last updated: Saturday, July 16, 2005
Campuses of the State University of New York do not pay their employees directly. Instead, SUNY campuses, with the assistance of SUNY System Administration, may process up to five New York State Payrolls that are administered by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). For many campuses, data that is entered into the SUNY Human Resources Management System (HRMS) is used by System Administration to created payroll transactions for submission to OSC. However, some campuses that have their own Information Management Systems may have direct access to OSC's payroll system to process their payroll transactions while doing double data entry to maintain personnel records in their campus system. Regardless of how a campus interacts with OSC to produce their payrolls, the following information describes how employees are paid who are appointed to State payrolls in SUNY.
The State payrolls include:
[Note: There usually are other non-State employees employed on SUNY campuses who might be paid on Research Foundation, Auxiliary Services, or other payrolls. The information presented here does not pertain to such non-State employees.]
Lag Payroll System
In the 1970s legislation was passed in New York State that moved the schedule
for payroll payments so that instead of being paid up for work performed upon
receipt of a paycheck, employees were not added to the payroll until the beginning
of the next payroll following the one in which they commenced working. This
action was taken for two reasons. First, at the time New York State was facing
a budgetary crisis and this recycling saved money in a difficult fiscal year
by deferring two weeks worth of salary distributions into the next fiscal year.
Secondly, it was felt that the lag system would be more efficient and avoid
the work involved in returned checks for "no shows" or "lost
time pay deductions" and the need for capturing and returning checks for
replacement checks when employees left service and there was not enough time
for payroll to be notified to stop or adjust their checks. When this system
was implemented all current employees had one day's pay withheld for 10 consecutive
payroll periods in order to move to the new cycle.
All payrolls are lagged at least two weeks. Because of this, employees, other than hourly employees, receive their first full paycheck approximately four weeks following the effective dates of their appointments. For hourly employees it is approximately six weeks before they receive their first checks assuming timesheets are submitted on time. As an example, a new full-time faculty member appointed September 1, 1999 and paid on the calendar (CAL) mode -- to spread academic year salary through the summer -- would have received a check for one day's pay (Wednesday, September 1st) on the September 15, 1999 pay day because his/her appointment effective date of September 1st on the calendar (CAL) payroll cycle was the last day of the previous pay period. On September 29, 1999, the first full check for a complete pay period following appointment (pay period Thursday, September 2, 1999 - Wednesday, September 15, 1999) would be paid - check is received two weeks after its effective payment date. If is important for new faculty appointed at the beginning of the academic year to note that they will not receive a full paycheck until the second pay period in September. A similar pattern occurs for faculty with initial appointments for the spring semester.
Generally, new spring semester
appointees paid on the calendar mode either must not be placed on the payroll
until on or about March 1st (at the end of 13+ pay periods) or be placed on
the payroll in January then placed on leave without pay in July/August for the
period necessary to avoid overpayment for the completion of only a half-year
of their obligation. If a new spring semester appointee who is paid on either
the CAL or CYF modes (less than 12-month obligation but paid annually), chooses
to be placed on the payroll in January then removed from the payroll in July/August,
special provisions have been made for the deduction of extra health insurance
premiums to cover the his/her period off the payroll before it begins. For such
an appointee, this ensures that s/he has health insurance protection, if enrolled,
as active employees so that s/he does not have to pay the full cost of premiums
when the goal is just to realign his/her payroll schedule.
Salary
Withholding and Separation Lump Sum Payment Program (Chapter 947 of the
Law of 1990)
Known as the Deficit Reduction Legislation this law authorized a salary withholding
and separation lump sum payment program for all salaried employees. However,
as a result of successful legal challenges by their collective negotiating agents,
employees represented by UUP, Council 82, and NYSCOPBA are now excluded from
this salary withholding requirement. Currently the program applies to managerial
employees, confidential employees, and employees represented by CSEA, and PEF.
For these affected employees, this 5-day lag is implemented by withholding the
equivalent of one day's pay (10% of amount earned in pay period) in each of
the appointee's first five consecutive pay periods. Following the end of the
fifth payroll period, employees begin receiving 100% of their pay rate -- the
full amount earned during each pay period. The payroll office keeps records
of the amount owed to employees as a result of the 5 day withholding program.
