Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the September 2025 PEF Performance Advances and provide instructions for payments not processed automatically.

Affected Employees:

Employees in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Service Unit – BU05 with a Comp Rate Code of 21P or CAL who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Chapter 190 of the Laws of 2023, which implemented the 2023-2026 Agreement between the State of New York and PEF, provides for a payment of performance advances in September to eligible PEF employees based on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule.

Effective Dates:

The September 2025 Performance Advances will be paid using the following effective dates:

Payments will be included in Institution Pay Period 11L, paycheck dated 09/18/2025; or Administration Pay Period 12L, paycheck dated 09/24/2025.

Eligibility Criteria:

Performance Advance

Employees in graded positions (Grade 001-037) and NS positions (Grade 600), which are equated to a grade (Grade 001-037) and whose annual salary is below the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule, are eligible for the September 2025 Performance Advance provided the employee:

• Is in a BU05 position on the payment effective date; and
• Has completed 150 workdays in such grade during the rating cycle for the 2024-2025 academic year; and
• Has a Comp Rate Code of 21P or CAL on the appropriate payment effective date; and
• Was rated at least “Satisfactory” or its equivalent on their last rating date.

Promotion Recalculation

Employees who would have been eligible to receive the September 2025 Performance Advance but were promoted to a higher grade in any bargaining unit prior to September 2025 may be eligible for a revised promotion salary (promotion recalculation) provided the employee is not eligible for a performance advance in the higher grade.

Ineligible for Performance Advance

Employees with an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date are ineligible to receive the September 2025 Performance Advance. The agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code USP (Unsat Perf) and an increment code of 0003 or 0388* in the Incr. Code field to withhold the performance advance. The effective date should be the employee’s last rating date. This transaction should be submitted as soon as practicable following the employee’s rating date and must be submitted prior to the automatic processing of the September 2025 Performance Advances.

Increment Code 0003 is also used to identify employees who have not completed 150 workdays in their grade and to prevent these employees from receiving the September 2025 Performance Advance.

If Increment Code 0003 appears in an employee’s record at the time of processing the September 2025 Performance Advance, the increment code will be updated automatically to indicate the employee’s eligibility for the next performance advance (see OSC Actions).

* Agencies should refer to the LGS Increment Codes for Payment Withholds attachment in Payroll Bulletin No. 2313.1 for guidance on appropriate increment codes for employees who also meet the eligibility criteria for a Longevity Service Payment (Earnings code LGS).

Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing:

The following Control-D report will be made available for agency use on 08/21/2025 (Institution) and 08/28/2025 (Administration). This will give agencies time to correct employees’ records, if necessary, prior to the automatic processing of the September 2025 Performance Advances. The report will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report

This report is a preliminary listing of employees who appear ineligible to receive a September 2025 Performance Advance, Promotion Recalculation or Increment Code Update based on information available as of the date the report is produced. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record will not be updated:

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE – if the employee’s Grade on the Position Data page (based on the NYS Position Number) is equal to 600 and a value exists in both the Equated to Grade field and the Approved Salary Rate field;
• Position and Job do not match – if the Position Number equals the NYS Position Number on the employee’s Job Data page but the Bargaining Unit, Salary Administration Plan, or Grade on the Job Data page and the Position Data page are not equal;
• FIS Missing – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004 and the FIS Amount field is blank;
• FIS At or Below Current – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004 and the value in the FIS Amount field is less than or equal to the employee’s current salary;
• FIS Below Hiring Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0004 and the value in the FIS Amount field is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule;
• Increment Code Missing – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is blank or ‘0000’;
• Increment Code Invalid – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is other than 0001, 0003, 0004, 2222, 7777, 19XX, 20XX, 8888, 0188, or 0388;
• Inc Code Req Review – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 2222;
• Sal Below Hiring Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0001, 0188, 0003, 0388, or 0004 and the employee’s salary is less than the Hiring Rate for the employee’s grade on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule;
• Sal At or Above Job Rate – if the increment code on the employee’s Job Data page is 0001, 0188, 0003, 0388, or 0004 and the employee’s salary is equal to or greater than the Job Rate for the employee’s grade on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule.

If an employee appears on this report but is due a performance advance, promotion recalculation or increment code update, the agency must take the following action:

• Submit the appropriate transaction(s) on the Job Action Requests page to correct the information on the Job Data row(s).
• Submit a Position Change Request to the Position Management Unit if the Position information is incorrect on the Position Data page in PayServ but is correct in NYSTEP. The position will be updated to reflect the change and the automatic performance advance, promotion recalculation or increment code update will be processed provided the agency’s position request contains the same information as the position information in NYSTEP.

If corrections described above are made prior to Pay Period 11L (Institution) or Pay Period 12L (Administration), the automatic performance advance, promotion recalculation, or increment code update will be processed.

OSC Actions: 

OSC will process the September 2025 Performance Advances, Promotion Recalculations, and Increment Code Updates for those employees who meet the eligibility criteria and have a Payroll Status of Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date with the following exceptions:

• Eligible employees in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) on the payment effective date.
• Eligible employees with a Payroll Status of Leave With Pay and an Action/Reason Code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on the payment effective date.

