MEMORANDUM NO. 2018-13

June 12, 2018

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

I. AUTHORITY

The collective bargaining agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Social and Human Services (P-2) bargaining unit for the period of July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2021.

II. SICK LEAVE (Article 29)

Family sick leave up to ten (10) days will not be considered an occasion. In the event of a critical illness or severe injury to a member of the immediate family creating an emergency, provided that not more than ten (10) days of sick leave per calendar year will be granted and the definition of immediate family for this will section only will include grandparents. See OLR General Notice for full compliance.

III. COMPENSATION (Article 31)

A. General Wage Increases (Section 1)

There will be no general wage increase paid to any P-2 unit employee for the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-2019 contract years.
Effective July 1, 2019, the base annual salary for all employees will be increased by three and one-half percent (3.5%).

Effective July 1, 2020, the base annual salary for all employees will be increased by three and one-half percent (3.5%).

B. Annual Increments and Lump Sum Payments (Section 2)

 

There will be no lump sum payment or annual increment made for contract years 2016-2017, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019. The annual increments for the 2019-2020 and the 2020-2021 contract years will be paid on time.

 

There will be a $2,000 one-time payment to all employees in July of 2018. The one-time payment amount will be pro-rated for part-time unit employees. All payments will be pensionable in accordance with the Plan's normal rules.

Except as specifically varied by the contract, employees will continue to be eligible for and receive annual increments during the term of this contract in accordance with existing practice.

Effective July 1, 2019 and July 1, 2020, employees at the maximum step of the salary plan will be eligible for a lump sum payment of seven hundred and fifty dollars ($750). The payment will be made as of the date of the increment would have applied (e.g. January 1 or July 1) and may be denied for a "less than good" service rating.

C. Longevity (Section 3)

Employees will continue to be eligible for longevity payments for the life of the contract in accordance with existing practice and in accordance with the SEBAC 2011 and 2017 Agreements. The longevity schedule in effect on June 30, 1988 will remain unchanged in dollar amounts for the life of this Agreement and is appended hereto. The April 2018 longevity payment will be made in July 2018.

D. Night Shift Differential (Section 4)

The night shift differential will remain at eighty cents ($.80) per hour.

E. Weekend Differential (Section 5)

The weekend differential will remain at fifty-five cents ($.55) per hour.

F. In Charge Premium (Section 5)

Any bargaining unit employee at Connecticut Juvenile Training School, who is assigned to work in the capacity of Duty Officer, or at the Central Operations Post, on a holiday or a weekend, will receive an �in charge� premium of ten percent (10%) of his/her hourly rate of pay for all hours worked on such assignments.

IV. TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT (Article 39)

Effective upon Legislative approval of this Agreement, an employee who is required to travel on Employer business shall be reimbursed for meals at the following rates:

Taxes on meals shall be fully reimbursed. Gratuities shall be reimbursed to a maximum of fifteen percent (l5%) of the allowable meal maximum.

 

An employee who is required to remain away from home overnight in order to perform the duties of his/her position, shall be reimbursed for lodging expenses above the specified rate if lodging cannot be obtained at the lower rate and advanced approval is obtained. Advanced approval is not necessary in emergency situations.

 

*An employee who is involved in transporting a client/resident during the lunch period and who must stop for lunch with the client/resident shall be reimbursed according to the above rates for the cost of his/her lunch. Otherwise, lunch reimbursement is applicable only to out-of-state travel or when authorized in accordance with the Standard State Travel Regulations issued by the Commissioner of Administrative Services.

 

An employee who is required to use his/her personal vehicle in the performance of duty shall be reimbursed at the General Service Administration (GSA) rate. Such rate shall be adjusted upward or downward within thirty (30) days of any adjustment made by the GSA.

 

Employees required to utilize a personal vehicle for fifty percent (50%) of the assigned monthly work days shall be paid a daily auto usage fee equal to four dollars and fifty cents ($4.50) for each day of required usage, which shall be in addition to the mileage reimbursement described in Section Two.

 

Employees shall be notified of the minimum insurance requirements prior to using their personal vehicles in the performance of duties. In an emergency situation, an employee who uses his/her personal vehicle to attend to a client/resident shall be reimbursed regardless of the insurance requirement. This Section shall not apply if the employee fails to report to work.

 

Both the State and the Union acknowledge that there are occasions and circumstances when out of state travel is required over a weekend or on a holiday. When said circumstances are presented the agency shall first discuss the travel assignment with the individual employee who is most closely associated with the situation and/or case involved.

 

In the event the identified employee accepts the travel assignment, those hours of work associated directly with the assignment shall be recorded as part of the employee'
s overtime hours record for the purpose of overtime equalization.

 

If the identified employee declines the assignment the agency will seek volunteers from within the classification that covers the duties and functions to be provided and such volunteers shall be those who have been identified through the rotational system established in Article 18, Section Two. Any volunteer would have work hours associated with the assignment recorded as part of the employee'
s overtime hours for the purpose of overtime equalization.

 

In the event of no volunteers the assignment will revert to the employee who has been identified as most closely associated with the situation and/or case involved. Under these circumstances the employee will be drafted for the assignment.

V. TUITION REIMBURSEMENT FUNDS (Article 45)

Any employee who has completed six months of service and is continuing his/her education in a job related area, or in an area that will assist the employee in upward mobility or promotional opportunities, will be eligible for reimbursement of a maximum of eighteen (18) credits or the equivalent per year

.

The State will allocate for tuition reimbursement each contract year the following:

Unexpended funds from one contract year will carry over into the following contract year. Applications for tuition reimbursement that are submitted and approved within the final six months of the agreement may be paid with any remaining available funds up to three months following the expiration of the agreement.

