Pay Cycle Information

• There are 3 pay cycles: Institution, Administration and Emergency.    
  • The Emergency pay cycle is a separate payroll used to pay National Guard in the Division of Military and Naval (DMNA) when called for emergency duty.
• The employee’s pay cycle is determined by the agency in which the employee works.
• Pay cycles are two weeks long.
• The Administration and Institution pay cycles commence on a Thursday and end on the Wednesday two weeks after.
  • The Administration pay cycle begins on the Thursday opposite the Institution cycle, and vice versa.
• The Emergency payroll cycle commences on the Tuesday prior to the Administration cycle and ends on the Monday two weeks after.
• Administration checks are dated Wednesday; Institution checks are dated Thursday; Emergency checks are dated Monday.
  • If a holiday occurs on a check date, the check is dated on the day prior.
     

Pay Type Information

There are 3 Pay Types in PayServ as described below:
1. Current:

• This is the pay type that is used for agencies whose employees are paid on a current basis; that is, the employees receive a check at the end of a two week pay period, as defined by pay cycle (Administration or Institution) for service performed in the two weeks immediately prior to the check date.
  • For example, if an employee is hired on the first day of an Administration pay cycle with a current pay type, and the dates of the pay period are Thursday 4/10 through Wednesday 4/23, the employee will receive their first check on 4/23 for service performed 4/10-4/23.
• The following are examples of employees paid on a current basis: Elected officials (Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, Members of the NYS Senate and NYS Assembly, NYS Judges) and employees who work within the City University of New York (CUNY) other than those on the Executive Compensation Plan (ECP) (i.e. 70XX9 payroll departments).

2. Lag:

• This is the pay type that is used for agencies whose employees are paid on a lag basis; that is, the employees receive a check at the end of a pay period, as defined by pay cycle (Administration or Institution) for service performed in the 2 week pay period that began 4 weeks prior to the check date and ended 2 weeks earlier than the check date.
  • For example, if an employee is hired on the first day of an Administration pay cycle with a lag pay type, and the dates of the employee’s first pay period are Thursday, 4/10 through Wednesday, 4/23, the employee will receive their first paycheck 2 weeks after the end of the pay period. Therefore, the employee will receive their first check on 5/7 for service performed 4/10-4/23. 

3. Extra Lag:

• This is the pay type that is used for agencies whose hourly employees are paid on an extra lag basis; that is, unlike the 2-week lag described above, the employees are paid on a 3-week lag.
  • For example, an Extra Lag employee that works on the Administration pay cycle dates of 4/17-4/30 would be paid on the Administration check date of 5/21.

Agencies should refer to the appropriate fiscal year’s Submission Schedule found on the Office of the New York Comptroller’s website. 

The Submission Schedule lists cutoffs and pertinent payroll processing dates agencies must follow as well as agency entry deadlines for the following processes:

• Automated Interface Submission
• Online Earnings Transaction Entry
• Miscellaneous Time Entry File Submission
• Online Deduction, Tax, and Direct Deposit Transaction Entry
• Electronic Certification Submission Date
• Online Back End Split Entry 
   

For a detailed explanation of the payroll processing schedule please see the OSC and Agency Processing Schedule video and presentation of the 2024 OSC Fall Conference.

Video (mp4)

Presentation (PDF)

Last Updated: 09/17/2025