Purpose: 

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the 2026 PSC 3.50% General Salary Increase and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees: 

Annual (Comp Rate Code of ANN) and hourly (Comp Rate Code of HRY) PSC employees in Bargaining Units AJ, GA, PC, TC, T8, CA, CB, and CE who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background: 

Pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement between CUNY and PSC for the Term of 2023-2027, a 3.50% general salary increase is authorized effective 09/01/2026. The CUNY Board of Trustees approved the agreement during the 01/27/2025 board meeting.

Effective Dates: 

The 2026 PSC 3.50% General Salary Increase is effective 09/01/2026 and will be processed in Institution Pay Period 11C, paychecks dated 09/03/2026.

Eligibility Criteria: 

Groups A and C 

All full and part-time employees with an Employee Status of Active or Paid Leave in Bargaining Units AJ, GA, PC, TC, T8, CA, CB, and CE will receive the 2026 3.50% General Salary Increase effective 09/01/2026. Eligible employees with an Employee Status of Leave Without Pay on 09/01/2026 will receive the increase upon return from leave.

Group B

All full and part-time employees with an Employee Status of Active or Paid Leave in Bargaining Units AJ, GA, PC, TC, T8, CA, CB, and CE will receive the 2026 3.50% General Salary Increase effective 09/01/2026. Eligible employees with an Employee Status of Leave Without Pay on 09/01/2026 will receive the increase upon return from leave. 

Note: Employees in a Continuing Education Teacher, Law School or JEMBA title must also meet the below respective eligibility criteria.

Continuing Education Teacher (CET) Titles Eligibility

The following eligibility requirements apply to employees in the CET titles listed below:

• In order for an employee in one of the CET titles above to be eligible for the 09/01/2026 increase, the employee must have an Employee Status of Active on 08/31/2026 and 09/01/2026.
• If the employee is not active on 08/31/2026 and 09/01/2026 and became active in a CET title listed above on or after 09/01/2026, it is necessary to determine if the employee had previous service in a CET title between 09/01/2025 – 08/31/2026.
  • If the employee had no previous service in a CET title between 09/01/2025 – 08/31/2026, the employee is not eligible for the 09/01/2026 increase unless the employee’s current rate of pay is below the new applicable 09/01/2026 minimum.
  • If the employee had previous service in a CET title between 09/01/2025 – 08/31/2026, the employee is eligible to receive the 09/01/2026 raise percentage.
  • If the employee was rehired into a CET title on or after 09/01/2026 and had prior service in a CET title between 09/01/2025 – 08/31/2026, the employee is eligible to receive the 09/01/2026 raise percentage or the new applicable minimum, whichever is higher.

Law School and JEMBA Titles Eligibility

The following eligibility requirements apply to employees in the Law School and JEMBA titles listed below: 

• In order for an employee in one of the Law School or JEMBA titles listed above to be eligible for the 09/01/2026 salary increase, the employee must have an Employee Status of Active on 08/31/2026 and 09/01/2026 and have received pay for work performed in a Law School and/or JEMBA title listed above anytime between 09/01/2025 - 08/31/2026.
• Employees in a Law School or JEMBA title listed above, who receive pay for work performed in a Law School or JEMBA title anytime between 09/01/2025 - 08/31/2026 and who are on an authorized leave on 08/31/2026 and 09/01/2026 are eligible for the 09/01/2026 increase.

OSC Actions: 

Group A Comp Rate Code ANN With Steps

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/01/2026 using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/SAC (Pay Rate Change/Mass Salary Increase) for eligible Full-Time Annual Salaried employees in Active or Paid Leave status on 09/01/2026 and whose salary is equal to one of the steps on the 09/01/2025 salary chart for the employee’s title. The salary will be updated to the corresponding step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CSL (Pay Rate Change/Cor Sal) for eligible Full-Time Annual Salaried employees who are inactive on 09/01/2026 but whose status changes to Active or Paid Leave after 09/01/2026 and whose salary is equal to one of the steps on the 09/01/2025 salary chart for the employee’s title. The salary will be updated to the corresponding step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart. The row will be inserted using the effective date of the change from an inactive (Leave of Absence, Terminated, or Retired) status to active (Active or Paid Leave) status.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on all subsequent rows using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CSL (Pay Rate Change/Cor Sal) with the salary that corresponds to the new step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart if the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit and title and is on a step on the 09/01/2025 salary chart. The salary will be updated to the corresponding step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart.
• OSC provided a spreadsheet to CUNY on 07/02/2026 with employees identified with off step rows. CUNY must have returned the completed spreadsheet to OSC by 08/06/2026 in order for it to be loaded into PayServ.

Group B Comp Rate Code ANN and HRY With Salary Ranges (No Steps)

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/01/2026 using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/SAC (Pay Rate Change/Mass Salary Increase) for all eligible employees in the job codes listed in the table below, who are in Active or Paid Leave status on 09/01/2026. The new salary will be calculated by increasing the existing salary by 3.50% and rounding to the nearest dollar.
• OSC will increase the annual salary on all subsequent rows using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CSL (Pay Rate Change/Cor Sal) if the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit and Group B title (see below).

