State Agencies Bulletin No. 1836.1

Subject
Reporting Overtime Related to COVID-19
Date Issued
April 22, 2020

This bulletin supersedes Payroll Bulletin 1836.

Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to describe new Time Entry Earns codes to be used to report and track overtime worked due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

Affected Employees

Employees working in Executive Agencies who work overtime due to events of the COVID-19 health crisis are affected.

Background

Pursuant to Division of the Budget (DOB) Bulletin H-0501 (Revised), agencies must track expenditures of overtime worked related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities. To facilitate tracking in PayServ, new Earns codes have been created. Please note, the tracking of these expenditures in PayServ is separate from tracking employee time and attendance through the Leave and Accrual Tracking System (LATS-NY).

Effective Date(s)

Tracking overtime related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities went into effect on 03/08/2020.

Eligibility Criteria

Employees who worked overtime related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities on or after 03/08/2020 are eligible.

OSC Actions

OSC has created the following Earns codes in PayServ to enable agencies to track overtime related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities. The new Earns codes are to be substituted for the original Earns codes, as noted:

New Earn Code Description Original Code Associated Retro Code
C75 Covid-19 Overtime for Annuals OTA, OTW R75
C72 Covid-19 Overtime for Annuals-2080 OCS, OWC R72
O19 Covid-19 OT Hry/Biweekly 1.5 OTK R19
CVB Covid-19 OT St Rate for Ann OTB RVB
C16 Covid-19 OT Over 16HR -2.0 O16 RC2
16C Covid-19 16HR Straight Rt 16S RS6
CVO* Covid-19 OT Override OTO, OTT, OWO and Extra Service N/A

*CVO should be used in the following circumstances:

  • As an override code for annual employees
  • To pay hourly employees for extra time at the straight rate
  • To pay Out of Title Overtime (OTT) or Extra Service
  • To pay an employee covered by a waiver (individual or blanket) when one of the above overtime codes will not calculate correctly

Agency Actions

Agencies must use the new Earns codes to report overtime worked related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities.

For overtime not related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities, agencies should continue their normal reporting procedures of using the codes that apply to the employees in their agency.

If the new Earns codes are being used for overtime-ineligible employees under a grade 28/M-3, a comment is needed in the comments box.

If the new Earns codes are being used for employees who are grade 28/M-3 or higher, a DOB waiver is still needed. Please refer to DOB Bulletin H-0501(Revised) for more details. In addition, a comment is needed in the comments box.

Any other overtime worked under the normal waiver process must be reported using normal payroll procedures.

Employees Who Work Extra Service, Extra Time, or Overtime in an Agency Other Than Their Agency on Record in PayServ

Employees working extra service, extra time, or overtime in an agency different from their regular job shall be paid for that time by the agency in which the employee’s regular job resides.

The agency where the work is performed must provide the employee’s regular agency with the necessary information in order for the regular agency to process payment.

Employees with Multiple Active Records in PayServ

Employees who have multiple active records in PayServ (i.e. dual employment or extra service) and perform work related to COVID-19 preparation and response in one of those agencies shall be paid for that time by that agency.

Reporting Overtime or Straight Time Using the New Earnings Codes

To report one of the new Overtime or Straight Time Earnings Codes the agency must submit the appropriate Earns Code in the Time Entry page using the following procedures:

Earnings Begin Date: Effective date started
Earnings End Date: Effective date ended
Earn Code: Enter appropriate code
Hours/Units/Amount: Number of Hours/Units/Amounts, as applicable

Note: Agencies must refer to the following sections contained in DOB Bulletin H-0501 (Revised), for information related to overtime ineligible employees:

  • Overtime Compensation for Overtime Ineligible Employees: to determine if an employee is eligible to receive overtime depending on the number of hours worked
  • Extra Service Compensation for Overtime Ineligible Employees: to determine how to calculate extra service for overtime ineligible employees

Agencies must refer to the following section contained in DOB Bulletin G-1024 for information related to overtime eligible employees:

  • Computation of Cash Compensation: to determine how to calculate extra service for overtime eligible employees

Overtime or Straight Time Previously Paid
Agencies should make every effort to update the records of employees for whom payment for overtime or straight time directly related to COVID-19 preparation and response activities was previously processed using any of the original codes.

To update the records of employees described above, agencies must enter the following on the Time Entry page in PayServ:

  • Enter the original Earns code with the original effective dates and negative hours/units/amounts, as applicable.
  • Enter the COVID-19 Earns code associated with the original Earns code using the original effective dates and hours/units/amounts, as appropriate.

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.

The adjustments (Retro (RXX)) are 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).

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Codes and the amount will be displayed on the payroll register. The earnings description and the amount will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck or advice.

Questions

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