This bulletin supersedes Payroll Bulletin 1735.1
Purpose
To provide agencies with instructions for the new Additional Pay Earnings Code to be used when an employee’s annual salary (including Location Pay), converted to an hourly rate, is less than the Division of the Budget (DOB) approved minimum wage.
Affected Employees
Employees in annual positions, including those working on a part-time basis, who meet the eligibility criteria
Background
DOB Bulletin G-1039 (issued December 27, 2018 and revised June 18, 2019) authorized the minimum hourly wage be increased for seasonal and other non-statutory positions to $15.00 for State employees whose job location is within the five boroughs of New York City (NYC), $12.00 for State employees whose job location is within the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, or Westchester, or $11.10 for State employees in all other job locations.
Per DOB Bulletin G-1039, Location Pay will be included for the purpose of determining eligibility for a minimum wage increase.
Currently, there are some employees in the five boroughs of New York City (NYC) whose annual salary (including Location Pay) may be less than the hourly equivalent of $15.00 per hour.
In order to pay eligible employees at least the annualized equivalent of $15.00 per hour ($15 x 2088 = $31,320), OSC has created a new derived bi-weekly differential to bring affected employees to the DOB approved minimum wage.
Effective Date(s)
The Minimum Wage Differential may be processed beginning with the following effective dates and check dates:
| Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type | Effective Date | Check Date |
| Institution 3 Current | 01/01/2019 | 05/09/2019 |
| Institution 2 Lag | 01/01/2019 | 05/09/2019 |
| Institution 2 Extra Lag | 01/01/2019 | 05/09/2019 |
| Administration 3 Current | 01/01/2019 | 05/15/2019 |
| Administration 2 Lag | 01/01/2019 | 05/15/2019 |
| Administration 1 Extra Lag | 01/01/2019 | 05/15/2019 |
Eligibility Criteria
Employees must meet each of the following criteria in order to receive the Minimum Wage Differential:
- Work in one of the five boroughs of New York City (NYC)
- Have a Pay Basis Code of ANN on or after the appropriate effective date
- Have an annual rate
(including Location Pay)of less than $31,320
Differential Calculation
The Minimum Wage Differential is calculated as follows:
Annualized Minimum Wage ($31,320)
-(Annual Salary + Location Pay)
= Differential
Note: Part-time annual employees are not entitled to Location Pay.
OSC Actions
The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) has created the new Additional Pay code:
MWD (Minimum Wage Differential), to be used for increasing a qualified annual employee’s bi-weekly pay to the equivalent of the DOB approved minimum wage.
Agency Actions
The agency must use the following procedure when reporting the Minimum Wage Differential on the Additional Pay page:
| Earnings Code: | MWD |
| Effective Date: | 1/1/2019 |
| OT Effective Date: | Same as Effective Date |
| Annual Additional Earnings: | Computed Amount (Differential) |
| Earns End Date: | Leave Blank |
| Goal Balance: | Leave Blank |
Note: Agencies are responsible for entering any mid-pay period adjustments.
Changes to Employee Salary:
When an employee receives a change to their Annual Salary or Location Pay, agencies must recalculate the Minimum Wage Differential and add a new row in Additional Pay using the same effective date as the salary change and the new amount in Annual Earnings.
For employees that were already receiving the Minimum Wage Differential prior to the update to DOB Bulletin G-1039, the agency must do the following to update the current row:
- Recalculate the MWD amount without Location Pay
- Enter a Data Change/Cor Hist and include the following:
- The new MWD amount
- Request the MWD amount in Additional Pay be updated with the new differential amount.
- Enter adjustments (AMW) if necessary
Ending Minimum Wage Differential:
When an employee’s Annual Salary (including Location Pay) becomes equal to or greater than $31,320 the employee is no longer eligible for the Minimum Wage Differential. The agency must enter new row in Additional Pay using the following procedure:
| Earnings Code: | MWD |
| Effective Date: | First Day the Employee is no longer Eligible |
| OT Effective Date: | Leave Blank |
| Annual Additional Earnings: | Leave Blank |
| Earns End Date: | Same as Effective Date |
| Goal Balance: | Leave Blank |
Note: Agencies are responsible for entering any mid-pay period adjustments.
Tax Information
The Minimum Wage Differential is taxable income, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and is subject to all employment and income taxes.
Miscellaneous Payment Information
The Minimum Wage Differential is included in the calculation of overtime and is pensionable. The Minimum Wage Differential must NOT be included when calculating promotions.
Questions
Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.