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Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonuses for State Employees

BPRM Information Table (layout)

Effective Date: May 5, 2023

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TO: ALL DEPARTMENT AND AGENCY HEADS

FROM: Robert L. Megna

SUBJECT: Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonuses for State Employees

This budget bulletin provides guidance to State agencies for the purpose of administering the Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program (HWB) for State employees of the Executive Branch of the State of New York, the State University of New York, and certain employees of the City University of New York’s senior colleges.

The New York State Department of Health has issued separate and distinct program guidance for all other employers.

Summary of Changes

The Health Care and Mental Hygiene Worker Bonus Program State Employee Qualified Titles lists have been expanded to include the below titles:
(Newly added titles are featured in Italics within the Qualified Titles lists.)

• Frontline, Direct Care Offender Rehabilitation Aides, Coordinators and Supervising Coordinators, including all parenthetical titles (Title List #1);
  
• Frontline, Direct Care Graduate Nurses, appoint level only, including all parenthetical titles (Title List #1);
  
• The new Registered Nurse title series, following the Title Structure Change and Reallocation approved in late-December 2022 (Title List #1);
  
• Healthcare Support Workers, including Teaching Hospital Medical Records Assistant 1 & 2, and Financial Assistant (Title List #2);
  
• The addition of generic titles performing direct healthcare or healthcare support (Title List #4).

State employees serving in the new titles added to this bulletin on or after October 1, 2022 will receive bonus payments retroactively for up to two vesting periods in which they are deemed bonus-eligible by their Primary State Agency and have not previously received bonus payments in two Vesting Periods.  This pertains to employees who qualified for the bonus in vesting periods one, two or three.

The Primary State Agency is responsible for determining whether State employees serving in these new titles performed qualified service in qualified titles at qualified work locations over the course of a qualified vesting period, in consultation with all other impacted State agencies in which the employee is eligible.

The Primary State Agency is also responsible for determining the Bonus Pay Amount, which is to be based on the Average Hours Worked, and the Annualized Base Salary earned by State employees in the performance of qualified service, in qualified titles, at qualified work locations, over the course of a qualified vesting period, in consultation with all other impacted State agencies in which the employee is eligible.

Lastly, this revision eliminates the Request for Funding document; the Primary State Agency is no longer required to submit this document to the Division's Labor Relations Section.

Statutory Authority

Located within Part ZZ of Chapter 56 of the Laws of 2022 the HWB provision allows for the payment of bonuses to “recruit, retain, and reward health care and mental hygiene workers” meeting specified eligibility requirements.  Section 4 of Part ZZ provides the bonus pay authorization for State employees.

The HWB for State employees is funded by a Miscellaneous – All State Departments and Agencies, General Fund, State Operations appropriation included within Chapter 50 of the Laws of 2022.

Notification

The Primary State Agency is responsible for notifying State employees of their HWB eligibility, bonus amounts due and pay dates on which the bonuses will be paid for each respective vesting period in any manner it deems sufficient to notify such employees efficiently and effectively.

HWB Payments

The Primary State Agency is responsible for submitting PayServ transactions on behalf of eligible employees to effectuate the bonus payments in compliance with Part ZZ, this budget bulletin, and the guidelines issued within the State Comptroller's payroll bulletin.

In performing this responsibility, State agencies are also responsible for maintaining contemporaneous records for all claims-related information and any other data or documents used to demonstrate that a State employee was eligible to receive the HWB at the requested amount(s) submitted in PayServ.

Impacted State Agencies

The following agencies are expected to administer the HWB for State employees: SUNY, CUNY, OMH, OPWDD, OASAS, DOH, DOCCS, SED, OCFS and DCS.

Primary State Agency / Primary State Employment

Since State employees may work in more than one position or title within the same State agency or within different State agencies, the process requires that State agencies consult with each other and designate a “Primary State Agency” to collect the requisite information from all qualified work locations within all State agencies, to fulfill the Core Responsibilities outlined below.

The designation of the Primary State Agency is to be based on a determination of the “Primary State Employment” of eligible employees as explained below.

Primary State Employment is defined as the qualified title in which the employee performed more hours of qualified service at a qualified work location over the course of a qualified vesting period, than all other Qualified Service in all other Qualified Titles at all other Qualified Work Locations over the course of such Qualified Vesting Period.

Employer Certification

The Agency Head (or other designated high-level official) of the Primary State Agency are required to execute the requisite Employer Certification  and return via e-mail to dob.sm.LaborRelations@budget.ny.gov. 

HWB Eligibility

• The Primary State Agency is responsible for determining whether State employees performed qualified service in qualified titles at qualified work locations over the course of a qualified vesting period, in consultation with all other impacted State agencies in which the employee is eligible.
  
• Additionally, the Primary State Agency is responsible for determining the Bonus Pay Amount, which is to be based on the Average Hours Worked, and the Annualized Base Salary earned by State employees in the performance of qualified service, in qualified titles, at qualified work locations, over the course of a qualified vesting period, in consultation with all other impacted State agencies in which the employee is eligible.
  

Qualified Service

Qualified Service is defined in two distinct ways:

• State employees must be “front line health care and mental hygiene practitioners, technicians, assistants and aides that provide hands on health or care services to individuals”; or
• State employees must support the provision of patient-facing health care services in front-line settings.

State employees within these two categories may qualify without regard to their comp rate (formerly pay basis type) or whether employed on a permanent or part-time basis.

Qualified Titles

State employees must be employed within Qualified Titles which have been determined to be substantially equivalent to the definition of employee pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 367-w of the Social Services Law, by the Commissioner of Health, in consultation with the Chancellor of the State University of New York, the Commissioner of the Department of Civil Service, the Director of the Office of Employee Relations, and the commissioners of other State agencies, as applicable and approved by the Director of the Budget.