Group C Comp Rate Code HRY With Steps

• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/01/2026 using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/SAC (Pay Rate Change/Mass Salary Increase) for eligible Part-Time Hourly employees in one of the titles in the chart below in Active or Paid Leave status on 09/01/2026 and whose hourly rate is equal to one of the steps on the 09/01/2025 salary chart for the employee’s title. The hourly rate will be updated to the corresponding step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CRT (Pay Rate Change/Chg Rate) for eligible Part-Time Hourly employees who are inactive on 09/01/2026 but whose status changes to Active or Paid Leave after 09/01/2026 and whose hourly rate is equal to one of the steps on the 09/01/2025 salary chart for the employee’s title. The hourly rate will be updated to the corresponding step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart. The row will be inserted using the effective date of the change from an inactive (Leave of Absence, Terminated or Retired) status to active (Active or Paid Leave) status.
• OSC will automatically insert a row on all subsequent rows using the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CRT (Pay Rate Change/Chg Rate) with the hourly rate that corresponds to the new step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart if the employee remains in an eligible bargaining unit and title (see below) and is on a step on the 09/01/2025 salary chart. The hourly rate will be updated to the corresponding step on the 09/01/2026 salary chart.
• OSC provided a spreadsheet to CUNY on 07/02/2026 of employees identified with off step rows. CUNY must have returned the completed spreadsheet to OSC by 08/06/2026 in order for it to be loaded into PayServ.

Agency Actions:   

CUNY is responsible for calculating and submitting increases for employees in the groups identified below. All employees are eligible for the new minimum salary or hourly rate if the calculated salary or hourly rate is below the new minimum rate in effect.

The following Action/Reason Codes must be used to report the increases:

Employees with a Comp Rate Code of  ANN:

• To report increases effective 09/01/2026, the Action/Reason Code of PAY/SAC (Pay Rate Change/Mass Salary Increase) must be used.
• To report increases on subsequent rows, the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CSL (Pay Rate Change/Cor Sal) must be used.

Employees with a Comp Rate Code of HRY:

• To report increases effective 09/01/2026, the Action/Reason Code of PAY/SAC (Pay Rate Change/Mass Salary Increase) must be used.
• To report increases on subsequent rows, the Action/Reason Code of PAY/CRT (Pay Rate Change/Chg Rate) must be used.

Spreadsheets Provided to CUNY for Groups A and C Off Step Employees
OSC provided spreadsheets to CUNY on 07/02/2026 and CUNY must have  returned the completed spreadsheets to OSC by 08/06/2026.

CUNY reviewed the spreadsheets and entered the appropriate salary information for each employee record and effective dated row onto the spreadsheets using the appropriate Action/Reason Codes and then returned the completed spreadsheets to OSC by 08/06/2026. OSC will load the spreadsheets into PayServ to implement the general salary increases.

If an employee’s record can be corrected prior to the raise implementation, CUNY must submit these transactions prior to 08/20/2026 to allow automatic raise processing. CUNY must remove these rows from the spreadsheet prior to returning it to OSC. 

Note: If an employee’s history is corrected after the spreadsheet is submitted to OSC, automatic raise processing may occur for the employee AND the row may be updated with the salary rate submitted on the spreadsheet. CUNY must monitor these records closely to ensure the correct salary is applied.

• The agency must complete the spreadsheet provided by OSC for employees who are not on step due to a REM, SAB, or RRI.
  • Employees whose salary includes a Recruitment/Retention Initiative (RRI)  are eligible only for an increase to the base salary of their position.
  • Employees whose salary includes a Salary Above Base (SAB) are eligible to receive a percentage increase applied to their current salary.
  • Employees whose salary includes a Distinguished Stipend in addition to the Salary Above Base (SAB) are not entitled to an increase to the stipend rate which is currently $28,594.

Control-D Report Available After Processing

The following Control-D report will be available after processing of the automatic salary increases:

NHRP704 Mass Salary Payment Report
This report identifies all employees who received the General Salary Increase. The report identifies all rows where the employee’s salary was automatically increased while in an eligible bargaining unit. Other fields on the report include the EmplID, Employee Record Number, Employee Name, Grade, Bargaining Unit, Comp Rate Code, Part Time Percentage, Action/Reason, and Increment Code.

Tax Information:    

These funds are taxable income subject to all employment taxes and income taxes, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross, and reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

Undeliverable Checks:

When a valid payroll check is undeliverable due to the agency’s inability to locate the employee, the agency should follow the Agency Actions identified in Payroll Bulletin No. 1786 Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks. 

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be submitted as a Stop Payment Request with a reason of Exchange in PayServ.  The Report of Check Exchange (AC 1476-P), Next of Kin Affidavit (AC 934-P), and original death certificate should be submitted to the Payroll Reversal and Exchange mailbox at the same time as the Stop Payment Request. If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange. These forms can be found here: Payroll Forms | Office of the New York State Comptroller 

Questions:

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.

Questions regarding payment eligibility may be directed to the University Manager of Payroll Systems and Operations at CUNY Central Office.