STATE OF CONNECTICUT
	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER
Kevin Lembo State Comptroller	55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	Martha Carlson Deputy Comptroller

MEMORANDUM NO. 2012-18

June 29, 2012

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

I. AUTHORITY

The memorandum of understanding between the State of Connecticut and the NP-6/P-1 bargaining unit which extends the collective bargaining agreement through June 30, 2016

II. COMPENSATION (Article 9)

A. General Wage Increases (Section 1)
Effective on the date (August 26, 2013) that is four periods after July 1, 2013, the annual base salary for all employees will be increased by three percent (3.0%). Affected employees will also receive a lump sum payment to be made whole for the difference in percentage between the July 2011 increase received, and the wage increase that would have been effective July 2013.

 

Effective July 1, 2014, the base annual salary for all NP-6 and P-1 bargaining unit employees will be increased by three percent (3.0%).

 

Effective July 1, 2015, the base annual salary for all NP-6 and P-1 bargaining unit employees will be increased by three percent (3.0%).

B. Annual Increments (Section 2)

There will be no annual increments made for contract years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. Employees will continue to be eligible for and receive annual increments during the term of this contract in accordance with existing practice for contract years 2013-2014, 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, except as specifically varied by the contract.

C. Longevity (Section 3)

a. Employees will continue to be eligible for longevity payments for the life of this contract in accordance with existing practice, except as provided otherwise in this agreement. The longevity schedule(s) in effect on June 30, 1985 will remain unchanged in dollar amounts for the life of this agreement and is appended hereto.

 

b. No longevity payment in October 2011
Employees hired prior to July 1, 2011 will continue to be eligible for longevity payments for the life of the contract in accordance with existing practice, except there will be no longevity payment in October 2011.

 

c. Service toward longevity
No service will count toward longevity for the two (2) year period beginning July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013. Effective July 1, 2013, any service accrued during that period will be added to the service calculation for the purpose of determining eligibility and level of longevity entitlement if it would have counted when performed.

 

d. Employees hired on or after July 1, 2011
No employee first hired on or after July 1, 2011 will be entitled to a longevity payment; provided, however, any individual hired on or after said date who will have military service which would count toward longevity under current rules will be entitled to longevity if they obtain the requisite service in the future.

D. In Charge Pay (Section 5)

For those eligible, the amount is $16.00 for each full shift worked in the capacity of "in charge" in either P-1 or NP-6 bargaining unit.

E. On Call /Standby Pay (Section 7)

Staff, other than physicians who are assigned to be readily available to return to work or perform other work as required by the agency's standby program, will be paid $1.65 per hour for the period of the standby assignment. Employees on a standby assignment where the beginning shift falls on a holiday will be paid $3.50 per hour for the period of the standby assignment. On-call rate will be $4.00 for Respiratory Therapy Technicians, Surgical Technologists and Operating Room/Anesthesia Technicians at UCHC.

F. Qualified Mental Retardation Professionals Stipend (Section 8)

Qualified Mental Retardation Professionals (QMRP) who are below the salary group of the class of QMRP and who have QMRP responsibilities for a caseload of 15 or more clients for the previous year will receive a yearly $1,000 stipend lump sum payment. Such payment will be prorated in the event that the employee did not meet the above criteria for a full year.

G. Physicians Night Duty and Standby Night Duty (Section 9)

Physicians in all agencies will be paid $35.00 per hour multiplied by the number of hours worked off-site standby status. Physicians who work on-site on-call and weekend on-site on-call will be paid at the rates outlined in the agreement.

H. Veterinarian (Section 10)

Each Veterinarian will receive a $30.00 safety shoe allowance. The laundry allowance for veterinarians will continue at $.75 per day actually worked.

I. Recruitment and Retention Bonus for Registered Nurse and for Clinical Nurse Coordinator and Nurse Clinician (Section 11)

Each Registered Nurse who is permanently assigned to the second or third shift will receive a recruitment and retention yearly bonus of $3,000. This bonus will be paid biweekly.

 

A recruitment and retention stipend of $2,000 will be paid annually to employees in the classification of Clinical Nurse Coordinator and Nurse Clinician. The stipend will be paid in two installments in July and December in each contract year.

