Purpose: 

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of additional eligibility criteria regarding the CSEA, M/C and PEF Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payments which may impact employees who were previously ineligible to receive a Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment. 

In addition, the purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of these Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payments and to provide processing instructions for entering the payment for employees not processed automatically or who require an adjustment.

Affected Employees: 

Employees in CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97), M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) and PEF (BU05) bargaining units who meet the eligibility requirements are currently affected.

Background:

Per Chapter 361 of the Laws of 2022 (CSEA) and Chapter 190 of the Laws of 2023 (M/C and PEF), employees in the respective bargaining units listed above may have been eligible for a one-time lump sum payment.

Payroll Bulletin 2129.2 (CSEA), Payroll Bulletin 2148.1 (M/C), and Payroll Bulletin 2165 (PEF) outline the payment effective dates, evaluation dates, proration methodology and eligibility criteria for each lump sum payment. Employees who were in a PEF bargaining unit (BU05) for the duration of the CSEA and M/C evaluation dates and were then appointed to a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) or M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit at the end of the PEF evaluation end dates referenced within each respective bulletin were ineligible for any lump sum payment. Employees who meet this additional eligibility criteria may now be entitled to a one-time lump sum payment.

The one-time lump sum payment is not pensionable and not subject to across-the-board increases but must be included in the calculation of overtime. 

Effective Dates:

The Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment is effective on the following dates:

Eligibility Criteria:

On 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution) an employee must be in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) or M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit.

• An employee who is in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution) must meet the following requirements:
  • On 08/02/2022 the employee must be in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, BU97), M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98), or PEF (BU05) bargaining unit.
  • The employee must have continuous service as stated in Civil Service Law Section 130.3(c) from 08/02/2022 through 03/31/2023 in one of the three eligible bargaining unit groups; however, the employee must be in the PEF (BU05) bargaining unit on 03/31/2023. 
  • The employee must meet all remaining eligibility criteria for the CSEA Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment outlined in Payroll Bulletin 2129.2 except being in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) bargaining unit on 03/31/2023.
  • The employee must meet all remaining eligibility criteria for the PEF Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment outlined in Payroll Bulletin 2165 except being in a PEF (BU05) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution).
• An employee who is in an M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution) must meet the following requirements:
  • On 08/02/2022 the employee must be in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, BU97), M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98), or PEF (BU05) bargaining unit.
  • The employee must have continuous service as stated in Civil Service Law Section 130.3(c) from 08/02/2022 through 03/30/2023 (Administration) or 04/06/2023 (Institution) in one of the three eligible bargaining unit groups; however, the employee must be in the PEF (BU05) bargaining unit on 03/30/2023 (Administration) or 04/06/2023 (Institution).
  • The employee must meet all remaining eligibility criteria for the M/C Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment outlined in Payroll Bulletin 2148.1 except being in an M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit on 03/30/2023 (Administration) or 04/06/2023 (Institution).
  • The employee must meet all remaining eligibility criteria for the PEF Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment outlined in Payroll Bulletin 2165, except being in a PEF (BU05) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution).

OSC Actions:

Earnings Codes

OSC has created the following Additional Pay Earnings Codes to process the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment:

In addition, OSC has created the following Time Entry Earnings Code to pay the additional overtime monies owed to hourly employees for overtime hours worked between the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment Effective Date and Payment End Date:

Automatic Processing

OSC will process the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment for employees who meet the eligibility criteria with the following exceptions: 

• For employees in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution):
  • Employees with an Employee Status of Leave of Absence (except with an Action/Reason Code of Leave of Absence/MLS) on 03/31/2023 (Administration and Institution), 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution).
• Employees with a Comp Rate Code of FEE on 03/31/2023 (Administration and Institution), 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution).
  For employees in an M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution):
  • Employees with an Employee Status of Leave of Absence (except with an Action/Reason Code of Leave of Absence/MLS) on 03/30/2023 (Administration), 04/06/2023 (Institution), 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution).
  • Employees with a Comp Rate Code of FEE on 03/30/2023 (Administration) or 04/06/2023 (Institution), 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution).

Calculation of Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment Amount

An employee’s bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution) determines the methodology used to calculate the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment amount. 

• Employees in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution) will be calculated using the methodology outlined in the “Calculation of Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment Amount” section in Payroll Bulletin 2129.2.
• Employees in an M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution) will be calculated using the methodology outlined in the “Calculation of Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment Amount” section in Payroll Bulletin 2148.1.

