Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the Lifeguard General Salary Increases.

Affected Employees

Employees in the following lifeguard titles of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Staten Island Developmental Disabilities Service Office or the Department of Environmental Conservation in the State University Professional Services Negotiating Unit (PSNU) who are included in Bargaining Unit 68 and meet the eligibility criteria.

• 001269 - Lifeguard
• 001270 - Lifeguard 2 LISPC
• 001274 - Supvg Lifeguard LISPC
• 001275 - Assnt Chf Lifeguard
• 001276 - Field Lt LISPRC LFGDS
• 001277 - Chf Lifeguard
• 001278 - Field Capt LISPRC LFG
• 019562 - Lifeguard 2

Background

All eligible members of the State University Professional Services Negotiating Unit who are included in Bargaining Unit 68 (Lifeguards) will receive general salary increases for 2014 and 2015 and will be paid retroactively in accordance with:

• Chapter 339 of the Laws of 2013, which implemented the 2004-2016 Agreement between the State of New York and the United University Professions (UUP), and
• The Governor’s Office of Employee Relations (GOER) memorandum issued April 23, 2015 outlining the Joint Labor-Management Agreement on Work Rules for Long Island Lifeguards between the State of New York and the UUP, and
• Division of the Budget Bulletin D-1130 issued April 2, 2015 on Policy and Wage Rates for State Employees in Seasonal Positions

Effective Date(s)

The salary increase will be paid using the following effective dates and check dates:

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees in a Lifeguard title on or after the payment effective date are eligible to receive the increase:

• Employees with a Pay Basis Code of HRY (Grade 600) whose rate for 2014 or 2015 is less than the rate on the Seasonal Hourly Wage schedule will receive an increase to the rate in effect on the schedule based on the employee’s title and location
• Employees with a Pay Basis Code of ANN (Grade 105) will receive an increase of two percent (2.0%) for 2014 and two percent (2.0%) for 2015

Note: Hourly employees whose rate in effect for 2014 or 2015 is equal to or greater than the rate in effect on the Seasonal Hourly Wage schedule are not eligible to receive the increases.

OSC Actions

After agency processing for Administration and Institution Pay Period 10L is complete, OSC will automatically insert rows on the Job Data page to reflect the April 2014 and April 2015 Salary Increases for employees who meet the eligibility criteria.

These increases will be processed as follows:

• If an employee is in one of the above lifeguard titles with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay on the payment effective dates:
  • A row will be inserted on the Job Data page using that effective date and the Action/Reason code Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
  • The salary on the inserted row will be increased by 2% for fiscal year 2014 and 2% for fiscal year 2015, as appropriate based on the effective dated row, rounded to the nearest dollar, for employees with Pay Basis Code equal to ANN.
  • The salary on the inserted row will be increased to the rate in effect for the appropriate fiscal year on the Seasonal Hourly Wage Schedule associated with the employee’s title and location for employees with Pay Basis Code equal to HRY.
  • All subsequent rows for that fiscal year will also be updated, regardless of status, using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for employees with a Pay Basis Code equal to ANN or Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for employees with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY.
• If an employee is not in one of the above lifeguard titles or does not have a Payroll Status of Active or Leave With Pay on any of the appropriate effective dates, but becomes eligible after the effective date:
  • A row will be inserted on the Job Data page using the date the employee was in a lifeguard title with a Payroll Status of Active or Leave with Pay using the Action/Reason code Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for employees with a Pay Basis Code equal to ANN or Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for employees with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY.
  • The salary on the inserted row will be increased by 2% for fiscal year 2014 and 2% for fiscal year 2015, as appropriate based on the effective dated row, rounded to the nearest dollar, for employees with Pay Basis Code equal to ANN.
  • The salary on the inserted row will be increased to the rate in effect for the appropriate fiscal year on the Seasonal Hourly Wage Schedule associated with the employee’s title and location for employees with Pay Basis Code equal to HRY.
  • All subsequent rows for that fiscal year up will also be updated, regardless of status, using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for employees with a Pay Basis Code equal to ANN or Pay Rate Change/CRT (Chg Rate) for employees with a Pay Basis Code equal to HRY.

Note: Employees with Pay Basis equal to HRY whose rate is equal to or greater than the rate in effect for the fiscal year on the Seasonal Hourly Wage Schedule will not receive an increase in salary.