J. Recruitment and Retention Bonus for Licensed Practical Nurse (Section 12)

Each Licensed Practical Nurse permanently assigned to the second or third shift will receive a yearly bonus of $600. This bonus will be paid in two installments in July and December.

K. Uniform Allowance (Section 13)

Employees required to wear uniforms not provided by the Employer will receive a $100 annual uniform allowance. Payment will be made on or about July 15 of each year.

L. P-1 Annual Bonus Payments (Section 14)

Physicians who, on October 1 of each year, are Board Certified in their area of practice will receive a bonus of $1,000. Effective October 1, all physicians employed by the Department of Children and Families who are Board Certified as Child Psychiatrist will receive a $1,000 bonus.

M. EMT Stipend (Section 15)

Emergency Medical Technicians who are regularly assigned EMT duties will receive a stipend of $400.

N. DOT Safety Shoes (Section 16)

The Department of Transportation will continue its existing practice of providing payment for employees it required to wear safety shoes.

O. Bilingual Stipend (Section 18)

A stipend of $1,000 annually will be paid to an employee where it is required for the employee to be bilingual. The stipend will be paid quarterly in the amount of $250.

P. Cellular Telephone Stipend (Section 21)

The State will provide Drug Control Agents and Principal Drug Control Agents within the Department of Consumer Protection a monthly stipend of $20 per month for use of the employee's personal cellular telephone. The employer may require the employee to surrender the state-issued beeper as a condition to becoming eligible for the stipend. The employee may elect to retain the state-issued beeper, not use a personal cellular telephone and not receive the stipend.

III. SHIFT ASSIGNMENTS AND DIFFERENTIALS (Article 19)

A. Shift Differential (Section 1)
Employees who work a shift where the majority of hours fall after 3:00 p.m. and before 7:00 a.m. will be entitled to shift differential. Payment will be made for all hours worked during the shift.

 

B. Differential Amount (Section 3)
Shift and weekend differential for all eligible employees, including part-time employees under 20 hours, will be 5% of Step 2 of the appropriate salary group.

Shift differential for eligible LPNs and Registered Nurses, including part-time employees under 20 hours, will be 15% of Step 2 of the appropriate salary group.

 

C. Eligibility for Shift and Weekend Differential (Section 4)

 

1. All employees in classifications in Salary Group 25 and below.

2. Notwithstanding the above, Section 4(f) of the State Coalition Agreement on Pay Equity will govern in determining whether a classification is eligible for shift and/or weekend differential payment.

IV. INDEMNIFICATION AND LICENSE FEE (Article 30)

An employee whose job requires a professional license or certification, as a condition of employment, and who uses the license or certification exclusively or primarily for State business will be reimbursed for the cost associated with the maintenance of such license or certification.

V. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT (Article 31)

A. Meal Rates (Section 1)
An employee who is required to travel on employer business will be reimbursed for meals at the following rate:

Employees transporting patients/clients during the lunch period and required to stop for lunch with the patient/client will be reimbursed up to $7.00 for lunch.

 

B. Vehicle Use (Section 2)
An employee who is required to use his/her personal vehicle in the performance of duty will be reimbursed at the current GSA mileage rate. Employees required to use their personally owned vehicles to transport patients/clients in excess of two days in a workweek will be paid $4.50 per day for vehicle use fee. The fee will be paid for each day that the employee is required to use his/her vehicle in the performance of State business.

VI. TRAINING AND TUITION REIMBURSEMENT (Article 35)

A. Tuition Reimbursement (Section 3)
The tuition fund for NP-6 and P-1 will be a joint fund. The joint fund will have the following appropriated on or about July 1 of each contract year.

Funds that are not expended in one contract year will carry over into the next contract year. The tuition funds will expire on June 30, 2016. Applications for tuition reimbursement that are submitted and approved within the final six (6) months of the agreement may be paid with the remaining available funds up to three (3) months following expiration of the agreement.

 

Full tuition reimbursement equal to 75% of the per credit rate for undergraduate and graduate courses at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. However, such reimbursement will not exceed the actual cost of each course.

 

Part-time employees, under twenty (20) hours, who have at least 4 years of continuous service will be entitled to participate in the tuition reimbursement program, except that the amount of reimbursement will be fifty (50) percent of the amount specified in this article.

