Payroll Manual

Hazardous Duty Pay Differentials

(Including Safety Differential and Behavioral Intervention)

Payroll Manual

Hazardous Duty Differentials for PST, CSEA and MC Employees (Paid via Time Entry)

Section 130.9 of the Civil Service Law provides that the Director of the Division of Classification and Compensation may authorize payment of additional compensation, called a Hazardous Duty Differential, to employees exposed to hazardous working conditions in certain locations and under specified conditions. All such determinations are subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of the Budget.

The program commenced January 1, 1987, for full and part-time annual employees in eligible positions who are exposed to a hazardous situation at least 50% of their regular work schedule. Other employees who substitute during absences of the regularly scheduled employees are entitled to the differential for the number of hours of service they render in the substitute hazardous position.

There are currently two “subcategories” of the Hazardous Duty Differential: Those which provide additional compensation for “people-related hazards,” and those which provide additional compensation for exposure to chemical, biological, radiological, or other “environmental and/or non-people related hazards.” 
 

People Related Hazards:

Employees are entitled to Hazard Duty Differential when required to work among dangerous persons (“people-related hazards”.) The additional compensation is paid using the following Time Entry Earnings Codes:

  • HZ1 - Hazard Duty PST Straight Time. This is a unit override of $1.00. per hour.
  • HZ2 - Hazard Duty PST Overtime. This is a unit override of $1.50 per hour.
  • HZ3 - Hazard Duty CSEA Straight Time. This is a unit override of $1.00 per hour.
  • HZ4 - Hazard Duty CSEA Overtime. This is a unit override of $1.50 per hour.
  • HZ5 - Hazard Duty MC Straight Time. This is a unit override of $1.00 per hour.
  • HZ6 - Hazard Duty MC Overtime. This is a unit override of $1.50 per hour.
     

Environmental and/or Non-People Related Hazards:

Employees are entitled to Safety Differential when required to perform Hazardous work with hazardous materials (“environmental and/or non-people related hazards”). These earnings are only available to be paid to employees at the Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Labor The additional compensation is paid using the following Time Entry Earnings Codes:

  • SDS - Safety Dif-Straight Time. This is a unit override code of $8.00 per unit day. ($1.00 X 8 hours = $8.00)
  • SDO - Safety Dif-Overtime. This is a unit override of $1.50 per hour.
     

Behavioral Intervention Pay (BIP) in the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities is paid using the Time Entry Hazard Duty Codes using the same rules as documented below:

PEF-

  • HZ1 - Hazard Duty PST Straight Time. This is a unit override of 1.00 per hour.
  • HZ2 - Hazard Duty PST Overtime. This is a unit override of $1.50 per hour.
     

CSEA-

  • HZ3 - Hazard Duty CSEA Straight Time. This is a unit override of $1.00 hour.
  • HZ4 - Hazard Duty CSEA Overtime. This is a unit override of $1.50 per hour.
     

General Information: An eligible employee who is recalled to work overtime and entitled to minimum recall pay receives the differential (at the overtime rate) only for the hours actually worked while in recall status; the employee does not receive 4 hours of hazardous differential unless he or she actually works 4 hours.

The fact that an eligible employee works during their regularly scheduled hours on a date observed as a holiday and for which she or he receives additional holiday pay is not significant; the hazardous differential and the number of hours payable is calculated as if the holiday were a regular workday.

Hazardous Differential Payments should be rounded up or rounded down to the nearest quarter-hour segment. Payment is at the assigned rate for regular hours (including time worked between 37.5 and 40 hours per workweek for which an employee earns compensatory time).

The smallest unit of time an eligible employee must work during an overtime shift is one-quarter hour. Once an employee works in excess of 40 hours during a workweek and qualifies for overtime pay, he or she is entitled to payment of hazardous differential at time and one-half. Payment is at the assigned rate for all hours actually worked during which an employee qualifies for overtime pay. 

Payment is due for the hours the employee actually works in a hazardous situation. Employee excused time off which is charged to accumulated leave credits is not considered time worked and is not compensable.

The differential is not a part of an employee’s basic annual salary and does not affect other provisions of the law concerning salary determination.

More information can be found in the New York State Department of Civil Service State Personnel Management Manual (SPMM) and in specific union contracts located on the Office of Employee Relations Website.
 

Hazardous Duty Pay for NYSCOPBA and Council 82 Employees (Paid via Additional Pay)

Hazardous Duty Pay for employees represented by NYSCOPBA or Council 82 is paid via Additional Pay. Employees represented by Council 82 are eligible immediately (as of 06/10/2024). Employees represented by NYSCOPBA are eligible after one year of service in the negotiating unit. 

The Earnings Codes and current rates for NYSCOPBA and Council 82 Hazardous Duty Pay are as follows:

  • 01H - BU01 Hazardous Duty Arb-Eligible. This is an annual amount of $2,375.00
  • 21H - BU21 Hazardous Duty Non-Arb. This is an annual amount of $1,075.00
  • 61H - BU61 Hazardous Duty Pay. This is an annual amount of $2,375.00
  • 91H - BU91 Hazardous Duty Pay. This is an annual amount of $1,075.00
     

Applicable Payroll Bulletins:
NYSCOPBA

 

Council 82


Last Updated: 09/17/2025