Creation of Additional Pay Record 

In Administration and Institution Pay Period 15, OSC will create an Additional Pay record for eligible employees as follows: 

Agency Actions – Payments Not Processed Automatically:

Agencies must submit transactions to process the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment for the following employees:

• For employees who are in a PEF (BU05) bargaining unit on 08/02/2022 and 03/31/2023 (Administration and Institution), and employees who are in a CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution), please refer to the Agency Actions – Payments Not Processed Automatically section in both bulletins Payroll Bulletin 2129.2 (CSEA) and Payroll Bulletin 2165 (PEF).
• For employees who are in a PEF (BU05) bargaining unit on 08/02/2022 and 03/30/2023 (Administration) or 04/06/2023 (Institution), and employees who are in a M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98) bargaining unit on 10/12/2023 (Administration) or 10/19/2023 (Institution), please refer to the Agency Actions – Payments Not Processed Automatically section in both bulletins Payroll Bulletin 2148.1 (M/C) and Payroll Bulletin 2165 (PEF).

Submitting Payment

To process the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment to eligible employees who were not processed automatically, agencies must submit the following information on the Additional Pay page:

Agency Actions – Adjusting the Automatic Payment Amount:

Increasing the Original Payment Amount Prorated Based on Hours

Agencies must correct the payment amount for employees whose Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment was calculated based on hours and who received less than the full payment amount of $3,000 if any of the following apply:

• Earnings Code RGO (Regular Pay Override)
  Hours paid using Earnings Code RGO should be included in the calculation, but hours do not exist in PayServ. Therefore, if an employee received the lump sum payment and has RGO earnings in their record earned between the appropriate Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date in the Calculation section, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. Divide these additional hours by 1360, round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent.
• Eligible Transactions Submitted Subsequent to Automatic Payment Processing
  If subsequent to an employee receiving the automatic lump sum payment, a transaction is submitted on the Job Data page or for any of the eligible earnings codes listed above effective between the appropriate Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date in the Calculation section that results in the employee receiving increased hours, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. Divide these additional hours by 1360, round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent.
• Action/Reason Code of Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip)
  Hours do not exist in PayServ when an employee is on an Unpaid Military Stipend Leave. Therefore, if an employee received the lump sum payment and was on an Unpaid Military Stipend Leave between the appropriate Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date in the Calculation section, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. Divide the hours the employee would have received had the employee not been on an Unpaid Military Stipend Leave by 1360, round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent.
• Workers’ Compensation Leave (Reason Codes WDL or WPS)
  Hours do not exist in PayServ when an employee is on Workers’ Compensation Leave. Therefore, if an employee received the lump sum payment and was on a Workers’ Compensation Leave between the appropriate Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date in the Calculation section, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. Divide the hours the employee would have received had the employee not been on a Workers’ Compensation Leave by 1360, round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent.
• Action/Reason Code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv)
  Hours are prorated in PayServ when an employee is on a Paid Sick Leave. Therefore, if an employee received the lump sum payment and was on a Paid Sick Leave between the appropriate Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date in the Calculation section, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. Total the hours the employee would have received had the employee not been on a Paid Sick Leave and subtract the prorated hours appearing in PayServ for the same period. Divide these additional hours by 1360, round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent.
• Hourly and Exception Hourly Employees Who Work 7 ½ Hour Days
  When the automatic lump sum payment amount was calculated for hourly employees, the total hours an employee worked were divided by 1360 (170 workdays between the Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date x 8 hours per day) since OSC cannot determine if an employee’s regular schedule is based on 8 hours or 7 ½ hours per day. Therefore, if an hourly or exception hourly employee received the lump sum payment and their regular schedule is based on 7 ½ hours per day, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. The total hours an employee worked using the earnings codes identified above must be divided by 1275 (170 workdays between the Evaluation Begin and Evaluation End Date x 7 ½ hours per day), round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent. Subtract the lump sum payment amount the employee received from this newly calculated amount to determine the adjustment amount.

Submitting Payment Correction

To adjust a previously paid Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment, the agency must insert a row on the Additional Pay page at the Effective Date level of Earnings Code BNP and enter the following information:

Note:  If the employee is owed additional monies, the system will pay the difference between the Annual Addl Earnings and the Goal Balance.

