This bulletin is superseded by Payroll Bulletin 1837.1

Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of the new Action Reason codes to place employees on a Paid Leave of Absence related to the COVID-19 health crisis and to introduce a new Time Entry Earnings code to apply the statutory maximum on employee earnings.

Affected Employees

All employees are affected.

Background

In response to the COVID-19 health crisis, the United States federal government has signed two laws to provide employees with paid sick leave benefits in the event the employee is subject to a mandatory or precautionary quarantine related to COVID-19, is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking medical diagnosis, or is caring for an individual who has been affected by COVID-19.

The Federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (FEPSLA) provides employees with a maximum of 2 weeks of paid sick leave. Employees can use FEPSLA leave as either 2 weeks individual paid sick leave OR 2 weeks paid leave for childcare, as described below.

Employees may use FEPSLA leave as individual sick leave if they are subject to quarantine or isolation, advised by a health care provider to precautionary-quarantine, or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and are seeking a medical diagnosis. Wages are paid at the employee’s regular rate of compensation but are subject to a cap of $511.00 per day and $5,110.00 for the 2 week period.

Employees may use FEPSLA leave for the purposes of child care if they are taking care of individuals in certain categories or are caring for a minor child whose school or place of care has been closed, or the childcare provider is unavailable due to COVID-19 precautions. Wages are paid at a rate of two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of compensation but are subject to a cap of $200.00 per day and $2,000.00 for the two week period.

FEPSLA leave provided to an employee ends at the beginning of the employee’s next scheduled work shift immediately following the termination of the need for paid sick time. FEPSLA Leave cannot be used intermittently, even if the employee has not used the full two weeks of leave.

The Emergency Family Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLA) modifies the current Family Medical Leave Act and provides up to 10 weeks of paid leave to eligible employees who must take leave to care for a minor child because the school or place of care for the child has been closed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Employee wages under the EFMLA are paid at a rate of two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of compensation, subject to a cap of $200.00 per day but may not exceed a total of $10,000.00 for the 10 week period.

Important: An employee’s regular rate of compensation includes the Annual salary plus any Additional Pay earnings, or as compensation is specified in the Federal or State Law’s regarding COVID-19.

All benefits under the FEPSLA and the EFMLA are available to eligible employees from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Effective Date(s)

The new Action Reason codes and Earnings code are available immediately and for use retroactively to effective date April 1, 2020. Benefits under the FEPSLA and EFMLA are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020.

Eligibility Criteria

All employees are eligible for paid leave benefits under the FEPSLA and the EFMLA with certain restrictions. Specific eligibility requirements for the FEPSLA and EFMLA can be found in the New York State Department of Civil Service Attendance and Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 2020-01.

OSC Actions

OSC has created new Action Reason codes to be used on the employee’s Job Data record to report the use of either FEPSLA or EFMLA paid leave:

• PLA/19F– FEPSLA PD LV 100%: Employee wages under this section of the FEPSLA are paid at the employee’s regular rate of compensation, subject to a cap of $511.00 per day and $5,110.00 for the 2 week period.

• PLA/19P– FEPSLA PD LV PARTIAL: Employee wages under this section of the FEPSLA are paid at a rate of two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of compensation, subject to a cap of $200.00 per day and $2,000.00 for the 2 week period.

• PLA/FMC– EFMLA PD LV COVID 19: Employee wages under the EFMLA are paid at a rate of two-thirds of the employee’s regular rate of compensation, subject to a cap of $200.00 per day but may not exceed a total of $10,000.00 for the 10 week period.

Note: The Department of Civil Service will NOT be creating corresponding Action Reason codes in NYSTEP.

OSC also created a new miscellaneous Time Entry Earnings code A19 - Adj per COVID-19 Pd Lv Caps. This code must be submitted by agencies to adjust the biweekly wages in compliance with the wage caps noted above.

Overpayments due to delays in processing paid leave transactions or submission of incorrect A19 adjustments will be recovered using the appropriate Additional Pay overpayment earnings code. The agency is responsible for submitting the overpayment through Additional Pay.

Agency Actions Paid Leave for Pay Basis Codes ANN, CAL, 21P, CYF, CYP, LEG

Immediately, agencies may submit Job transactions using the new Paid Leave Reason codes. The effective date of the transactions may be retroactive to 4/1/2020. Agencies must submit the transaction using Action code PLA (Paid Leave of Absence) with the appropriate Reason code 19F, 19P, or FMC.

When using Reason codes 19P or FMC, the agency must change the employee’s Part-Time Percent to two-thirds of the employee’s percentage immediately before the leave, rounded to the nearest fourth decimal place.

If the effective date of a paid leave transaction is retroactive, and prior to the effective date of the most current row on an employee’s PayServ history, then the Agency must submit a DTA/COR Job Action request.

Agency Actions for Pay Basis Codes HRY, AJT and BIW

Pay Basis Code HRY

Agencies must submit Job transactions using the new Paid Leave Reason codes on the Job Data page to document the use of either full FEPSLA leave, partial FEPSLA leave, or EFMLA. Please see the New York State Department of Civil Service Attendance and Leave Manual Policy Bulletin 2020-01 for calculation of the number of hours to pay to an employee who works on a less than full time basis. Agencies must enter the appropriate number of hours on the Time Entry page using Earnings code RGH.

Pay Basis Code AJT

Agencies must submit Job transactions using the new Paid Leave Reason codes. Agencies must enter the appropriate adjustment amount on the Time Entry page using earnings code A19.

Pay Basis Code BIW
Agencies must submit Job transactions using the new Paid Leave Reason codes, and must report the employee’s reduced percentage, if applicable, on the Job Data page. Agencies also must enter a Pay Rate change request on the Job Action Request page to reduce the biweekly rate to pay the correct reduced percentage rate.

Agency Actions Adjustment of Paid Leave on Time Entry

Once an employee has been placed in Paid Leave status using one of the new Reason codes, the agency will then verify that the wages are less than or equal to the appropriate wage cap. If the wages are greater than the wage cap, then the agency will calculate the amount of wages above the wage cap. This amount will be submitted into Time Entry using the A19 adjustment earnings code.

Important: An employee’s regular rate of compensation includes the Annual salary plus any Additional Pay earnings or as specified in the Federal or State Law’s regarding COVID-19.

Tax information

These monies are taxable income, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross, and are subject to all employment and income taxes.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code A19 and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description Adj per COVID-19 Pd Lv Caps and the amount paid will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions

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