State Agencies Bulletin No. 2004

Subject
Pilot Program Establishing a Temporary Overtime Rate for Overtime Eligible Employees Working at DOCCS in Titles Represented by the Public Employees Federation (PEF) or the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) Not Included in the MOA Dated 01/13/2022
Date Issued
March 2, 2022

Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information and processing instructions regarding the implementation of a pilot program establishing a temporary overtime rate for overtime eligible employees working at DOCCS in titles represented by PEF or CSEA that were not included in the 01/13/2022 MOA.

Affected Employees

Overtime eligible employees who work at DOCCS in Administrative Services Unit (BU02), Operational Services Unit (BU03), Institutional Services Unit (BU04), or Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Unit (BU05) titles that were not included in the 01/13/2022 MOA are affected.

Background

The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the State of New York, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS), the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), and the Public Employees Federation (PEF) allows DOCCS to establish a temporary overtime rate of 2.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay for overtime eligible employees in titles that were not included in the 01/13/2022 MOA as outlined in Payroll Bulletin No. 1999.

The new overtime rate shall apply to all overtime earned during shifts that begin at or after 11:00 pm on 02/09/2022 and at or before 10:59 pm on 03/09/2022 (Institution) or during shifts that begin at or after 11:00 pm on 02/16/2022 and at or before 10:59 pm on 03/16/2022 (Administration).  For any shift that begins at or after 11:00 pm on 03/09/2022 (Institution) or 11:00 pm on 03/16/2022 (Administration), the overtime rate shall revert to the rate in place prior to implementation of the pilot program unless extended by mutual agreement of the parties.

The overtime factor used by the New York State Payroll System (PayServ) for affected employees at DOCCS who are represented by PEF or CSEA is .00120.

Effective Dates

The new overtime rate is effective at 11:00 pm on 02/09/2022 (Institution) or at 11:00 pm on 02/16/2022 (Administration).  Agencies should begin using the new Time Entry Overtime Earnings Codes beginning in Institution Pay Period 24L, checks dated 03/10/2022 and Administration Pay Period 24L, checks dated 03/16/2022.

Eligibility Criteria

Overtime eligible employees who work at DOCCS and have overtime earnings effective 11:00 pm on 02/09/2022 (Institution) or 11:00 pm on 02/16/2022 (Administration) through the end of the pilot program in a title represented by CSEA or PEF that was not included in the 01/13/2022 MOA must be paid at a rate of 2.5 times their regular rate of pay using one of the new Time Entry Overtime Earnings Codes.

OSC Actions

OSC has created the following new Time Entry Earnings Codes to report overtime payments for employees eligible to receive overtime at 2.5 times their regular rate of pay:

New 2.5x Earns Code Description Associated Retro Code Original Earns Code
C25 Covid-19 OT for Ann-2080 2.5 RC5 C72
CH5 Covid-19 OT Hry/Biw 2.5 RO5 O19
O25 OT for Ann 2080 - 2.5 R25 OCS
OH5 OT - Hourly/Biweekly 2.5 RH5 OTK
OR5 Overtime Recall Ann 2080 2.5 RR5 ORC
E25* Extra Service Hourly 2.5 RE5 ES1

*Please note: Earnings Code E25 (Extra Service Hourly 2.5) will systematically calculate the Extra Service amount owed to the employee by multiplying the Extra Service rate from the employee’s Job Data record by 1.66667 (calculated by dividing 2.5 by 1.5) to derive a rate that is 2.5 times the Straight Rate of the Extra Service position.  This Extra Service rate is then multiplied by the number of hours submitted to determine the Extra Service payment amount owed.

The agency should continue using either Earnings Code OTO – OT Override or Earnings Code CVO – Covid-19 OT Override for overtime payments that cannot be calculated by the NYS Payroll System.

Agency Actions

Beginning in Institution or Administration Pay Period 24L

To report overtime earnings related to the pilot program effective beginning 11:00 pm on 02/09/2022 (Institution) or 11:00 pm on 02/16/2022 (Administration), agencies must submit the appropriate New 2.5x Earns Code (as listed in OSC Actions above) on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) 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

Agencies must use the overtime factor of .00120 in the calculation when submitting any payments using Earnings Code OTO – OT Override or Earnings Code CVO – Covid-19 OT Override. Agencies must include an explanation in General Comments or Time Entry Comments that this payment has been calculated at 2.5 times the employee’s regular rate of pay as part of this pilot program.

Note: Agencies must split up overtime earned before 11:00 pm on 02/09/2022 from overtime earned at or after 11:00 pm on 02/09/2022 (Institution) and before 11:00 pm on 02/16/2022 from overtime earned at or after 11:00 pm on 02/16/2022 (Administration) due to the difference in the OT rate approved for payment.

Previously Paid Overtime Using Earnings Code OTO or Earnings Code CVO

If an eligible employee was previously paid overtime for the period identified above using Earnings Code OTO and a calculation using the overtime factor of .00072, the agency must calculate the correct earnings amount using the overtime factor of .00120 and enter the difference owed using Earnings Code AOR, the original Earnings Begin Date, and the original Earnings End Date.

If an eligible employee was previously paid overtime for the period identified above using Earnings Code CVO and a calculation using the overtime factor of .00072, the agency must calculate the correct earnings amount using the overtime factor of .00120 and enter the difference owed using Earnings Code ACO, the original Earnings Begin Date, and original Earnings End Date.

Previously Paid Overtime Using the Remaining Earnings Codes Listed Above

If an eligible employee was previously paid overtime for the period identified above using the Original Earns Code, the agency must update these records on the Time Entry Page or Time Entry Interface as follows:

  • Enter the Original Earns Code, the original Earnings Begin Date, the original Earnings End Date, and the original Hours/Units/Amount as a negative value.
  • Enter the corresponding New 2.5x Earns Code, the original Earnings Begin Date, the original Earnings End Date, and the original Hours/Units/Amount as a positive value.

Retirement Information

Monies paid using the earnings codes mentioned above are included as salary for retirement purposes.

Tax Information

These earnings are taxable income, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross, and are subject to all employment and income taxes. Income taxes will be calculated using the employee’s current withholding elements in PayServ.

The Retro Codes (RC5, RO5, R25, RH5, RE5, and RR5) 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 (1.95975% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents). 

Questions

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

Questions regarding general deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.