Qualified Work Locations

State employees must be employed by a state operated facility, an institutional or direct care setting operated by the State of New York, a public hospital operated by the State University of New York, and certain City University of New York senior colleges.

The Division of the Budget has revised the list of Qualified Work Locations to: i) reflect the addition of SUNY clinics covered under Article 28 of the Public Health Law; and ii) to notate that health care and mental hygiene support titles may qualify for the bonus in Mental Hygiene settings.

Qualified Vesting Periods

Vesting period are a series of six-month periods between the dates of October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2024, for which employees that are continuously employed by the State during such six-month periods may become eligible for a bonus payment.

Employees may qualify for the bonus in two vesting periods.  An employee’s first vesting period may not begin later than March 31, 2023, and in total both vesting periods may not exceed one year in duration. Employees first hired by the State on or after April 1, 2023, are ineligible for the bonus.

State employees serving in the new titles added to this bulletin on or after October 1, 2022 will receive bonus payments retroactively for up to two vesting periods in which they are deemed bonus-eligible by their Primary State Agency and have not previously received bonus payments in two vesting periods.  This pertains to employees who qualified for the bonus in vesting periods one, two or three.

Bonus Pay Amounts

Qualified State employees will receive the HWB commensurate with the average hours worked per week in the performance of qualified service, in qualified titles, at qualified work locations, over the course of a qualified vesting period.

• Employees who have worked an average of at least 20, but less than 30 hours per week over the course of a vesting period shall receive a $500 dollar bonus for the vesting period.
  
• Employees who have worked an average of at least 30, but less than 37.5 hours per week over the course of a vesting period shall receive a $1,000 dollar bonus for the vesting period.
  
• Employees who have worked an average of at least 37.5 hours per week over the course of a vesting period shall receive a $1,500 dollar bonus for the vesting period.

The maximum bonus payment may not exceed $3,000 dollars (i.e., maximum of $1,500 for each of the two vesting periods).

Employees will receive the bonus payment regardless of their payroll status following the end dates of the vesting periods for which they qualify (e.g., regardless of whether the employee retired following the end-date of a vesting period).

Any bonus payment made, to the extent includable in gross income for federal tax income purposes, shall not be subject to New York State or local income tax.

Average Hours Worked

The primary State Agency is responsible for determining the average hours worked over the course of a vesting period by its employees, in consultation with all work locations under its purview, and in consultation with all other impacted State agencies in which the employee is eligible.

The determination of average hours worked must include all regular hours, overtime hours, extra service hours, out-of-title hours, holiday hours or other non-regular hours worked by an employee during a vesting period, in the performance of qualified service, in all qualified titles at all qualified work locations.

The use of any accruals or other leave, including sick leave, vacation leave, holiday leave, military leave, workers’ compensation leave, family medical leave and paid family leave shall be credited towards and included in the calculation of the average number of hours worked per week over the course of a vesting period.

The use of lost time related to unauthorized leaves and time on a disciplinary leave shall not be credited towards or included in the calculation of the average number of hours worked per week over the course of the vesting period.

For guidance in determining the average number of hours worked each week by State employees over the course of a vesting period, please see the State Comptroller’s payroll bulletin.

Annualized Base Salary

The Primary State Agency is responsible for determining the annualized base salary earned over the course of a vesting period for its employees, in consultation with all work locations under its purview, and in consultation with all other impacted State agencies in which the employee is eligible.

The determination of annualized base salary must exclude all additional compensation earned over the course of a qualified vesting period, such as overtime, extra service, lump sum payments, longevity payments, location pay and geographic pay.

The determination of annualized base salary is exclusive to salary or wages earned in a State agency within the Executive Branch of the State of New York, the State University of New York, or the City University of New York over the course of a qualified vesting period.

State employees may qualify for the HWB if they received an annualized base salary that did not exceed $125,000 over the course of a vesting period for annual-salaried employees, or $62,500 for non-annual salaried employees, over the course of a vesting period, regardless of their Full-Time-Equivalent value.

• Annual-Salaried Employees.  Annualized base salary refers to the annual salary assigned to all qualified titles in which the employee was employed at all qualified work locations, in the exclusive performance of qualified service over the course of a qualified vesting period, excluding all items of additional compensation.
• Non-Annual-Salaried Employees.  For all other Comp Rate Types, annualized base salary is the total wages paid to State employees in all qualified titles in which the employee was employed at all qualified work locations, in the exclusive performance of qualified service over the course of a qualified vesting period, excluding all items of additional compensation.
  

Handling of General Salary Increases

Collectively negotiated General Salary Increase (GSIs) paid within the course of a qualified vesting period, including the retroactive payment of GSIs that increase base salary and wage rates within the course of the date range of the vesting period, must be included in the determination of the annualized base salary for such vesting period.

Collectively negotiated GSIs paid after the end date of a qualified vesting period, including the retroactive payment of GSIs that would have increased the base salary or wage rates within the course of the date range of the vesting period, must not be included in the calculation of the annualized base salary for such vesting period.

The annualized base salary determination must not factor the value of the retro lump sum payment – only the value of the GSI on base salary or wages is to be factored (if 2% GSI: $100K to $102K, or $100 dollars to $102 dollars).

The State Comptroller’s payroll bulletin provides specific guidance in determining the annualized base salary over the course of a qualified vesting period.

Summary of Core Responsibilities

The Primary State Agency, in consultation with all other impacted State agencies, is responsible for:

• Determining the HWB-eligibility of State employees;
• Determining the appropriate bonus payment amounts for eligible State employees;
• Notifying State employees of their HWB eligibility and bonus amounts due; and

• Submitting PayServ transactions on behalf of eligible State employees to effectuate payment of the bonus amounts due.

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