Decreasing or Eliminating the Original Payment Amount

Agencies must decrease the payment amount for employees if the following situation occurs: 

• Eligible Transactions Submitted Subsequent to Automatic Payment Processing
  If subsequent to an employee receiving the automatic lump sum payment, a transaction is submitted on the Job Data page or for any of the eligible earnings codes listed above effective between the appropriate Evaluation Begin Date and Evaluation End Date in the Calculation section that results in the employee receiving decreased hours, the agency must correct the lump sum payment amount. To calculate the overpayment amount, divide these negative hours by 1360, round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $3,000 and round to the nearest cent.

Recovering Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment Overpayments:

If an employee incorrectly received the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment or received a higher payment amount than they are eligible to receive, agencies must submit the following information on the Additional Pay page to recover the overpayment:

Goal Balance: The Goal Balance field should be left blank when entering the initial adjustment record or a new adjustment record. When adjusting the Earnings amount or Goal Amount of an existing adjustment record, the Goal Balance from the prior row should be carried up from the prior row. 

Note: Overtime monies may also need to be recouped. Please refer to Recovering Overtime Monies When the Original Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment is Reduced section below.

Overtime Calculation

The Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment must be included in the calculation of overtime compensation.

Annualized Employees

The Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment will be included automatically in the calculation of overtime earned from the OT Eff Date through the End Date on the employee’s Additional Pay page for Earnings Code BNP.

Hourly and Exception Hourly Employees

The Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment for hourly and exception hourly employees will not be included automatically in the calculation of overtime. Therefore, an overtime adjustment is required for all overtime hours earned between the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment Effective Date and Payment End Date.

To pay the overtime adjustment to eligible hourly and exception hourly employees, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using Earnings Code BO7, BO8 or BOO.

Ending Overtime Eligibility

If an employee has received the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment and is appointed to a position in a bargaining unit other than CSEA (BU02, BU03, BU04, BU47, and BU97), PEF (BU05) or M/C (BU06, BU18, BU46, BU66, BU78, BU79, BU96, and BU98), the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment cannot be included in the compensation calculation of overtime earned on or after the date of the appointment. Therefore, agencies must insert a row on the Additional Pay page at the Effective Date level of Earnings Code BNP and enter the following information:

Recovering Overtime Monies When the Original Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment is Reduced 

If an employee’s lump sum payment is reduced and the higher lump sum payment amount was used in their overtime calculation, the overtime monies paid must be reduced as follows:

Annualized Employees: The negative overtime adjustment for annualized employees will be calculated automatically when the lump sum payment (Earnings Code BNP) is adjusted on the Additional Pay page. 

If the agency would like to recover the entire overtime overpayment in a single paycheck, a general comment must be entered stating that the retroactive adjustment must be left on. 

If the entire overpayment will not be recovered in a single paycheck, a general comment must be entered stating that the retroactive adjustment should be marked paid out. In addition, agencies must submit a negative overtime adjustment on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using the following information in each pay period until the full overpayment is recovered:

*Please refer to Payroll Bulletin No. 1893 for more information on overtime adjustments.

Hourly Employees:  Since the lump sum payment was not automatically included in the original overtime calculation, agencies were required to process overtime adjustments. Therefore, the negative overtime adjustment for hourly employees will also not be calculated automatically when the lump sum payment (Earnings Code BNP) is adjusted on the Additional Pay page.

To recover overtime overpayments for hourly employees, agencies must submit a negative overtime adjustment on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using the following information in each pay period until the full overpayment is recovered:

*Please refer to Payroll Bulletin No. 1893 for more information on overtime adjustments.

Control-D Report Available After Processing: 

After processing of the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment in Administration Pay Period 15 Lag (Check Date 11/08/2023), Institution Pay Period 15 Lag and Institution Pay Period 15 Extra-Lag (Check Date 11/16/23) and Administration Pay Period 15 Extra-Lag (Check Date 11/22/2023) is completed, the following Control-D report will be available for agency use:

NPAY770 – One Time Payment Report 

This report identifies all employees who received the Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment in one of the above check dates.

Retirement and Deduction Information:

The Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment is non-pensionable and not subject to union dues. Deductions will be taken from the lump sum payment for garnishments and federal levies.

Tax Information:

The Non-Pensionable Lump Sum Payment is supplemental taxable income, will be added to the employee’s taxable gross wages, and is subject to 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).

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice:

The Earnings Code and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Descriptions and the amount paid will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Questions:

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