State Agencies Bulletin No. 1576

Subject
April 2017 Public Employees Federation (PEF) Longevity Payment for Long-Term Seasonal Employees
Date Issued
June 16, 2017

Purpose

To provide agencies with instructions for processing the April 2017 Longevity Payment for Long-Term Seasonal Employees represented by the Public Employees’ Federation (PEF).

Affected Employees

Seasonal hourly employees of the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in the following bargaining unit who meet the eligibility criteria:

PEF  
Professional, Scientific & Technical Services BU05

Background

The 2016-2019 Agreement between the State of New York and the Public Employees Federation (PEF) provides for a lump sum award of $500 effective the first pay period of the fiscal year to employees who have at least 1500 hours in pay status in seasonal positions during each of the previous five years.

Effective Date(s)

Payments may be submitted for Administration Extra Lag paychecks dated 06/14/17 or Institution Extra Lag paychecks dated 06/22/17

Eligibility Criteria

Employees who meet the following criteria are eligible to receive the April 2016 Longevity Payment:

  • Active on the appropriate payment effective date; and
  • In a BU05, seasonal hourly position; and
  • In the Department of Environmental Conservation (Department ID 09180) or the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (Department ID 49xxx), and
  • Has at least 1,500 hours in pay status as a seasonal employee during each of the previous five years in either department.

Employees who otherwise qualify but are not Active on the appropriate payment effective date, become eligible for the payment if they return to the payroll in a seasonal hourly position within the fiscal year.

Agency Actions

To pay the April 2017 Longevity Payment to eligible employees, agencies must submit the following information on the Additional Pay page using the Earnings Code LPS:

Earnings Code: LPS
Effective Date: 03/30/17 (Deptid 49xxx)
04/06/17 (Deptid 09180)
Or the date the employee returned to the payroll in an eligible seasonal position
OT Eff Date: Same as the Effective Date
Annual Addl Earnings: $500
End Date: Leave Blank*
Goal Balance: Leave Blank

*The End Date Field can be left blank since PayServ does not automatically include the earnings in the overtime compensation calculation for hourly employees. Overtime that should include the April 2017 Longevity Payment must be adjusted using the instructions in Overtime Calculation and Retirement Information.

Overtime Calculation

The Longevity Payment for Long-Term Seasonal Employees 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). The April 2017 Longevity Payment must be included from the OT Eff Date on the employee’s Additional Pay page for Earnings Code LPS through the end of the fiscal year, provided the employee remains in an eligible seasonal position. Since PayServ does not include these monies in the overtime compensation calculation for hourly employees, an overtime adjustment is required.

To pay the overtime adjustment to eligible employees, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using Earnings Code LAO:

Earnings Begin Date: The first overtime date to include LPS
Earnings End Date: The last overtime date to include LPS
Earn Code: LAO
Hours: The number of overtime hours to include LPS

The system will multiply the number of hours reported above by $.38 to determine the overtime adjustment amount.

If an eligible seasonal employee is appointed to a non-seasonal position (e.g. Pay Basis Code ANN) and has received the April 2017 Longevity Payment, the payment cannot be included in the compensation calculation of any overtime earned after the appointment date. Therefore, agencies must insert a row on the Additional Pay page at the Effective Date level of Earnings Code LPS 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: $500 (populates automatically)
End Date: Same as Effective Date
Goal Balance: $500 (to prevent making another payment)

Tax Information

The Longevity Payment for Long-Term Seasonal Employees (LPS) is supplemental taxable wages, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and is subject to all employment and income taxes.

Federal, State and New York City income tax withholding will be calculated using the Aggregate method. Yonkers income tax withholding will be calculated using the Flat Rate method (1.61135% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents).

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code LPS and LAO (if applicable) and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description Longevity Payment Seasonal and Longevity Adjustment Overtime (if applicable) and the amount paid will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin maybe directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.