Unified Court System Bulletin No. UCS-135

Subject
June 2008 UCS Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for Eligible Employees Represented by Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8, 87, G9 and 86
Date Issued
June 4, 2008

Purpose

To explain OSC’s automatic Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payments processing and Time Entry procedures.

Affected Employees

Eligible employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8, 87, G9 and 86

Effective Date(s)

Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payments for employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8, and 87 will be made in a separate check dated June 25, 2008.

The Uniform Blazer Allowance payment for employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate check dated June 25, 2008.

The Uniform Allowance payment for unrepresented employees (Negotiating Unit 86) and employees in Negotiating Unit G9 will be made in a separate check dated July 23, 2008.

Background

Uniform and Uniform Blazer Allowance payments to eligible employees are authorized under Chapter 203 of the Laws of 2004 that implements agreements between the State of New York and various negotiating units in the Unified Court System.

Eligibility

Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance Payments for Negotiating Units SY, SR, S9, DR, F8 and 87 and Uniform Blazer Allowance Payment for Negotiating Unit G9

Employees must be in an eligible title on May 31, 2008 and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS).

Uniform Allowance Payments for Negotiating Units G9 and 86

Employees must be in an eligible title on June 30, 2008 and Active on the payroll (including paid Leave of Absence), on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS).

Agencies should refer to Teri Collins’ annual uniform allowance memorandum for a list of eligible titles and payment amounts.

Eligible full-time employees who are on Sick Leave at 50 percent pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the full payment.

Eligible employees on an approved Leave Without Pay on the eligibility date are entitled to the payment upon return from leave, provided the return to the payroll is prior to November 30, 2008.

Eligible employees on Workers' Compensation Leave without pay, paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend or Military Training Stipend may be paid immediately.

Part-time employees are eligible for the full Uniform Allowance or Uniform Blazer Allowance payment and no prorated amount will be applied.

OSC Actions

On June 13, 2008, OSC will automatically add the Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payment (Earn Code UA5) in the Time Entry page for all employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who were Active or on paid Leave of Absence on May 31, 2008. The payment amounts will be $615.00 for Negotiating Units SR and SY, and $425.00 for Negotiating Unit S9. The Earnings Begin and End Dates will be May 31, 2008. OSC will notify OCA when the automatic processing is complete.

Employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who are on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay or on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS) on May 31, 2008 will not receive an automatic payment.

Agency Actions

Agencies are responsible for deleting the payment (Earn Code UA5) from the Time Entry page in Pay Period 5L for employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who are ineligible to receive the payment.

In Pay Period 5L, agencies are responsible for submitting the Uniform Blazer Allowance payment for eligible employees in Negotiating Unit G9 and the Uniform Allowance and/or Uniform Blazer Allowance payments for eligible employees in Negotiating Units DR, F8 and 87 and for those employees in Negotiating Units SY, SR and S9 who were not processed automatically, including those on Workers’ Compensation Disability Leave (WDL) without pay and employees on paid or unpaid Military Leave Stipend (MLS) or Military Training Stipend (MTS), using the procedure stated below:

Earnings Begin Date: 5/31/08 (If employee is on a Leave Without Pay on the eligibility date, enter the Return From Leave Date.)
Earnings End Date: Enter the same date as the Earnings Begin Date
Earn Code: Enter UA5
Amount: Enter applicable amount

In Pay Period 7L, agencies are responsible for submitting the Uniform Allowance payment for eligible employees in Negotiating Unit G9 and unrepresented employees in Negotiating Unit 86 using the procedure stated below:

Earnings Begin Date: 6/30/08 (If employee is on a Leave Without Pay on the eligibility date, enter the Return From Leave date.)
Earnings End Date: Enter the same date as the Earnings Begin Date
Earn Code: Enter UA5
Amount: Enter applicable amount

Miscellaneous Payment Information

If an employee has an additional tax amount in his/her record, the additional tax will be deducted from both the regular and the separate checks.

The Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payments are not prorated for part-time employees.

The Uniform Allowance and Uniform Blazer Allowance payments are not pensionable and are not included in the calculation of overtime.

There will be no direct deposit for these payments.

Control-D Report

The Control-D report NPAY771 will be available after the automatic payment is loaded into the Time Entry page.

The report contains the following data:

DeptID
EmplID
Empl Record
Name (Alpha order)
Earn Code
Earns End Date
Grade
BU
Percentage
Amount
Number of Payments Processed
Total Payment Amount

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earn Code UA5 and the amount paid will be displayed on the payroll register. The Earn Code description “Uniform Allowance UCS” and the amount will be printed on the employee’s paycheck stub.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to your Payroll Auditor.