Purpose
To explain OSC’s automatic processing of the Retroactive Adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus (JLO) payment.
Affected Employees
All employees in the following Negotiating Units who meet the eligibility criteria and received payment for the 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus.
| New York State Court Officers Association | Bargaining Unit SR |
| New York State Supreme Court Officers Association | Bargaining Unit SY |
| New York State Court Clerks Association | Bargaining Unit S9 |
Background
Chapters 71 and 72 of the Laws of 2018, in conjunction with Chapter 400 of the Laws of 2014 and Chapter 98 of the Laws of 2017, which implemented the 2011-2021 Agreements between the Unified Court System of the State of New York (UCS) and the New York State Court Officers Association (Bargaining Unit SR), the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association (Bargaining Unit SY) and the New York State Court Clerks Association (Bargaining Unit S9), provides for a retroactive increase in Judicial Longevity Bonus payments effective April 1, 2017 for all eligible members.
Effective Date(s)
The retroactive adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus payment will be paid using the following effective date and check date.
| Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type | Payment Effective Date | Check Date |
| Administration 7 Lag | 04/06/2017 | 7/25/2018 |
Eligibility Criteria
All employees in an eligible bargaining unit who met the eligibility criteria for and received the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus payment are eligible for the retroactive adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus. See Payroll Bulletin UCS-239 for the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus eligibility criteria.
OSC Actions – Automatic Processing
OSC will process the retroactive adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus for those employees who meet the eligibility criteria and have already received the April 2017 JLO payment by increasing the Annual Addl Earnings amount to the new earnings amount, and pay the difference between the new Annual Additional Earnings and the existing Goal Balance using Earnings Code AJL (Adjust Judicial Longevity) as shown below.
| Earnings Code: | JLO |
| Effective Date: | Same as JLO row effective 04/06/17 or later |
| OT Eff Date: | Same as Effective Date |
| Annual Addl Earnings: | See Payment Amount below |
| End Date: | 04/04/2018 |
Payment Amount
Employees who have already received an April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus payment (Earnings Code JLO) will receive the new amount, based on the employee’s years of service and percentage in effect on 04/01/2017, below.
| Years of Service | Anniversary Dates | Prior Payment Amount | New Payment Amount |
| 20 – 24 years | 04/01/1992 through 03/31/1997 | $1,900 | $1,950 |
| 25 – 29 years | 04/01/1987 through 03/31/1992 | $2,000 | $2,050 |
| 30 or more years | 03/31/1987 and earlier | $2,100 | $2,150 |
Employees who receive the Judicial Longevity Bonus Payment Increase will receive the additional amount based on the employee’s years of service and percentage in effect on 04/01/2017.
Employees who met the eligibility criteria for the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus payment but do not have an existing Earnings Code JLO row effective 04/06/2017 or later on the Additional Pay page will not receive the retroactive increase.
In order to automatically pay the adjustment for the 2017 payment, a row will be inserted into the Additional Pay page for the adjustment amount. This row will have the following information:
| Earnings Code: | AJL (Adjust Judicial Longevity) |
| Effective Date: | 04/06/2017 |
| Earnings: | Difference between the original JLO amount and the new 2017 JLO amount (Per chart above) |
| Goal Amount: | Same as earnings amount |
| End Date | 07/11/2018 |
Automatic Retroactive Processing
Retroactive Adjustments for Additional Pay and Time Entry Earnings
Time Entry earnings codes that are calculated based on an employee’s additional salary factors such as overtime (OTD) will be automatically adjusted.
For eligible employees who have worked in more than one (1) agency since the effective date of the retroactive adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus, all retroactive adjustments will be paid in the most current agency.
Control-D Report Available After Processing
The following Control-D report will be available after processing of the automatic increase:
NPAY770 – One Time Payment Report
This report identifies all employees who received the automatic retroactive adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus.
Miscellaneous Payment Information
The retroactive adjustment to the April 2017 Judicial Longevity Bonus is included in the calculation of overtime and is pensionable.
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 percentage based dues and agency shop fees and the following:
| Code | Description |
| 410 | Health Care Spending Account |
| 420 | NY Dependent Care Contribution |
| 425 | Repay State Loans/Debt |
| 426 | Higher Ed Repay State Loan |
| 428 | Dependent Care |
| 433 | Total Unemployment Ins Owed |
| 500 | Medicare Deficiency |
| 501 | Social Security Deficiency |
| 502 | NYS SS/Medicare Deficiency |
| GARNSH | Garnishments |
| HIATRG | Regular After Tax Health |
| HIATSP | Special After Tax Health Adj |
Tax Information
These monies are taxable income and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. These monies will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2.
The Judicial Longevity Payment Adjustment (AJL) is supplemental taxable income and will be included in the employee’s taxable gross 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).
Please see Bulletin 1575 Supplemental Wages for more information.
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 Taxation and Finance, Division of Treasure, 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), original Death Certificate 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 with the amount paid and will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice using the appropriate Earnings Description as well as the amount paid unless the number of earnings codes exceeds 13. Agencies should utilize Locked Query #49 to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.
Questions
Questions about payment processing may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.