Purpose

To provide the City University of New York (CUNY) with procedures for the new Time Entry earnings codes to be used to report the cost of participation in the WorkWell NYC program by employees and their eligible dependents.

Affected Employees

CUNY Employees who have chosen to participate in the WorkWell NYC program

Background

A new earnings code was requested by CUNY to enable them to report the cost of subsidizing participation in a new agency-wide weight loss and health improvement program for employees and their eligible dependents.

Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 61, certain fringe benefits, including employer reimbursed health club benefits, are considered taxable income. Therefore, the value of this benefit will be added to the employee’s taxable gross wages for tax withholding purposes and reflected in Box 1 of the employee Form W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement).

Effective Date(s)

Using the new earnings codes, CUNY may begin entering WorkWell NYC transactions directly into Time Entry beginning in Pay Period 17C, paychecks dated 11/23/16, and Pay Period 17L, paychecks dated 12/8/16

OSC Actions

OSC has created the following Time Entry earnings codes to be used by CUNY to report the eligible costs for participation in the WorkWell NYC program:

Agency Actions

Beginning in Pay Periods 17C and 17L, agencies can submit transactions into Time Entry page using the following procedure:

Payroll Register and Employee's Paycheck/Advice

The new earnings codes and their descriptions will be displayed on the Payroll Register and appear on the employee’s paycheck or direct deposit advice.

Questions

Questions about this bulletin may be directed to the Tax and Compliance mailbox.