State Agencies Bulletin No. 1410

Subject
Third Phase of the Deficit Reduction Plan for PSNU Employees in Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Titles Represented by the United University Professions (UUP)
Date Issued
May 27, 2015

Purpose

To inform agencies of new earnings codes and procedures for processing the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan.

Affected Employees

Summer seasonal employees (with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY) in the State University Professional Services Negotiating Unit (PSNU) – BU68 in the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation or the Department of Environmental Conservation who meet the eligibility criteria.

Excludes hourly employees with an hourly rate less than $8.88.

Background

Pursuant to Section 7 of Part A of Chapter 491 of the Laws of 2011 and the Division of the Budget Bulletin B-1210 issued September 20, 2013, a plan has been established to reduce the compensation of any employee within the purview of the Agreement between the State of New York and the United University Professions.

Effective Date(s)

The third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan begins when the employee joins the payroll in State Fiscal Year 2015-2016 for the 2015 summer season and will continue until the employee leaves the payroll for the 2015 summer season. Monies collected as part of the third phase will be repaid to the employee.

Attachment A provides a breakdown of the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan period by check date and includes the pay period number, pay period begin date and pay period end date for each pay type.

New Earnings Codes

OSC has created new earnings codes to process the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan.

Additional Pay Earnings Code Description
D4H 15-16 68 SS DRP -1.538% (Retro Code – R9H)
Time Entry Earnings Code Description
D5H 15-16 68 SS DRP Oth -1.538%

Automatic Set Up of the Additional Pay Record – OSC

In Administration and Institution Pay Periods 5L, 6L, 7L and 8L, OSC will insert a row on the Additional Pay page for employees who meet ALL of the following criteria, provided a row does not already exist:

  • Employee is in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 on the pay period end date for the pay period being processed.
  • Employee has a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence on the pay period end date for the pay period being processed.
  • Employee was not in a position other than a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay any time during the pay period being processed.

The inserted row on the Additional Pay page will be set up as follows:

Earnings Code: D4H
Effective Date: First day the employee is in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave with Pay in the pay period being processed; otherwise, first day the employee is in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Leave of Absence in the pay period being processed.
Earnings: The field will be left blank; the system will calculate the D4H amount based on the eligible earnings.
End Date: Pay period end date for Administration or Institution Pay Period 14L (per Attachment A).

NOTE: If an employee is terminated prior to the End Date identified above, the system will update the End Date to reflect the date of termination.

Manual Set Up of the Additional Pay Record

Employees Not Meeting the Automatic Set Up Criteria

Agencies are responsible for creating the Additional Pay record for those employees who do not meet the criteria in the Automatic Set Up of the Additional Pay Record – OSC section but who are in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay any time during Administration or Institution Pay Periods 5L, 6L, 7L or 8L.

The Additional Pay record should be set up as follows:

Earnings Code: D4H
Effective Date: First day the employee is in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay in Administration or Institution Pay Period 5L, 6L, 7L or 8L.
Earnings: The field must be left blank; the system will calculate the D4H amount based on the eligible earnings.
End Date: Last day the employee is in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68; if employee remains in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 at the end of Administration or Institution Pay Period 5L, 6L, 7L or 8L respectively, use the pay period end date for Administration or Institution Pay Period 14L (per Attachment A).

NOTE: If an employee is terminated prior to the End Date identified above, the system will update the End Date to reflect the date of termination.

Newly Eligible Employees

Agencies are responsible for creating the Additional Pay record for employees who are hired, rehired, concurrently hired or transferred into a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay prior to Administration or Institution Pay Period 5L or after Administration or Institution Pay Period 8L. Agencies must also create or restart the Additional Pay record if an employee returns from a Leave of Absence to a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay during the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan period.

The Additional Pay record should be set up as follows:

Earnings Code: D4H
Effective Date: Date of the hire, rehire, concurrent hire, transfer or return from leave transaction into a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay within the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan period.
Earnings: The field must be left blank; the system will calculate the D4H amount based on the eligible earnings.
End Date: Pay period end date for Administration or Institution Pay Period 14L (per Attachment A).

NOTE: If an employee is terminated prior to the End Date identified above, the system will update the End Date to reflect the date of termination.

