Subject
Date Issued
Purpose:
The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the April 2026 Salary Increases for Judges, Justices and New York City Court Clerks of the UCS.
Affected Employees:
Judges, Justices and New York City County Clerks in Bargaining Unit 86 who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.
Background:
Chapter 60 of the Laws of 2015, amended in the Laws of 2019 Chapter 59, Part VVV, created the Special Commission on Judicial Compensation to examine, evaluate and make recommendations with respect to the adequate levels of compensation and non-salary benefits for Judges and Justices of the State paid courts of the Unified Court System (UCS). In the Final Report on Judicial Compensation dated 12/04/2023, the Commission has recommended that effective April 1, 2026 all NYS Judges receive a salary increase of 2% of their April 1, 2024 salary.
Chapter 491 of the Laws of 2009 provide County Clerks in the counties comprising the City of New York to receive an annual salary not less than the minimum annual compensation received by a justice of the New York State Supreme Court elected from the same judicial district.
Effective Dates:
| Cycle | Effective Date | Check Date |
|---|---|---|
| Administration 1 Current | 03/26/2026 | 04/08/2026 |
Eligibility Criteria:
Judges, Justices and New York City Court Clerks of the UCS in BU 86 with a Comp Rate Code of LEG and a Payroll Status of Active or Leave with Pay on or after 03/26/2026 are eligible for this salary increase.
OSC Actions:
OSC will process the April 2026 salary increase for Judges and Justices who meet the eligibility criteria as follows:
- If the Payroll Status is Active or Leave with Pay on 03/26/2026, OSC will insert a row on the Job Data record with an Effective Date of 03/26/2026 using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/SAC (Mass Salary Increase).
- If the employee does not meet the eligibility criteria on 03/26/2026, but becomes eligible in Administration Pay Period 1 after the payment effective date, OSC will insert a row on the Job Data record with an Effective Date equal to the date of Hire, Rehire, Position Change, Transfer or Return from Leave using the Action/Reason Code of Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary).
- If the employee has subsequent rows in an eligible position, OSC will insert a row on the Job Data record using the Action/Reason Code Pay Rate Change/CSL (Correct Salary).
The compensation rate on each inserted row will be updated as follows:
| Title | Current 04/01/2024 | New 04/01/2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Court of Appeals | ||
| Chief Judge | $265,600 | $271,000 |
| Associate Judge | $257,500 | $262,700 |
| Appellate Division | ||
| Presiding Justice | $251,300 | $256,400 |
| Associate Justice | $245,100 | $250,100 |
| Appellate Term | ||
| Presiding Justice | $243,000 | $247,900 |
| Associate Justice | $237,900 | $242,700 |
| Administrative Judges | ||
| Chief Administrative Judge | $251,300 | $256,400 |
| Dean of Judicial Institute | $244,900 | $249,800 |
| First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge | $248,200 | $253,200 |
| DCAJ (NYC) | $245,100 | $250,100 |
| DCAJ (outside NYC) | $245,100 | $250,100 |
| AJ (in NYC; Judicial District; County) | $241,000 | $245,900 |
| Supreme Court | ||
| Justice | $232,600 | $237,300 |
| Court of Claims | ||
| Presiding Judge | $245,100 | $250,100 |
| Judge | $232,600 | $237,300 |
| County Court | ||
$232,600 | $237,300 | |
$223,700 | $228,200 | |
$221,100 | $225,600 | |
| Family Court | ||
$232,600 | $237,300 | |
$221,100 | $225,600 | |
| Surrogate's Court | ||
$232,600 | $237,300 | |
$231,200 | $235,900 | |
$221,200 | $225,700 | |
$221,100 | $225,600 | |
| Civil Court of NYC and Criminal Court of NYC | ||
| Judge of the Civil Court | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| Housing Judge of the Civil Court | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| Judge of the Criminal Court | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| District Court | ||
| Pres., Board of Judge (Nassau) | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| Judge (Nassau) | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| Pres., Board of Judge (Suffolk) | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| Judge (Suffolk) | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| City Courts outside NYC | ||
| Chief Judge, City Court | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| City Court Judge 100% | $216,400 | $220,800 |
| City Court Judge 75% | $162,300 | $165,600 |
| City Court Judge 50% | $108,200 | $110,400 |
| City Court Judge 25% | $54,100 | $55,200 |
| Special City Court Judge | ||
| Holding 2 positions 50% & 25% | $162,300 | $165,600 |
| Holding 2 positions 25% & 25% | $108,200 | $110,400 |
| ||
| Special AJSC (Underlying Surrogate) | $232,600 | $237,300 |
| minus Tax & Finance Stipend Amount | ||
| $573 | $232,027 | $236,727 |
| $740 | $231,860 | $236,560 |
| $943 | $231,657 | $236,357 |
| $1,075 | $231,525 | $236,225 |
| $1,110 | $231,490 | $236,190 |
| $1,500 | $231,200 | $235,800 |
| $1,615 | $230,985 | $235,685 |
| $1,886 | $230,714 | $235,414 |
| $2,125 | $230,475 | $235,175 |
| $2,221 | $230,379 | $235,079 |
| $3,230 | $229,370 | $234,070 |
| $4,251 | $228,349 | $233,049 |
| $6,851 | $225,749 | $230,449 |
| NY County Clerks - Current Cycle | ||
| Pursuant to County Law, Article 25, Section 908 | $232,600 | $237,300 |
Agency Actions:
Agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the appropriate Reason Code (see below) to pay the April 2026 salary increase to eligible New York City County Clerks in Agency 05680.
- Reason Code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) – for transactions with an Effective Date equal to 03/26/2026 (Administration)
- Reason Code CSL (Correct Salary) – for transactions with an Effective Date after 03/26/2026 (Administration)
The salary on each inserted row for employees in Agency 05680 is determined using the charts above – See OSC Actions.
Salary Table Update: UCS will provide a chart showing the annual rates that currently exist on the Salary Grades table for Salary Administration Plan UCC and Salary Grade 570 with an effective date equal to 03/28/2024 and the increased annual rates which are effective 03/26/2026.
Position Table Update: UCS will submit a spreadsheet to OSC that contains the increased Approved Salary Rates which will be used to update the Position Information for the impacted employees.
Control-D Reports Available After Processing:
Control-D Report NHRP704 (Mass Salary Increase Report) will be available after processing of the automatic salary increases. This report identifies all Judges and Justices who receive the salary increase and identifies the salaries that were automatically increased.
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.