Performance Advance Processing

Performance advances will be processed for eligible employees with Increment Code 0001 or 0188. OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P) using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/PAV (Perf Adv) and will increase the employee’s salary to reflect payment of the performance advance. The employee’s salary will be capped at the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule.

Promotion Recalculation Processing

Promotion recalculations will be processed for eligible employees with Increment Code 0004 on the payment effective date who were entitled to a revised promotion salary based on the Fixed Incremented Salary (FIS) Amount on the Job Data/Compensation page. The FIS Amount:

• Must be equal to or greater than the Hiring Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule; and
• Must be greater than the employee’s salary on the payment effective date; and
• May exceed the Job Rate of the employee’s grade on the payment effective date based on the 04/01/2025 Salary Schedule.

OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P) using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/PMR (Prom Recal) and will update the employee’s salary to reflect the FIS Amount.

Increment Code Update Processing

OSC will automatically update the increment code on the inserted row for employees who receive a performance advance or promotion recalculation as follows:

OSC will automatically insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P) using the Action/Reason Code of Data Chg/CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and update the following increment code:

Note: Increment code 0388 will not update automatically. Agencies will be responsible for submitting the appropriate increment code correction after processing. See Increment Code Correction for Employees Below Job Rate and Receiving LGS section of this bulletin for additional instructions.

Workers’ Compensation

For employees who are receiving Workers’ Compensation under the PEF Medical Evaluation Program, the supplement will be recalculated by OSC when processing payments for disability dates beginning 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P).

Transactions processed automatically will appear on the NHRP520 Daily Outbound Transaction file.

Control-D Reports Available After Processing: 

The following Control-D reports will be available for agency review after the automatic payments have been processed. All reports will be sorted by Department ID, then by employee name in alphabetical order.

NHRP704 – Mass Increment Payment Report

This report identifies all employees who received the automatic September 2025 Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation on the payment effective date. The report includes the Action/Reason Code used as well as the old compensation rate and new compensation rate.

NHRP708 – Mass Increment Payment Exception Report

This report identifies employees who did not receive an automatic September 2025 Performance Advance, Promotion Recalculation, or Increment Code Update. Included on the report is one or more of the following messages which identifies the reason(s) the employee’s record was not updated:

• NYS Position Has Both Equated Grade and NTE
• Position and Job do not match
• FIS Missing
• FIS At or Below Current
• FIS Below Hiring Rate
• Increment Code Missing
• Increment Code Invalid
• Inc Code Req Review
• Sal Below Hiring Rate
• Sal At or Above Job Rate

See Control-D Report Available Prior to Processing for an explanation of these messages.

Agency Actions

Beginning Institution Pay Period 11L or Administration Pay Period 12L:

The following procedures must be used by the agency when submitting transactions in Pay Period 11L (Institution) or Pay Period 12L (Administration).     

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date on or before 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P):

• The agency must not include the performance advance in the salary rate reported in the Pay Rate Field.
• The agency must report the proper increment code for the 2024-2025 academic year in the Incr. Code field.

For pay changes, position changes and transfers requested on the Job Action Requests or Transfer Requests page with an effective date after 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P):

• The agency must include, if applicable, the performance advance in the salary rate reported in the Pay Rate field.
• The agency must report the projected increment code for the 2025-2026 academic year in the Incr. Code field.

Time Entry

To report miscellaneous earnings that are automatically calculated by the system (e.g., overtime), agencies must separate earnings by pay period so the earnings will not overlap the effective date of the Pay Change transaction.

Beginning Institution Pay Period 12L or Administration Pay Period 13L:

Employees Not Processed Automatically

Beginning in Pay Period 12L (Institution) or Pay Period 13L (Administration), agencies may submit the appropriate transaction(s) for the following employees who are eligible on the payment effective date but will not be processed automatically. Refer to the appropriate instructions described below:

1. Eligible employees who are in a composite position (identified by Increment Code 2222) on the payment effective date.
2. Eligible employees with a Payroll Status of Leave With Pay and an Action/Reason Code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on the payment effective date.
3. Eligible employees who are on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave or a Military Leave on the payment effective date.
4. Eligible employees who are Inactive or on a Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date.
5. Eligible employees who had prior 21P or CAL service.

   1. Increment Code 2222

Eligible employees who are in a composite position on the payment effective date may receive the September 2025 Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation. Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P). Information regarding the composite position must be included on the General Comments page.

2. Paid Sick Leave 

Eligible employees with a Payroll Status of Leave With Pay and an Action/Reason Code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) on the payment effective date who completed 150 workdays in their grade prior to the effective date of the Paid Sick Leave may receive the September 2025 Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation. Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P).

3. Military Stipend Leave or Military Leave

Eligible employees who are on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave or a Military Leave on the payment effective date may receive the September 2025 Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation when they return to the payroll.

If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is on or before 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) or a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/or `AnnDt/or FIS Sal)  effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P).

If the effective date of the return from leave transaction is after 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P), in addition to entering the Return from Leave on the Job Data page, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CSL (Cor Sal) or a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) using the effective date of the Return from Leave with the next available sequence number.

