Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees

Arbitration Eligible and Non-Arbitration Eligible employees represented by NYSCOPBA who are receiving the 25 year longevity payment are affected.

Background

Chapter 24 of the Laws of 2019, which implemented the 2016-2023 Agreement between the State of New York and the NYSCOPBA, provides for an increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step for arbitration eligible members (BU 01) and non-arbitration eligible members (BU21) effective October 2021 and includes the October 1, 2021 salary schedules for BU 01 and BU 21.

Effective Dates

The October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step will be paid using the following effective dates and check dates:

Eligibility Criteria

The following employees may be eligible to receive the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step :

Employees who were on a Leave of Absence (other than Workers’ Compensation Leave) on the Payment Effective Date of the increase are not eligible for the increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step until the employee returns from leave.

Mass Salary Exception List Available Prior to Processing

A list of employees identified as having one or more of the following exceptions will be emailed to affected agencies on 10/07/2021 (Institution) and 10/14/2021 (Administration). This gives agencies time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step . The list is sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order. This list is in place of the NHRP709 Mass Salary Exception Report.

This is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step based on information available as of the date it is produced. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record will not be updated:

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE – If the employee’s Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 600 and a value exists in both the Equated to Grade field and the Approved Salary Rate field
• Position and Job Do Not Match – If the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan, or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal
• Increment Code Missing – If the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 101-125 or 600 with a value of 101-125 in the Equated to Grade field, the Comp Rate Code is ANN and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is blank or ‘0000’
• Increment Code Invalid – If the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 101-125 or 600 with a value of 101-125 in the Equated to Grade field, the Comp Rate Code is ANN and the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 300X, 001X, 004X, 005X, 007X, 9900, 0008, 006X, 003X, 002X, 008X, 0099, 2222, or 6900
• Increment Code Requires Manual Calculation – If the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2222 or 6900
• Sal Below Hiring Rate – If the Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 101-125 or 600 with a value of 101-125 in the Equated to Grade field, the Comp Rate Code is ANN and the employee’s salary on any of the Job Data rows being evaluated is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the effective date based on the appropriate 04/01/2019 Salary Schedule.

If an employee appears on this list but is due the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step, the agency must take the following action:

• Submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s). If the row(s) is corrected prior to Administration Pay Period 14L or Institution 15L, the automatic increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step will be processed.
• Submit a Position Change Request to the Position Management Unit if the position information is incorrect on the Position Data page in PayServ but is correct in NYSTEP. The position will be updated to reflect the change and the automatic salary increase will be processed provided the agency’s position request contains the same information as the position information in NYSTEP.

Employees who appear on the list but whose record was not corrected prior to automatic processing will not automatically receive the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step. Agencies must submit the appropriate transactions to correct the employee’s record and to pay the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step in Administration Pay Period 15L or Institution 16L.

Agency Actions - Beginning Administration Pay Period 14L and Institution Pay Period 15L

When submitting pay changes, position changes and transfers in Administration Pay Period 14L and Institution Pay Period 15L on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or after 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution), the agency must not include the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step in the salary reported in the Pay Rate field.

Exception: Agencies may submit transactions in Administration Pay Period 14L and Institution Pay Period 15L to pay the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step to the following employees:

• Employees in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222).
• Employees in a position which was previously downward reallocated (identified by Increment Code 6900).

Employees in Composite Positions

Beginning in Administration Pay Period 14L and Institution Pay Period 15L, agencies must review employees in composite positions (identified by Increment Code 2222) or in positions which were previously downward reallocated (identified by Increment Code 6900) and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason code (see below) to pay the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step. Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page.

To Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason code(s) must be used when submitting transactions to pay the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step to eligible employees not processed automatically:

• Effective date is 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution)– use Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
• Effective date on or after 10/01/2021 (Administration) or 10/08/2021 (Institution)– use Reason code CSL (Cor Sal).

Institution Agencies Only

Institution agencies submitting transactions in Institution 15L to pay the 25 Year Longevity Pay for the first time to newly eligible employees must use the longevity pay amount of the employee’s grade from the 04/01/2021 NYSCOPBA Salary Schedule.

OSC Actions

After payroll processing for Administration Pay Period 14L and Institution 15L is complete, OSC will automatically insert rows on the Job Data page to process the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step for employees with an Increment Code of 9900 and 0099. These increases will be processed in the following manner:

• If the employee meets the Eligibility Criteria and has an Employee Status of Active, Leave With Pay, or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave (Action/Reason code of Leave of Absence/WCL, WDL, or WPS) on the Payment Effective Date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the appropriate Payment Effective Date and the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
• If the employee does not meet the Eligibility Criteria on the Payment Effective Date but is subsequently returned from leave, rehired or appointed to an eligible position after the Payment Effective Date, OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) and the effective date of the return from leave, rehire or appointment.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Cor Sal) for all subsequent rows provided the employee remains in an eligible position with a Comp Rate Code of ANN.

Calculating the New Compensation Rate for Annual Employees

The compensation rate on each inserted row will be calculated as follows:

• The value of the longevity of the employee’s grade or equated grade based on the 04/01/2021 Salary Schedule must be subtracted from the compensation rate to determine base salary. The employee’s increment code identifies the number of longevities included in the employee’s compensation rate. (See Increment Code Chart below.)
• There is no change to the base salary determined above.
• OSC will automatically apply the value of the longevity of the employee’s grade based on the 10/01/2021 salary schedule.
• The resulting salary is the employee’s new compensation rate:
  • If the employee’s salary was equal to the 25 Year Longevity Step of their grade or equated grade on the 04/01/2021 salary schedule, the new salary will be equal to the same step on the 10/01/2021 salary schedule.
  • If the employee’s salary was not equal to the 25 Year Longevity Step of their grade or equated grade on the 04/01/2021 salary schedule, the new salary will remain off-step on the 10/01/2021 salary schedule.

Increment Code Chart

Note: Increment Codes 9900 and 0099 are the only increment codes applicable to this payment.

Control-D Report and Mass Salary Increase Exception List Available After Processing

The following Control-D report and list will be available for agency review after the automatic payments have been processed. All information will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Salary Increase Report

This report identifies all employees who received October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step Increase and includes all employees’ salaries that were increased in an eligible bargaining unit.

Mass Salary Increase Exception List

This list identifies employees who did not receive the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step Increase. Included on the list is one or more messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated. The explanation associated with each message is described above under the section Mass Increment Available Prior to Processing. This list will be emailed to agencies with affected employees.

Agency Actions - Beginning Administration Pay Period 15L or Institution Pay Period 16L: Employees Not Processed Automatically

Beginning in Administration Pay Period 15L or Institution Pay Period 16L, agencies must submit the appropriate transaction(s) for the following employees who are eligible on the payment effective date but will not be processed automatically. Refer to the appropriate instructions described below:

1. Eligible employees who are in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) on the payment effective date.
2. Eligible employees who are on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave or a Military Leave on the payment effective date.
3. Eligible employees who are Inactive or on a Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date.

1. Increment Code 2222

Eligible employees who are in a composite position on the payment effective date may receive the NYSCOPBA October 2021 $500 Increase to 25 Year Longevity Pay. Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) effective 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution). Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page.

2. Military Stipend Leave or Military Leave

Eligible employees who are on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave or a Military Leave on the payment effective date may receive the NYSCOPBA October 2021 $500 Increase to 25 Year Longevity Pay when they return to the payroll.

If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is on or before 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) effective 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution).

If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is after 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CSL (Cor Sal) and the effective date of the Return from Leave with the next available sequence number.

3. Inactive or Leave of Absence (not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave)

Eligible employees who are Inactive or have a Payroll Status of Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date and may receive the NYSCOPBA October 2021 $500 Increase to 25 Year Longevity Pay when they return to the payroll. In addition, an employee who is Inactive must be rehired within one year to be eligible for the payment.

If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is on or before 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) effective 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution).

If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is after 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CSL (Cor Sal) and the effective date of the Return from Leave with the next available sequence number.

Employees Who Appeared on the Mass Salary Increase Exception List

Employees who appeared on the Mass Salary Increase Exception List made available after processing did not automatically receive the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step Increase. Agencies should submit the appropriate transactions to correct the employee’s record and submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason code (see below) to pay the salary increase beginning in Aministation Pay Period 15L or Institution Pay Period 16L.

To Process Payment Manually

The following Action/Reason code(s) must be used when submitting transactions to pay the October 2021 NYSCOPBA Increase to the 25 Year Longevity Step Increase to eligible employees not processed automatically:

• Effective date is 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution) – use Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) for employees with a Comp Rate Code of ANN.
• Effective date is on or after 09/30/2021 (Administration) or 10/07/2021 (Institution) – use Reason code CSL (Cor Sal).

Tax Information

These monies are taxable income subject to all employment taxes and income taxes, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

All retroactive adjustments will be displayed on the Payroll Register using the appropriate Earnings Code and the amount paid and will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice using the appropriate Earnings Description and the amount paid unless the number of earnings codes exceeds 13. Agencies should utilize Locked Query LQ_PCD_PAYCHECK_EARNINGS_BY_ID to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.

Questions

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