STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

MEMORANDUM NO. 2000-51

October 24, 2000

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

I. AUTHORITY: An arbitration award was issued on the Administrative & Residual (P-5) grievance concerning employee leave balances.

 

When the length of the work week was increased, the employee leave balances, as of

July 1, 1998, were not adjusted to reflect the longer work day. The award does not include adjustment of leave balances for the schedule increases in 1995, 1996 or 1997.

 

II. ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES: Full-time employees who were in the P-5 bargaining unit as of June 30, 1998 and were subject to the work schedule increase from 38.75 to 40 hours effective July 1, 1998 are eligible. Part-time employees or any employees who were hired, transferred or promoted into the P-5 Unit after that date are not eligible.

 

III. CALCULATION OF LEAVE ADJUSTMENT: The Office of Labor Relations has prepared forms in Excel and Word for calculating the vacation and sick leave balances. Employees should be notified of their adjusted leave balances by December 1, 2000. The formula for calculating the additional leave hours can be found in the Office of Policy and Management General Notice No. 2000-18, dated October 11, 2000.

 

IV. MAXIMUM VACATION LIMITATION: Employees in the P-5 bargaining unit are subject to a maximum accumulation of vacation time of either 120 days (960 hours) or 60 days (480 hours) depending on the date of hire. Employees who would exceed the maximum accumulation for vacation with the addition of the extra time will have the option to elect to delay the crediting of the extra vacation and sick leave time until January 1, 2001. They will have the opportunity to use sufficient vacation time before December 31, 2000 to be able to receive the benefit of the additional vacation time. The employee's applicable maximum can not be exceeded when the extra vacation leave is credited, whether initially or on January 1, 2001.

 

V. EXHAUSTION OF ACCRUED LEAVE: If any employee went off the payroll due to the exhaustion of accrued leave, the employee will have the option of having their additional hours of vacation and sick leave credited on a retroactive basis as of July 1, 1998 if that date was prior to the unpaid absence(s). If the employee chooses this option, they will be entitled to use the additional time to be compensated during the retroactive period of absence.Compensation should be at the appropriate rate for that time period and paid by the check dated December 29, 2000.

 

Any employee who went off the payroll and then received partial pay as a result of the A&R Sick Leave Bank should understand (before taking the retroactive option) that the choice of retroactive crediting will affect the "waiting period" for the sick leave bank and will result in an equivalent delay in their eligibility for the sick leave bank benefits. The retroactive compensation for the new leave time will be reduced by any sick leave bank pay to which they are no longer eligible.

 

VI. RETIREES AND SEPARATED EMPLOYEES LEAVE ACCRUALS: Eligible employees who retired must have their vacation and sick leave balances recalculated. Eligible employees who separated must have vacation balances recalculated. The recalculation will determine if they are entitled to additional compensation.

 

No additional payment can be made to these individuals for time in excess of the 120 day or 60 day vacation limitation applicable to the particular individual or in excess of the one-quarter payment of sick leave to a maximum of 60 days for retirees. Also, the additional vacation leave amount will need to be reported to the Retirement and Benefit Services Division in the manner detailed below as such additional payments may have an impact for retirement benefit purposes.

 

Each agency must provide the Retirement and Benefit Services Division's Audit Unit with a list of affected retirees accompanied by the worksheet detailing the calculations utilized for these adjustment payments. Worksheets for separated employees must also be provided with a clear notation on each worksheet indicating such status.

 

A. Calculation of lump sum: When recalculating the lump sum, agencies are to calculate to the date of retirement. Any additional accrued vacation and sick time derived through the recalculation mechanism should be multiplied by the hourly rate of pay in effect at the time of termination.

 

B. Payroll Procedures: The lump sums must be entered effective with the pay period December 1, 2000 through December 14, 2000 (check date December 29, 2000) using D/OE 28 Lump Vacation Pay with Major-Minor 01-120 and/or D/OE 29 Retiree Sick Pay with a Major-Minor 01-090. The agency payroll staff must review the Employee's Masterfile to ensure an employee's eligibility for the adjusted payments.

The lump sum retirement vacation pay is subject to mandatory deductions: federal withholding and state income tax annualized, social security tax, retirement contributions, and garnishments (if applicable)./

The lump sum retirement sick pay is subject to federal withholding, state income tax annualized and social security tax only./

NOTE: Please ensure that the proper retirement code designation is utilized as required by the employee's Retirement Plan Status at retirement or separation.

Retired and separated employees who were deleted from the masterfile must be set up as new employees. You must enter a pay code 1, 2, or 3 for these individuals to avoid generating a regular pay check in the system. In lieu of 301 documentation a memo must be submitted to the Comptroller's Payroll Services Division listing the employees added to the payroll system for the purposes of making this payment.

 

VI. GENERAL: Questions may be directed as follows:

 

Policy and Procedure: Agency Human Resource Officer;

 

Arbitration Award: Office of Labor Relations, (860) 418-6218;

 

Memorandum Interpretation: Office of the State Comptroller,

Policy Services Division, (860) 702-3440;

 

Payroll Procedures: Office of the State Comptroller,

Payroll Services Division, (860) 702-3463.

 

Direct list of affected Retirees and Separated Employees to: Retirement and Benefit Services Division, AUDIT UNIT, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106.

NANCY WYMAN

STATE COMPTROLLER

NW:EH

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