must insert a row on the Additional Pay page at the Effective Date level of Earnings Code RTN and enter the following information.

Effective Date: Last date in eligible position (date prior to appointment)
OT Eff Date: Same as original OT Eff Date
Annual Addl Earnings: Same as original amount (populates automatically)
End Date: Same as Effective Date
Goal Balance: Same as Annual Addl Earnings (to prevent making another payment)

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code RTN and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description Retention Pymnt-CSEA/Security and the amount paid will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

Questions regarding eligibility and payment information may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.