Control-D Report Available After Processing

The following Control-D report will be available for agency review after the automatic payments have been processed. The report will be sorted by agency code, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Salary Increase Report

This report identifies all employees who received a Lifeguard General Salary Increase on the payment effective dates. The report includes the Action/Reason code used as well as the old compensation rate and new compensation rate.

Automatic Retroactive Processing

OSC will automatically calculate retroactive adjustments for regular earnings and Time Entry earnings that are calculated by the system based on annual salary, such as Overtime (OTA and OTK) and Lost Time (LT1), resulting from payment of the Lifeguard General Salary Increases.

If an employee receives a payment and has worked in more than one agency but has been paid by all agencies in the same Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency.

If an employee receives a payment and has worked in more than one agency and has been paid in more than one Employee Record Number since the effective date of the payment, the retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency of the Employee Record Number in which the payment was made.

Agency Actions – Retroactive Processing

Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes that are submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically. Therefore, agencies must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as RGO (Regular Salary Override).

Correcting an Automatic Retroactive Adjustment

When certain conditions exist in an employee’s record, the automatic retroactive adjustment may be incorrect. Therefore, the agency is responsible for identifying employees who meet the following conditions and, if necessary, submitting the necessary adjustment.

• If an employee had a check returned or exchanged on an AC-230 for dates on or after the effective date of the payment, the payroll system does not consider the AC-230 when calculating the automatic retroactive adjustment.
• If earnings were previously reported using Earnings Codes RGS or RGH and a date range that exceeded the number of days reported, the system will calculate the adjustment of earnings based on the number of workdays within the range.
• Adjustments for earnings that are calculated automatically, such as Overtime (OTA and OTK), will be calculated incorrectly if the dates previously reported as a single entry on the Time Entry page overlap the effective date of the payment. The system will calculate an adjustment for all earnings reported in a single entry based on the salary in effect on the Earnings End Date.
• For employees who had a change reported on the Job Data page since the effective date of the payment and the action resulted in an overpayment of earnings, the automatic negative retroactive adjustment may not have been processed because the overpayment was either not recoverable or was recovered using an overpayment earnings code or an AC-230. In this case, the negative retroactive adjustment may be re-generated when the payment is processed. OSC will turn off (not process) the automatic negative adjustment for these employees since in most cases these overpayments were either not recoverable or recovered using another method.

If an overpayment of earnings is identified after the payment is processed but before the paycheck is received by the employee, the employee must be notified of the overpayment and the adjustment that will be reported in a subsequent pay period.

Submitting an Adjustment

To process a retroactive adjustment or correct an automatic retroactive adjustment, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using the Earnings Code AJR.

Recalculation of Military Stipend

OSC will recalculate the military stipend amount for employees who were placed on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave on or after the effective date of the payment as the result of the new military orders.

• If the employee receives a stipend, OSC will insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective the date the employee is entitled to the increase using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and will increase the employee’s biweekly stipend amount. In addition, updates will be made to all subsequent rows requiring an increased biweekly stipend amount.
• If the employee did not receive a stipend but becomes eligible for a stipend as a result of the payment, OSC will insert the following in PayServ.
  • A row on the employee’s Job Data page effective the date the employee is entitled to a stipend using the Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
  • A row on the employee’s Job Data page for each affected subsequent row using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
  • A row on the Time Entry page using the Earnings Code MSP (Military Stipend Payment) to pay for each pay period the employee is eligible.
• Any additional adjustment that is required due to the increased biweekly stipend amount that will not be calculated automatically will be reported by OSC on the Time Entry page using the Earnings Code AMS (Adjust Military Stipend).

Deduction Information

All general deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of the following:

Tax Information

These monies are taxable income, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. Income taxes will be calculated using the employee’s current Tax Marital Status and Withholding Allowances on the Update Employee Tax Data page.

Undeliverable Checks

If the agency has made an effort to deliver the check to the employee but the check has been returned and is undeliverable, the agency should forward the check to the NYS Department of Tax and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 908.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P) and a Report of Check Exchange (Form AC 1476-P). If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

All retroactive adjustments will be displayed on the Payroll Register using the appropriate earnings code and the associated amount. The description of each earnings code and the associated amount will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice unless there are more than 13 earnings codes. For these employees, agencies should utilize Locked Query #49 to identify a complete list of all regular earnings and retroactive adjustments.

Questions

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

Questions regarding Deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deductions mailbox.

Questions regarding Military Stipends may be directed to the Military Stipend mailbox.

Questions regarding Taxes should be directed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.