4. Inactive or Leave of Absence (not related to Workers’ Compensation Leave)

Eligible employees who are Inactive or have a Payroll Status of Leave of Absence not related to Workers’ Compensation Leave on the payment effective date and who completed 150 workdays in their grade prior to becoming inactive or being placed on a leave of absence may receive the September 2025 Performance Advance or Promotion Recalculation when they return to the payroll. In addition, an employee who is Inactive must be rehired within one year to be eligible for the payment.

If the effective date of the rehire or return from leave transaction is on or before 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P), in addition to processing the transaction(s) related to the rehire or return from leave, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code PAV (Perf Adv) or PMR (Prom Recal) or a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P).

If the effective date of the rehire or return from leave is after 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P), in addition to processing the transaction(s) related to the rehire or return from leave, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CSL (Cor Sal) or a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and the effective date of the Rehire or Return from Leave with the next available sequence number.

5. Promotion Recalculation Based on Prior 21P or CAL Service

Employees who would have been eligible to receive the September 2025 Performance Advance but were promoted to a higher grade in any bargaining unit prior to September 2025 may be eligible for a revised promotion salary (promotion recalculation) provided the employee is not eligible for a performance advance in the higher grade. Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason Code PMR (Prom Recal) effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P).

Increment Code Correction for Employees Below Job Rate and Receiving LGS 

If an employee received an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation on their last rating date or did not have one year in grade and the increment code was changed to withhold payment, the prior increment code must be reinstated after processing of the September 2025 performance advance payment is complete. The agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P) using the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/orAnnDt/or FIS Sal), and the employee’s prior increment code in the Incr. Code field.

If an employee received an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation rating and is on differing payment cycles for a performance advance and LGS payment, they may not have their prior increment code reinstated. The agency must refer to the LGS Increment Codes for Payment Withholds attachment in Payroll Bulletin No. 2313.1 to determine the applicable Increment Code and submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page effective 09/01/2025 (Comp Rate Code CAL) or the Contract Begin Date (Comp Rate Code 21P) using the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/orAnnDt/or FIS Sal), with the appropriate Increment Code in the Incr. Code field.

Reinstating Prior Job Rate Increment Code

Employees previously established on an LLS payment cycle may be eligible for the April 2026 PEF LLS payment upon processing of the September 2025 Performance Advance which results in the employee’s salary reaching Job Rate provided the employee does not have the qualifying years of service needed to receive the new LGS payment.

Upward Reallocation: 

An employee occupying a position that was previously upward reallocated, whose salary at the time of the reallocation was equal to or greater than the Job Rate of the lower graded position and whose salary upon application of the September 2025 Performance Advance is equal to the Job Rate of the reallocated position (based on the 04/01/2025 Schedule) is entitled to the job rate credit for service in the lower grade.

• The increment code of an employee receiving the September 2025 Performance Advance that results in a salary equal to the Job Rate of the reallocated position will be automatically updated from 0001 to 2026.
• The agency must evaluate the employee’s Payroll Status beginning from the time of reallocation through the date of the performance advance to determine if the increment code must be updated.
  • If the Payroll Status remained Active, Leave With Pay, or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave during this period, the employee is entitled to have the increment code of the lower grade reinstated.
  • If the Payroll Status was Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave any time during this period, the increment code of the lower grade must be evaluated to determine the appropriate increment code adjustment.
• If the increment code must be updated, the agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the same effective date as the performance advance, the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and an increment code reflecting the appropriate job rate credit in the Incr. Code field.

Lateral Position Change from a Non-PEF Position Where the Employee’s Salary was Equal to or Greater Than Job Rate to a PEF Position with a Higher Job Rate: 

An employee with a salary equal to or greater than the Job Rate of their salary grade, who had a lateral position change to a PEF position with a higher Job Rate, and whose salary upon application of the September 2025 Performance Advance is equal to the Job Rate in the PEF position is entitled to job rate credit for service in the non-PEF position.

• The increment code of an employee receiving the September 2025 Performance Advance that results in a salary equal to the Job Rate of the PEF position will be automatically updated from 0001 to 2026.
• The agency must evaluate the employee’s Payroll Status beginning from the time of lateral position change through the date of the performance advance to determine if the increment code must be updated.
  • If the Payroll Status remained Active, Leave With Pay, or Leave of Absence due to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave during this period, the employee is entitled to have the increment code of the lower grade reinstated.
  • If the Payroll Status was Leave of Absence not related to a Workers’ Compensation Leave or Military Leave any time during this period, the increment code of the lower grade must be evaluated to determine the appropriate increment code adjustment.
• If the increment code must be updated, the agency must submit a Data Chg on the Job Action Requests page using the same effective date as the performance advance, the Reason Code CIC (Chg IncCd/or AnnDt/or FIS Sal) and an increment code reflecting the appropriate job rate credit in the Incr. Code field.

Updating Subsequent Rows: 

Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Request page using the Reason Code CSL (Cor Sal) to update all eligible effective dated rows subsequent to the payment effective date.

Tax Information:

These monies are taxable income, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross, and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. 

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.

Questions:

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

Questions regarding position change requests may be directed to the Position Management mailbox.