 

B. Combined Education and Training Fund (Section 4)
A combined education and training fund of $382,000 per contract year will be allocated. Unexpended fund amounts will roll over year to year. Funds not expended during the contract period that expires June 30, 2016 will be rolled over into the new contract. The fund will combine the purposes of the Career Mobility Fund, the Certification Assistance Fund, and the P-1 Special Workshop fund. See contract for details.

 

a. Career Mobility Fund
This fund will fund a bank of leave hours for employees who are pursuing a higher education degree. The cost of such leave hours to be deducted from the Combined education and Training Fund will be $20.00. Effective July 1, 2011 the cost of leave hours to be deducted will be $25.00.

 

C. Conference and Workshop Fund (Section 6)
This fund will have appropriated July 1 of each contract year for bargaining unit employees with six (6) or more months of service for attendance at professional seminars, workshops, or conferences. These funds will be combined for NP-6/P-1 employees.

Each employee will be entitled to be reimbursed to a maximum of $1,000 per contract year toward the cost of fees, travel, food and lodging related to attendance at such events. Conference/Workshop Funds of $1,000 per year can be combined once in any two years. The combining of funds can occur by combining the annual allotment from the current contract year with any unused annual allotment from the previous year or by combining the annual allotment from the next contract year. Reimbursement for travel, food and lodging will be consistent with the Travel Reimbursement article of the agreement and applicable State travel regulations. Funds committed for workshops/conferences in one fiscal year will carry over to the next fiscal year.

 

Part-time employees under twenty (20) hours who have at least one (1) year of continuous service will be entitled to participate in the Conference and Workshop Fund. The amount of annual entitlement will be $175.00 and employees will attend such programs on their own time.

D. Quality of Work Life Fund (Section 7)
The combined NP-6/P1 Quality of Work Life Fund will be as follows:

Funds not expended in one contact year will be carried forward into the next contract year and added to that year's allocation. Funds not expended from the contract which expire on June 30, 2016 shall rollover into the successor agreement.

 

Uncommitted funds under this Article may be transferred each year by mutual agreement of the State and the Union.

VII. JOB SECURITY

From July 1, 2011 and through June 30, 2015, there will be no loss of employment for NP-6/P-1 bargaining unit employees hired prior to July 1, 2011, including loss of employment due to programmatic changes, subject to the following conditions:

 

a. Protection from loss of employment is for permanent employees and does not apply to:

 

i. Employees in the initial working test period;
ii. Those who leave at the natural expiration of a fixed appointment term, including expiration of any employment with an end date;
iii. Expiration of a temporary, durational or special appointment;
iv. Non-renewal of a non-tenured employee (except in units where non- tenured have permanent status prior to achieving tenure);
v. Termination of grant or other outside funding specified for a particular position;
vi. Part-time employees who are not eligible for health insurance benefits.

 

b. This protection from loss of employment does not prevent the State from restructuring and/or eliminating positions provided those affected bump or transfer to another comparable job in accordance with the terms of the attached implementation agreement. An employee who is laid off under the rules of the implementation provisions below because of the refusal of an offered position will not be considered a layoff for purposes of this Agreement.

 

c. The State is not precluded from noticing layoff in order to accomplish any of the above, or for layoffs outside the July 1, 2011-June 30, 2015 time period. The Office of Policy and Management and the Office of Labor Relations commit to continuing the effectiveness of the placement and training process during and beyond the biennium to facilitate the carrying out of its purposes. The State will continue to utilize the funds previously established for carrying out the State's commitments under this Agreement and to facilitate the placement and training process.

VIII. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENTS

A. TRAINING AND TUITION REIMBURSEMENT AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE
During the term of this agreement, $150,000 of the $350,000 allocated to the Quality of Work Life Fund will be redistributed to the Tuition Reimbursement Fund. As a result of this redistribution, on or about July 1 or each contract year $705,000 will be appropriated to the Tuition Reimbursement Fund and $200,000 will be appropriated to the Quality of Work Life Fund.

B. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF RESPIRATORY THERAPIST AND RESPIRATORY THERAPY SUPERVISOR

1. Stipend
There shall be an annual stipend of up to $5,000 provided to employees at John Dempsey Hospital in the classifications of Respiratory Therapist and Respiratory Therapy Supervisor. The stipend will be paid biweekly in each pay period there the employee receives a regular paycheck. The maximum annual benefit under this section for a full time employee is $5,000, pro-rated by FTE.

2. On-Call/Standby
Those Respiratory Therapists and Respiratory Therapy Supervisors who are assigned to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Transport Team will receive payment at $4.00 per hour for each hour of being on-call or standby for service on the transport team. In the event of actual call back to work on the transport team, the employee will be compensated in accordance with Article 13, Section 5, Call Back Pay. The response to telephone calls as provided in Article 9, Section Seven C-1 will continue to apply without modification.

3. Shift Differential
For recruitment and retention purposes it is recognized that Respiratory Therapists and Respiratory Therapy Supervisor require added incentive to accept 2nd and 3rd shift assignment. Therefore, the 15% of Step 2 differential rate as provided LPNs and RNs (Article 19, Section 3) shall likewise apply to the Respiratory Therapists and Respiratory Therapy Supervisors employed at John Dempsey Hospital.

IX. SCHEDULED PAYMENT DATES

A. General Wage Increases
The general wage increase will be made centrally at the proper time.

B. Annual Increments
Annual increments will be entered centrally at the proper time as follows:

C. QMRP Stipend

D. Veterinarian Shoe Allowance

E. Recruitment and Retention Bonus for Registered Nurse

F. Recruitment and Retention Stipend for Clinical Nurse Coordinator and Nurse Clinician

G. Recruitment and Retention Stipend for LPN's

H. Uniform Allowance

I. P-1 Annual Bonus Payments

J. EMT Stipend

K. Bilingual Stipend

Annual stipend of $1000 will be paid in quarterly installments for each contract year. Payments of $250 will be made during the pay period including October 1, January 1, April 1, and July 1 for each year of the contract.

X. PAYROLL PROCEDURES

A. Implementation of General Wage Increase
New pay plans will be implemented centrally with the new hourly rate and bi- weekly salary effective with the pay period, at the proper time.

 

B. Annual Increments
Annual increments will be entered centrally at the proper time for agencies.

 

C. Longevity
Core-CT will provide notification at the proper time for the payment of longevity.
 

D. In Charge Pay
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XINCA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code INC

E. Night Duty Payment
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XMISA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code MIS

 

F. QMRP Stipend
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XMERA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code MER.

 

G. Retention Stipend
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XRTSA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code RTS

 

H. Annual Bonus Payments
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XMERA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code MER

 

I. EMT Stipend
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XSKPA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code SKP

 

J. Bilingual Stipend
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XSKPA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code SKP

 

K. Shoe Allowance
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XSHUA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code SHU

 

L. Uniform Allowance
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XUNFA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code UNF

 

M. Shift Differential
On the Timesheet Page: Hours; Shift 1; Account 50180 or Hours; Shift 2 (Time and a Half); Account 50180 or Amount; Shift 3; Account 50180
On the Additional Pay Page: Hours or Amount; Earnings Code SD1 (Shift 1); Account 50180 or Hours or Amount; Earnings Code SD2 (Shift 2); Account 50180 or Amount; Earnings Code SD3 (Shift 3); Account 50180

 

N. Standby Pay
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XOCHH
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code OCH.

 

O. On-Call Rate - UCHC
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XOCJH
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code OCJ.

 

P. Cellular Telephone Stipend
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XNRTS
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code NRQ

 

Q. License Fee
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XNRRA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code NRR

 

R. Vehicle Use
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XAUTA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code AUT

 

S. Stipend for Respiratory Therapist and Respiratory Therapy Supervisor
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XRTSA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code RTS

XI. GENERAL

Questions may be directed as follows:

 

Contract Interpretation: Agency Human Resources Officers;

 

Memorandum Interpretation: Office of the State Comptroller, Fiscal Policy Statewide Services Unit, (860) 702-3440.

 

Payroll Procedures: Office of the State Comptroller, Payroll Services Division,
(860) 702-3447;

 

Tuition Reimbursement: Office of the State Comptroller, Management Services Division, (860) 702-3334.

KEVIN LEMBO
STATE COMPTROLLER

KL:ED

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