Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide information on the overtime and pre-shift briefing adjustments systematically calculated by OSC

Affected Employees:

Employees in the Agency Police Services Unit (APSU) – BU31 who received prior systematically calculated overtime and pre-shift briefing adjustments as a result of the factor change implemented in Administration checks dated 07/07/2021 or Institution checks dated 07/15/2021 and are now eligible for retroactive salary and/or additional pay increases are affected.

Background:

Chapter 55 of the Laws of 2021 which implemented the 2015-2019 Agreement between the State of New York and the Police Benevolent Association of New York State, Inc (PBANYS) provided for the change to the overtime denominator which resulted in a factor change used in the calculation of overtime and pre-shift briefing from .00075 to .00072. Overtime and pre-shift briefing earned on or after 04/04/2019 (Administration) must now be paid using the new overtime factor. To implement this change, OSC calculated and processed overtime and pre-shift briefing adjustments for affected employees.

As a result of the retroactive increases to Location Pay, Supplemental Location Pay, Command Payment and Salary and the new Seniority Pay contained in Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2022 and the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between PBANYS, additional adjustments are necessary.

Effective Dates:

The retroactive overtime and pre-shift briefing adjustments will be systematically processed in Administration Pay Period 7L, paycheck dated 07/20/2022.

If an employee was previously in BU31 and owed a retroactive adjustment and is currently in a different position on the Institution cycle, the employee will receive adjustment in the 07/28/2022 paycheck.

Eligibility Criteria:

Employees who previously received a retroactive overtime and/or pre-shift briefing adjustment in the paycheck dated 07/07/2021 and receive a retroactive salary and/or additional pay increase or the new seniority payment (Earnings Code SPU – see Bulletin No. 2035) will receive a systematically processed adjustment.

OSC Actions:

As a result of the retroactive overtime factor change implemented in the paycheck dated 07/07/2021, OSC systematically processed negative overtime and pre-shift briefing adjustments to account for this reduction in the overtime earnings amounts. Overtime previously paid using Earnings Codes: OTA, OTW, RCL, ROC, and SOC from 04/04/2019 through 06/09/2021 or overtime previously paid using Earnings Code C75 from 03/08/2020 through 06/09/2021 were adjusted using Earnings Codes ARO or ARC as applicable. Pre-shift briefing previously paid using Earnings Code PS6 from 04/04/2019 through 06/09/2021 was adjusted using Earnings Code APB. Please refer to Payroll Bulletins No.1920 and No.1921.

The original overtime and pre-shift briefing Earnings Codes remained in the employees’ records. As a result, when the retroactive increases to Location Pay, Supplemental Location Pay, Command Payment and Salary and the new Seniority Pay are implemented in the 07/20/2022 check date, systematic retroactive payments will once again be generated for the original overtime and pre-shift briefing Earnings Codes. Since these retroactive payments will be calculated based on Earnings Codes that use the .00075 overtime factor, additional adjustments will be needed to pay employees using the .00072 overtime factor.

OSC will automatically recalculate prior overtime and pre-shift briefing adjustments (ARO,ARC and APB) paid in the paycheck dated 07/07/2021 using the increased annual salary and additional pay amounts and the new Seniority Payment to be paid:

• For Earnings Codes OTA, OTW, RCL, ROC, and SOC with earnings dates on or after 04/04/2019 (Admin) through 06/09/2021, a single adjustment will be entered into Time Entry using the Adjustment Code ARO (Adj Retro Raise for OT and RCL)
• For Earnings Code C75 with earnings dates on or after 03/08/2020 through 06/09/2021, a single adjustment will be entered into Time Entry using the Adjustment Code ARC (Adj Retro Raise for C19 OT).
• For Earnings Code PS6 with earnings dates on or after 04/04/2019 (Admin) through 06/09/2021, a single adjustment will be entered into Time Entry using the Adjustment Code APB (Adj PSB).

Please note: The systematic retroactive adjustments paid for overtime and pre-shift briefing earned from 06/10/2021 to present will be paid correctly using the overtime factor currently in place so no further adjustments are needed.

Agency Actions:

Agencies should continue to follow the overtime and Pre-shift briefing instructions outlined in Payroll Bulletins No.1920 and No.1921 respectively.

Agencies must continue to use the overtime factor of .00072 in the calculation when submitting any payments using override Earnings Codes such as OTT and OTO in addition to factoring in the correct increased annual salaries, additional pays and new seniority pay.

General Deductions:

All general deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired, or Deceased will be automatically canceled by OSC with the exception of percentage based dues and the following:

Retirement Information:

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

Tax Information:

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

The adjustments (AJR, ARC, ARO, and Retro (RXX)) aresupplemental taxable wages, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and are 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 1.95975% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents.

Special Wage Payments for Individuals Who Filed for Retirement Social Security Benefits:

Per Internal Revenue Service Publication 957, OSC will be reporting retro payments made to individuals who have filed for Social Security benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As PayServ does not include this information, OSC will be mailing a Request for Special Wage Payment Report to inactive individuals who are 62 or older in the calendar year and to active employees with the New York Retiree Indicator checked in Modify a Person who receive the retroactive payment. Recipients of this mailing will be asked to fill out the request and return it to OSC for inclusion on the Special Wage Payment report to SSA. This report will be submitted to SSA after the close of the 2021 tax year.

It is important that agencies ensure the New York Retiree Indicator box is checked for rehired retirees. Please see Payroll Bulletin No. 1728 for further details on the New York Retiree Indicator box.

Undeliverable Checks:

When a valid payroll check is undeliverable due to the agency’s inability to locate the employee, the agency should follow the Agency Actions identified in Payroll Bulletin No. 1786 - Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P), original death certificate and a Report of Check Exchange (Form AC 1476-P). If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange.

Payroll Register and Employee 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 QueryLQ_PCD_PAYCHECK_EARNINGS_BY_IDto 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.

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