State Agencies Bulletin No. 1830

Subject
2020 Special Assignment to Duty Pay for Calendar Year 2019
Date Issued
March 25, 2020

Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide agencies instructions for processing the 2020 Special Assignment to Duty Pay (SAD).

Affected Employees

Employees of the Department of Transportation and the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in the following bargaining units who meet the eligibility criteria are affected:

CSEA
Administrative Services Unit
Operational Services Unit
Institutional Services Unit

BU02
BU03
BU04

Background

Pursuant to the side letter contained in the 2016-2021 Agreements between the State of New York and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), employees whose assignment constitutes an exposure to inherent danger by virtue of unavoidable proximity to live vehicular traffic within the highway Rights-of-Way are eligible for Special Assignment to Duty Pay.

The pilot project will sunset on April 01, 2021 unless continued by mutual agreement of the parties.

Effective Date(s)

Effective Administration Pay Period 26L, paychecks dated 04/15/2020.

Eligibility Criteria

Full-time employees in BU02, BU03, and BU04 in the Department of Transportation (Department ID 17XXX) or the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (Department ID 49XXX) who routinely work on Interstate Routes within NYS, on NYS highway routes, or on NYS parkway systems at least one-third or more of the time actually worked in the previous calendar year are eligible for an annual lump sum payment of $500.

Agency Actions

To pay the 2020 Special Assignment to Duty Pay to eligible employees, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using Earnings Code SAD:

Earnings Begin Date: 03/19/2020
Earnings End Date: 04/01/2020
Earn Code: SAD
Units: 1

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code SAD and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description Special Assignment to Duty and the amount paid will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Retirement Information

The Special Assignment to Duty Pay is pensionable but is not included in the calculation of overtime.

Tax Information

The 2020 Special Assignment to Duty Pay is supplemental taxable income, 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. Yonkers Flat Rate Withholding is 1.61135% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents.

Questions

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