When employees separate from service they are paid the five days at the rate
they are earning at that time, or the rate at which the days were deducted,
whichever is higher. This lag was initiated in 1990 to help the State through
a budgetary crisis by deferring the cost of salary payments for one week into
the next fiscal year.
Leap Year Impact
on pay check
The biweekly gross pay for employees paid on an "annual salary basis"
in payroll modes CAL, ANN, and CYF is determined on either a 365 or 366 day
basis depending on whether or not it is a leap year. During the State's fiscal
year (April 1 - March 31) in which a leap year falls (an extra day in February),
employees paid in these payroll modes will notice a reduction in their gross
pay even though their salary does not change. The reason is that the biweekly
gross pay of such employees will be calculated as 14/366th of their annual salary
during a leap year whereas it is calculated as 14/365th of the base annual salary
during a regular year.
Regular State Payroll
Following is additional information relating specifically to the processing
of the Regular State Administrative Payroll.
Before an appointment can be added to or changed on the State payroll an approved position must have been created through SUNY position classification procedures with appropriate attributes to support the appointment and must currently be in usable status in the SUNY Human Resources System (HRMS). State Business Rules require that only Personal Service Regular (PSR) funded positions lined-out on an approved Schedule of Positions (SOP), formerly know as the "Budget Certificate" can be paid on an "annual salary basis". Positions supported by Income Fund Reimbursable budgets as well as positions funded by State appropriations may be established as (PSR) and paid on an annual salary basis. All positions charged to Temporary Service (TS) that are approved in HRMS and not lined-out on the SOP for the campus must be paid either hourly, biweekly, or on a fee basis. Within these limitations the different pay basis options available provide methods of payment for the different types of employee obligations.
Payroll Payment Modes
for Personal Service Regular (PSR) Positions
Following are the payment modes for "annual salaried" appointments to positions budgeted in Personal Service Regular (PSR):
Annual Payment Mode - Employees With Calendar Year Obligations (ANN)
ANNUAL is the payroll mode for employees with calendar year (365/366 days per year) obligations appointed to PSR positions lined-out on an approved Schedule of Positions. It should be noted that employees will have a slight reduction in their bi-weekly pay during the fiscal year in which the extra day in February appears for a leap year. This reduction relates to the fact that the bi-weekly rate during a leap year is calculated by dividing the 14 days in a pay period by 366 rather than by the 365 of a normal year.
Calendar Year Payment Mode - Faculty With Academic Year Obligations Paid Over 12 Months (CAL)
CAL is the payroll mode for Faculty with "academic year obligations" paid on an annual salary basis over 12 months (9/1-8/31) on PSR positions lined-out on a Schedule of Positions.College Year Payment Mode - Professional Employees With Less Than Calendar Year Obligations Paid Over 12 Months (CYF)
CYF is the payroll mode for Professional Employees with "college year obligations - usually 10 month (i.e., 8/1 - 5/30) paid on an annual salary basis over 12 months (8/1-7/31) on PSR positions lined-out on a Schedule of Positions.*College Year Payment Mode - Professional Employees With Less Than Calendar Year Obligations Paid Over 21 Pay Periods Approximating Their Period of Professional Obligation (CYP)
*21P Payment Mode - Faculty With Academic Year Obligations Paid Over 21 Pay Periods Approximating the Academic Year (21P)
*Payroll Modes Being Phased Out
21P and CYP are options that, until recently, were available to "academic employees" serving on academic year obligations and "professional employees" serving on college year obligations, respectively. On many SUNY campuses, these options are being phased out and are not available to new appointees. Employees who elected these options when they were being offered have been "grandfathered in" and their positions will not be changed to other payroll modes while they continue to encumber them.[Note(s): (1) Some annual salaried pay basis employees paid on the CAL or CYF mode assume that this means they are paid on a 26 pay period basis because in most years that will be the number of checks they will receive. Such an option does not exist. Since employees often ask the question, "How come when I multiply my biweekly gross salary times twenty-six it does not equal my annual salary", we have provide an answer to this question under "Frequently Asked Payroll Questions" at the end of this section. (2) It usually takes a minimum of from 1 to 4 weeks to establish a new PSR position or to reclassify an existing one.]
Payroll Payment Modes for Temporary Service (TS) Positions
Temporary Service funds are provided in state budgets to provide for substitutes, part-time appointees, and other temporary support appointments for short term projects or staffing needs.