Calculating the Deficit Reduction Amount – D4H (Additional Pay)

Each pay period, the system will calculate the deficit reduction amount for employees with a D4H record that was active any time during the pay period being processed regardless of whether the employee was in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68. The system will total all monies for the following earnings codes where the earnings end date falls within the pay period dates being processed and multiply the result by -.01538.

Earnings Code Description
MSP Military Stipend Payment
RGH Regular Pay Hourly Employee
RGO Regular Pay Override
RGS Regular Pay Salary Employee
TSP Military Training Stipend

As with other Additional Pay Earnings Codes, it may be necessary to submit an adjustment in order to calculate the correct deficit reduction amount.

Employees No Longer Subject to the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan

If an employee transfers into a position where the bargaining unit is not 68 or into a year-round position in Bargaining Unit 68, the agency must insert a row on the Additional Pay page for Earnings Code D4H and insert an End Date equal to the last date the employee is in the eligible position.

If the End Date must equal the original Effective Date or if a subsequent row(s) exists for Earnings Code D4H, the agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code COR (Cor History) and request that OSC enter the End Date on the existing row or insert a new row.

If the End Date is retroactive and is other than the last day of a pay period, the employee is likely due a refund of a portion of the monies withheld in that pay period and all subsequent pay periods. Retroactive processing, however, will not pay back any monies taken for the pay period in which the End Date falls; therefore, the agency must submit a positive adjustment (see Processing Adjustments in Time Entry section). Retroactive processing will refund any monies taken in a subsequent pay period using the same earnings code.

Processing Adjustments in Time Entry

If an employee is in both a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 AND a year-round position in Bargaining Unit 68 or a position with a different bargaining unit during a pay period AND has a D4H record active any time during the same pay period, the system will calculate the deficit reduction amount on all eligible earnings where the earnings end date falls within the pay period dates being processed. It is the agency’s responsibility to determine the monies that should not have been included in the deficit reduction amount, multiply the amount by +.01538 and submit a positive adjustment using Earnings Code D5H.

In addition, the system will not include any monies paid using one of the eligible earnings codes listed above where the earnings end date is prior to the pay period begin date for the pay period being processed. It is the agency’s responsibility to determine those monies that should have been included in the deficit reduction amount, multiply the amount by -.01538 and submit a negative adjustment using Earnings Code D5H.

A Time Entry transaction should be submitted as follows:

Earnings Begin Date: First earnings begin date within the deficit reduction period for the earnings codes included in this calculation for the pay period being processed.
Earnings End Date: Last earnings end date within the deficit reduction period for the earnings codes included in this calculation for the pay period being processed.
Earn Code: D5H
Amount: Total adjustment amount – can be negative or positive.

Control-D Report NPAY729

In order to assist agencies in identifying monies that should be included in the Deficit Reduction Time Entry calculation, OSC created Control-D report NPAY729 (Earnings Requiring an Adjustment to the Deficit Reduction Calculation). This report identifies employees who have earnings in Paycheck Data for one or more earnings codes listed in the Calculating the Deficit Reduction Amount – D4H section provided:

  • The earnings end date falls within the deficit reduction period; and
  • The earnings end date is less than the begin date for the pay period being processed; and
  • The employee is in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY and a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay on the earnings end date for the specified earnings code.

NOTE: This report will include employees in a year-round position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY who are actually subject to the Year-Round Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan. Agencies must ensure the correct deficit reduction monies are withheld for these employees.

The report is available the Thursday after the payroll period is confirmed.

The report is sorted by Employee Name and then by Earnings Begin Date and Earnings Code. Fields on the report include Emplid, Employee Record Number, Employee Name, Earnings Code, Earnings Begin Date, Earnings End Date, Hours, Earnings Amount and Addl DRP and Description.

Processing Deficit Reduction in Time Entry

Monies earned during the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan while in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 using any of the earnings codes listed below are also subject to the deficit reduction but will not be calculated automatically.

Earnings Code Description
AMS Adjust Military Stipend
BAS Back Pay Administrative Settle
BJS Back Pay Judicial Settlement
BPA Back Pay Award
BPO Back Pay Court Order
BPS Back Pay Pre-Adjud Settle
EXT Extra Time
FAS Front Pay Admin Settlement
FJS Front Pay Judicial Settlement
FPA Front Pay Award
FPO Front Pay Court Order
FPS Front Pay Pre-Adjud Settle
S3G Step 3 Out-of-Title Grievance
WPS WC 60% Sup
WSP Award/Supp Program Supplement

Therefore, it is the agency’s responsibility to total monies paid each pay period for any of these earnings codes that are earned during the deficit reduction period while in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68, calculate the deficit reduction amount and submit a Time Entry transaction as follows:

Earnings Begin Date: First earnings begin date within the deficit reduction period for the earnings codes included in this calculation for the pay period being processed
Earnings End Date: Last earnings end date within the deficit reduction period for the earnings codes included in this calculation for the pay period being processed
Earn Code: D5H
Amount: Total the earnings for all of the earnings codes listed above earned during the deficit reduction period that are included in the pay period being processed and multiply by -.01538

If the agency subsequently reduces the monies earned for any of the earnings codes listed above during the deficit reduction period, a corresponding Deficit Reduction Time Entry transaction should also be submitted to reduce the deficit reduction amount. The amount would be calculated by multiplying the adjustment to the earnings amount by +.01538.

Note: Monies earned using Earnings Code BAS, BJS, BPA, BPO, BPS, FAS, FJS, FPA, FPO, FPS or S3G, monies earned using one of the adjustment codes and monies paid retroactively or as the result of a correction, should be handled on a case by case basis depending on whether the monies were earned during the deficit reduction period.

Control-D Report NPAY726

In order to assist agencies in identifying monies that should be included in the Deficit Reduction Time Entry calculation, OSC created Control-D report NPAY726 (Earnings Requiring a Manual Deficit Reduction Calculation). This report identifies employees who have earnings in Paycheck Data for one or more of the earnings codes listed in the Processing Deficit Reduction in Time Entry section provided:

  • The earnings end date falls within the deficit reduction period; and
  • The employee is in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY and a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay on the earnings end date for the specified earnings code.

NOTE: This report will include employees in a year-round position in Bargaining Unit 68 with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY who are actually subject to the Year-Round Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan. Agencies must ensure the correct deficit reduction monies are withheld for these employees.

The report is available the Thursday after the payroll period is confirmed.

The report is sorted by Employee Name and then by Earnings Begin Date and Earnings Code. Fields on the report include Emplid, Employee Record Number, Employee Name, Earnings Code, Earnings Begin Date, Earnings End Date, Hours, Earnings Amount and Addl DRP and Description.

Earnings Not Subject to the Deficit Reduction

Monies earned during the deficit reduction period while in a summer seasonal position in Bargaining Unit 68 in any of the following categories are not subject to the deficit reduction.

  • Bonus Pay
  • DRP Repayments
  • Extra Service
  • Fringe Benefits
  • Holiday Pay
  • Lost Time
  • Lump Sum Payments for Accruals
  • Overtime Pay
  • Statutory Workers’ Compensation Benefits
  • Unpaid Leave

Summary of Agency Actions

Agencies are responsible for the following actions:

  • Create the D4H record for employees who do not meet the criteria in the Automatic Set Up of the Additional Pay Record – OSC section.
  • Create the D4H record for newly eligible employees if entered prior to Administration or Institution Pay Period 5L or after Administration or Institution Pay Period 8L.
  • Calculate and submit a positive D5H transaction when monies earned in an ineligible position are included in the D4H calculation.
  • Calculate and submit a negative D5H transaction when eligible monies are paid outside of the pay period being processed.
  • Calculate and submit a negative D5H transaction for eligible monies paid using those earnings codes in the Processing Deficit Reduction in Time Entry section.
  • Calculate and submit a positive D5H transaction when a reduction of the eligible monies included in the original D5H transaction occurs.
  • End Date the Additional Pay record for Earnings Code D4H if the employee transfers to a position not subject to the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan (submit an adjustment as appropriate).

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

Where appropriate, the following earnings codes and the associated amounts will be displayed on the payroll register. The earnings code description and the amount will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub and/or direct deposit advice.

Earnings Code Description
D4H 15-16 68 SS DRP -1.538%
R9H 15-16 68 SS Retro DRP -1.538%
D5H 15-16 68 SS DRP Oth -1.538%

Questions

Questions regarding the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan should be directed to the applicable budget examiner at the Division of the Budget.

Questions regarding the granting of time as it relates to the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan should be directed to the agency’s appointing authority.

Questions regarding Payroll processing of the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan should be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.

Questions regarding the impact on taxes or deductions as it relates to the third phase of the Summer Seasonal Lifeguard Deficit Reduction Plan should be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.