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. 2012-14

May 31, 2012

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

I. AUTHORITY

The agreement between the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Locals 196, 318, 355, 478, 538, 562, 610 and 704 of Council 4 (representing the Administrative Clerical NP-3 bargaining unit) and the State of Connecticut, which extends the collective bargaining agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Administrative Clerical (NP-3) bargaining unit through June 30, 2016

II. TUITION AND CONFERENCE FUNDS (Article 11A)

A. Conference Fund (Section 1)
The State will allocate to the conference fund the following:

A maximum of $400 will be allotted for any one attendance. No employee will attend more than two (2) conferences, workshops or seminars per year of this contract. These funds will be used for payment of fees and/or travel expenses, including meals or lodging. Unexpended funds from one fiscal year will carry over to the next fiscal year except upon expiration of the contract. Requests approved within the final six months may be paid with remaining available funds for up to three months following expiration of the contract.

 

B. Special Programs Fund (Section 2)
The State will allocate to the special programs fund the following:

Unexpended funds from one year may be carried over to the next fiscal year but not beyond June 30, 2016, or will be transferred to the tuition reimbursement account at the Union's request after discussion with the Office of Labor Relations.

 

C. Tuition Reimbursement (Section 3)
The State will allocate for tuition reimbursement the following:

There will be a maximum limit for tuition reimbursement per employee of $1,200 per year. The maximum limit may be adjusted in subsequent years by mutual agreement of the parties.

 

The maximum tuition reimbursement per credit will be as follows:

 

1. $115 per credit for undergraduate courses.
2. $145 per credit for graduate courses.
3. See contract for other courses or programs.

 

Unexpended funds from one fiscal year will carry over to the next fiscal year except upon expiration of the contract. Tuition requests approved within the final six months may be paid with remaining available funds for up to three months following expiration of the contract.

III. COMPENSATION (Article 26)

A. General Wage Increases (Section 1)

General wage increases will be effective as follows:

 

Effective August 26, 2011, the base annual salary for all employees will be reduced to the rates in effect on June 30, 2011.

 

There will be no other general wage increase paid to any NP-3 unit employee for the 2011-12 and the 2012-13 contract years.

 

Effective on the date (August 26, 2013) that is four pay periods after July 1, 2013, the base annual 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 employees will be increased by three percent (3.0%).

 

Effective July 1, 2015, the base annual salary for all employees will be increased by three percent (3.0%).

B. Annual Increments and Lump Sum Payments (Section 2)
There will be no lump sum payment or annual increment made for contract years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013.

The lump sum payment will be paid on the paycheck dates when the annual increments are paid in accordance with the above schedule and may be denied for a "less than good" service rating.

 

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 the contract in accordance with existing practice, except as provided otherwise in this agreement. The longevity schedule in effect on June 30, 2002 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. Pay Differential

Article 26	Differential	Hourly Rate
Section 4	Night Shift	.75
Section 5	Weekend	.40
Section 10	Hourly Pay	.65

 

E. Annual Skill Premium (EMTs) (Section 8)
On or about December 1 of each contract year, the State will pay a $400 annual skill premium to each employee who is certified as an EMT and who has volunteered and been designated by the agency to provide such services at his/her work location during the prior contract year.

 

F. Travel Reimbursement (Section 11)
An employee who is required to use his/her personal vehicle in the performance of duty will be paid at GSA rate. The rate per mile will be readjusted within thirty (30) days of readjustment by the U.S. General Services Administration. An employee who is required to remain away from home overnight in order to perform the regular duties of his/her position will be reimbursed for meals, lodging and miscellaneous expenses authorized in accordance with the Standard State Travel Regulations.

 

The maximum meal reimbursement rates will be as follows:

G. On-Call/Standby Pay (Section 13)
For those employees who are, by managerial direction, obligated to (1) be available for service, (2) standby for a call, or (3) carry a response device to provide immediate response or coverage, the sum of $1 per hour will be paid for each hour so assigned. Notwithstanding the duration of any on-call/standby assignment, such compensation will not exceed $100.00 per employee per week.