The payroll modes used for appointments to positions funded from temporary service appropriations on the Regular State Payroll include:
Hourly Payment Mode (HRY)
HOURLY works for people charged to temporary service who are paid for the actual hours worked (usually part-time, intermittent, as needed or without a defined work pattern).
Biweekly Payment Mode (BIW)
BIWEEKLY works for people charged to temporary service funds who usually will work only for a certain number of pay periods (Most adjuncts and all graduate/teaching assistants are charged to temporary service and paid a biweekly rate for 10 pay periods per semester or 20 pay periods per year).
FEE Payment Mode
FEE works for people charged to temporary service where the person is hired to accomplish a certain task, complete a project, etc. and receive periodic FEE based payments at certain stages of completion of the work they were hired to do.
Salary Increase Payroll Restictions
In accordance with rules issued by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), salary increases cannot be made retroactively more than two pay periods plus the one in which the raise is processed unless provided for in legislation passed to implement collective bargaining unit agreements providing retroactive pay. OCS may approve exceptions if justification is provided that includes an acceptable reason for the agency's failure to approve and process the salary adjustment on time. Where a promotion or action requires a reclassification of a position in order to effect a salary increase, it is important that the position classification transaction is initiated and approved prior to the processing of the salary increase.
Frequently Asked Payroll
Question(s):
How come when I multiply my biweekly gross pay by 26, it equals less than my
annual salary?
For full time employees paid on an annual basis, the SUNY has many payroll payment modes. A 26 pay period mode is not one of them. When an employee's "annual" salary is paid over a full year (CAL or CYF payroll mode for "academic employees" and "professional employees" with "academic year" or "college year" obligations, respectively; ANN for calendar year obligations), the salary is based on 365 days (normal year) and 366 days (leap year). Since each pay period covers 14 days, and 26 x 14 equals only 364, it would always take a 27th check for you to have received your full annual salary (1 day more than 26 pay periods in a normal year and 2 days more than 26 pay periods in a leap year).
Other factors may also affect your ability to reconcile your annual earnings, your biweekly rate, and your annual salary rate. They include start date, whether or not you are in your first year of employment, the regular lag (two weeks), the special lag (one week for all employees appointed to the Regular State Payroll except those represented by UUP), and whether or not you have received any raises (retroactive or current) during the period you are attempting to reconcile.A start date may be in the middle of a pay period so that a first paycheck will not represent the full 14 days in the pay period.
If you are M/C or are represented by any union except UUP, you get paid one day less than worked for each of your first five pay periods of employment to cycle you into the extra week of "lag" that you are then paid for when you separate from service.
The normal two-week lag will push two weeks of your earnings from one tax year into the next tax year. Of course, as the calendar rolls along, there are tax years in which you actually receive 27 checks for tax purposes -- check out 1980 when the first payroll of the tax year was paid on January 2nd and the last (the 27th) was paid on December 31st. Lots of outrage that year because the full amount of all 27 checks was taxable in 1980 pushing some employees into higher than normal tax brackets. This will happen again in 2002 (except for the outrage, of course!).The effective date of salary increases may fall in the middle of pay periods or cross year-end or employee employment anniversary boundaries (i.e., the first check in September -- 2nd check paid because of the lag -- for faculty paid on the CAL basis -- 9/1-8/31 -- It might include X number of days at the faculty members previous academic year salary and Y number of days at the faculty members new academic year salary if raises to faculty were effective September 1st since September 1st rarely is the first day of a 14 day pay period).
Reference(s):
Basic Training
Manual - NYS Payroll System
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/payroll/basictraining.pdf
Description
of W-2 Form issued by NYS
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/payroll/w2.htm
Payroll
Bulletins for Agencies
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/paysr/agencies/index.htm
Payroll
Bulletins for SUNY
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/paysr/suny/index.htm
Payroll
Calendars - Administrative and Institutional Payrolls
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/payroll/calendar.htm
Special
Funds Estimate Procedures - Section 530.4 SUNY Procedures Manual
http://www.suny.edu/FinanceandBusiness/FBAdmProc.cfm
Form(s):
(IT-2104) State Withholding
Form (PDF-non
fill-in) or (PDF
fill-in form)
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/2005/wt/it2104_2005.pdf
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/2005/fillin/wt/it2104_2005_fill_in.pdf
(W-4)
Federal Withholding Form 2005
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf