UCS-72

Subject

Ratification Bonus for the Unified Court System

Purpose

To explain the automatic processing of the Ratification Bonus payment and to provide agencies instructions for adding payments.

Affected Employees

Represented and un-represented employees in the following bargaining units who meet the eligibility criteria defined below:

Represented employees in Bargaining Units SA, SR, SN, G9, F8, DR, SG, S9, SK, SD, and 87.

Un-represented employees in Bargaining Units CT, 86, and 88.

Effective
Date(s)

Payment will be included in the employee's regular check, dated September 22, 2004.

Background

Chapter 203 of the Laws of 2004, which implements agreements between the State and various bargaining units and legislation for un-represented employees in the Unified Court System, provides for a Ratification Bonus of $800.00 for eligible employees.

Payment Amount and Eligibility

The following employees are eligible for the Ratification Bonus payment of $800.00. The Ratification Bonus payment is not pro-rated for hourly or part-time employees.

	Represented Annual and Hourly employees in Bargaining Units DR, F8, S9, SA, SD, SG, SN, and SR who are Active or on authorized Paid Leave or Leave of Absence on 7/01/04.
	Represented Annual and Hourly employees in Bargaining Units G9 and SK who were Active or on authorized Paid Leave or Leave of Absence on 7/06/04.
	Represented Annual and Hourly employees in Bargaining Unit 87 who are Active or on authorized Paid Leave or Leave of Absence on 8/04/04.
	Un-represented Annual employees in Bargaining Units 86, 88, and CT who are Active or on authorized Paid Leave or Leave of Absence on 8/04/04.

The Ratification Bonus payment is pensionable and is not included in overtime calculations.

Employees Not Eligible for Payment

The following employees are not eligible for the Ratification Bonus payment:

	Employees in grade 570
	Employees on an unauthorized Leave on their bargaining unit's ratification date:
	7/01/04 for Bargaining Units DR, F8, S9, SA, SD, SG, SN, and SR 7/06/04 for Bargaining Units G9 and SK 8/04/04 for Bargaining Unit 86, 87, 88, and CT
	Employees who were on a Leave of Absence in a UCS agency on their Bargaining Unit's ratification date and who were working in a state agency, other than a UCS agency, on the same date.
	Un-represented Hourly employees in Bargaining Units 86, 88, and CT.

OSC Automatic

Processing

On September 2, 2004, OSC automatically inserted a row in the Time Entry page using the earnings code RBP to pay the Bonus to the following employees:

	All Annual salaried employees who were Active or on an authorized Paid Leave or Leave of Absence on their bargaining unit's ratification date:
	7/01/04 for Bargaining Units DR, F8, S9, SA, SD, SG, SN, and SR 7/06/04 for Bargaining Units G9 and SK 8/04/04 for Bargaining Unit 86, 87, 88, and CT

The RBP transactions will contain the following information:

Earnings Begin Date	7/01/04, 7/06/04, or 8/04/04 based on Bargaining Unit
Earnings End Date	Same as Earnings Begin Date
Amount	$800.00

Agency Payment Processing

Agencies must submit RBP (Ratification Bonus Payments) on the Time Entry page for all eligible Hourly employees. The information needed is as follows:

Earnings Begin Date	7/01/04, 7/06/04, or 8/04/04 based on Bargaining Unit
Earnings End Date	Same as Earnings Begin Date
Amount	$800.00

If an employee is on an unauthorized Leave on the Ratification Date, and later has an authorized Leave approved retroactively and becomes eligible for the payment, the agency must submit the payment.

Payroll Register and Employee's Paycheck or Advice

The Earn code RBP and the amount of the payment will be displayed on the payroll register and the employee's check or advice.

Questions

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