IV. MISCELLANEOUS (Article 38)

 

A. Uniforms and Equipment (Section 3)
During the life of the agreement, the State will not increase the cost to employees for uniforms and equipment. The employer will once a year reimburse hearing reporters for supplies, service and cleaning for personally-owned machines, up to a maximum of $50.00 per year.

 

B. Meals and Housing (Section 15)
The rates charged to employees for meals will be as follows:

 

Breakfast	$3.00
Lunch	$5.00
Dinner	$5.00

 

Housing: Employees occupying State-owned housing will be charged a rental amount based upon the fair market value of the property.

 

V. JOB SECURITY

From July 1, 2011 and through June 30, 2015 there will be no loss of employment for NP-3 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 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 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.

VI. SCHEDULED PAYMENT DATES

A. General Wage Increases

The general wage increase will be made centrally at the proper time.

 

Effective	Increases	Pay Period	Check Date
07/01/11	0%	See Sec III A of this memo	See Sec III A of this memo
07/01/12	0%	No General Wage Increase	No General Wage Increase
08/26/13	3%	08/23/13 - 09/05/13	09/20/13
07/01/14	3%	06/27/14 - 07/10/14	07/25/14
07/01/15	3%	06/26/15 - 07/09/15	07/24/15

 

B. Annual Increments

Annual increments will be entered centrally for agencies at the proper time as follows:

 

Effective	Pay Period	Check Date
July 2011	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment
January 2012	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment
July 2012	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment
January 2013	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment	No AI/No Lump Sum Payment
July 2013	06/28/13 - 07/11/13	07/26/13
January 2014	12/27/13 - 01/09/14	01/24/14
July 2014	06/27/14 - 07/10/14	07/25/14
January 2015	12/26/14 - 01/08/15	01/23/15
July 2015	06/26/15 - 07/09/15	07/24/15
January 2016	12/25/15 - 01/07/16	01/22/16

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

 

D. Lump Sum Payments for Maximum Step Employees
The agency must process these lump sum payments manually and follow the effective dates and pay periods of annual increments.

E. Annual Skill Premium (EMTs) (Article 26, Section Eight)

 

Effective Date	Pay Period	Check Date
12/01/2011	11/18/2011 - 12/01/2011	12/16/2011
12/01/2012	11/16/2012 ? 11/29/2012	12/14/2012
12/01/2013	11/15/2013 - 11/28/2013	12/13/2013
12/01/2014	11/14/2014 - 11/27/2014	12/12/2014
12/01/2015	11/13/2015 - 11/26/2015	12/11/2015

VII. PAYROLL PROCEDURES

A. Split Pay Period for General Wage Increase
General wage increase effective August 26, 2013. The effective pay period is August 23, 2013 through September 5, 2013. Wages earned for August 23, 2013 through August 25, 2013 should be paid at the old rate. The wages earned for the period August 26, 2013 through September 5, 2013 should be paid at the new rate.

 

General wage increase effective July 1, 2014. The effective pay period is June 27, 2014 through July 10, 2014. Wages earned for the period June 27, 2014 through June 30, 2014 should be paid at the old rate. The wages earned for the period July 1, 2014 through July 10, 2014 should be paid at the new rate.

 

General wage increase effective July 1, 2015. The effective pay period is June 26, 2015 through July 9, 2015. Wages earned for the period June 26, 2015 through June 30, 2015 should be paid at the old rate. The wages earned for the period July 1, 2015 through July 9, 2015 should be paid at the new rate.

 

B. Implementation of General Wage Increases
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.

C. Payment of Lump Sum(s)
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XMISP
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount, Earnings Code MPS

 

These lump sum payments are subject to mandatory deductions: i.e., federal withholding and state income tax annualized, social security tax, retirement contributions and garnishments (if applicable).

 

D. Pay Differentials
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

E. Skill Premium (EMTs)
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XSKPA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code SKP

 

F. Housing Payments
Existing payroll procedures will apply.

VIII. GENERAL

Questions may be directed as follows:

 

Contract Issues: Agency Human Resources Officers;

 

Memorandum Interpretation: Office of the State Comptroller, Budget and Financial Analysis Division, (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:SJ

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