This bulletin supersedes Payroll Bulletin 1763
Purpose
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide agencies with information regarding the outreach and escheatment of uncashed payroll checks for calendar year 2018.
Affected Employees
Employees with one or more uncashed payroll checks originally issued in calendar year 2018 are affected.
Background
Abandoned Property Law §102 requires uncashed checks become abandoned property after one year.
Abandoned Property Law §1422 requires State agencies perform certain payee notification requirements.
Effective Date(s)
Payroll Checks issued between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018 are affected.
Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing
Control-D report NPAY539 (Non- Negotiated Payroll Checks) is available for agency use.
Agency Actions
Agencies must notify affected employees that stop payments will be issued for all uncashed payroll checks originally issued in 2018 and the funds will be remitted to the Office of Unclaimed Funds (OUF) on April 22, 2020. Employees can visit the Unclaimed Funds - Search for Lost Money website to search for money remitted to OUF and submit a claim to recover these funds.
OSC Actions
Per Abandoned Property Law §1422, an initial outreach letter was sent to all employees with a 2018 uncashed payroll check greater than $19.99 on September 6, 2019. A second outreach letter was sent via certified mail to all employees with a 2018 uncashed payroll check greater than $999.99 on October 21, 2019.
Signed outreach letters returned to OSC prior to February 1, 2020 were treated as a written request for reissuance of a payroll check.
Any checks that remain uncashed as of April 20, 2020 will be stopped and the funds will be escheated and sent to OUF on April 22, 2020.
Questions
Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Uncashed NYS Payroll Checks mailbox.
For more information regarding the escheatment schedule, see the Operational Advisory 9 – Current Year Escheatment.