 

Effective July 1, 2017, maximum reimbursement shall be equal to the applicable University of Connecticut resident credit hour rate, but at no point shall it be less than $150 per credit hour for undergraduate classes or $250 for graduate. For other courses or programs, reimbursement shall be available at 50% of the above rate.

 

Tuition reimbursement for external degree programs and for courses offered at non- accredited institutions or non-credit courses will be subject to prior approval by the Personnel Development section of the Department of Administrative Services. Non- credit courses will be converted to an equivalent number of credits for the purpose of computing reimbursement. For example, six to fifteen hours of non-credit classroom time will be considered the equivalent of one credit. For external degree programs, the enrollment fee and the examination fee for up to six examinations per year will be covered by tuition reimbursement.

VI. CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP FUNDS (Article 46)

The State will allocate for attendance by P-2 employees with more than six (6) months of service at professional seminars, workshops or conferences the following:

Each employee with more than six months of service will be entitled to a maximum of $500 reimbursement per contract year from this fund toward the cost of fees, travel, food and lodging related to attendance at such events. This entitlement may be combined once in any two year period.

 

An employee may use a previous year's unused entitlement for $1,000 provided prior year funds were rolled over and available. Funds not reserved for seminars, workshops or conferences by March 1 of each year may be transferred to the P-2 tuition reimbursement program upon request of the Union. Funds committed for workshops/conferences in one contract year will carry over to the next contract year.

VII. STANDBY PROGRAM (Article 47)

The Standby Program is within the Department of Children and Families is necessary to ensure after hours coverage. See contract for specific details.

 

A Home and Office premium annual payment of $500 will be paid to those workers assigned to the full time primary standby function and who have performed such function for a full year. Individuals who have completed less than a full year of primary standby
work will be entitled to a pro-rata payment based on the number of months of service. The premium will be paid on a semi-annual basis of $250.

 

Compensation for backup standby workers will be at the rate of $1.50 per hour for hours of standby assignment when the regional office is closed during the week, on weekends and on non-premium holidays. Compensation for backup standby workers will be at the rate of $3.00 per hour for the twenty-four hour shift where the beginning of the shift falls on New Year'
s Day (January 1), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving or Christmas (December 25).

 

Refer to the contract for additional on-call/standby status for P-2 employees.

VIII. FURLOUGH

There will be three (3) mandatory furlough days for all members of the bargaining unit that must be taken in fiscal year 2018. Please refer to the Memorandum of Agreement between the State of Connecticut and the Social and Human Services (P-2) bargaining unit for specific furlough details. Core-CT has issued furlough day processing instructions in the HR Daily Mails dated 8/18/2017 and 8/22/2017.

IX. SCHEDULED PAYMENT DATES

A. General Wage Increases
The general wage increase will be made centrally at the proper time.

B. Annual Increments
Annual increments will be entered centrally for agencies at the proper time as follows:

C. Longevity
Core-CT will provide notification at the proper time for the payment of longevity.

 

D. $2,000 One-Time Payment (pro-rated for part-time employees)

E. Lump Sum Payments for Maximum Step Employees
The agency must process these lump sum payments manually and follow the effective dates and pay periods of annual increments.

 

F. Home and Office Premium

X. PAYROLL PROCEDURES

A. Split Pay Period for General Wage Increase
General wage increase effective July 1, 2019. The effective pay period is June 21, 2019 through July 4, 2019. Wages earned for June 21, 2019 through June 30, 2019 should be paid at the old rate. The wages earned for the period July 1, 2019 through July 4, 2019 should be paid at the new rate.

 

General wage increase effective July 1, 2020. The effective pay period is June 19, 2020 through July 2, 2020. Wages earned for the period June 19, 2020 through June 30, 2020 should be paid at the old rate. The wages earned for the period July 1, 2020 through July 2, 2020 should be paid at the new rate.

 

B. Implementation of General Wage Increases
New pay plans will be implemented centrally with the new hourly rate and bi-weekly salary effective with the pay period at the proper time.

C. Payment of Lump Sum(s)
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XMISP
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount, Earnings Code MPS

These lump sum payments are subject to mandatory deductions: i.e., federal withholding and state income tax annualized, social security tax, retirement contributions and garnishments (if applicable).

D. $2,000 One-Time Payment
On the Timesheet Page:Amount; Time Reporting Code XMISP, use Comments if needed
On the Additional Pay Page:Amount; Earnings Code MPS use Reason if needed

 

E. Night Shift Differential
On the Timesheet Page: Hours; Shift 1; Account 50180 or Hours; Shift 2 (Time and a Half); Account 50180 or Amount; Shift 3; Account 50180
On the Additional Pay Page: Hours or Amount; Earnings Code SD1 (Shift 1); Account 50180 or Hours or Amount; Earnings Code SD2 (Shift 2); Account 50180 or Amount; Earnings Code SD3 (Shift 3); Account 50180

 

F. Weekend Differential
On the Timesheet Page: Hours; Shift 1; Account 50180 or Hours; Shift 2 (Time and a Half); Account 50180 or Amount; Shift 3; Account 50180
On the Additional Pay Page: Hours or Amount; Earnings Code SD1 (Shift 1); Account 50180 or Hours or Amount; Earnings Code SD2 (Shift 2); Account 50180 or Amount; Earnings Code SD3 (Shift 3); Account 50180

 

G. Daily Auto Usage Fee
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XAUTA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code AUT

 

H. Home and Office Premium
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XHOMA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code HOM

 

I. Standby
On the Timesheet Page: Amount; Time Reporting Code XOCXA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount; Earnings Code OSA
On the Timesheet Page: Units; Time Reporting Code XOCCH
On the Additional Pay Page: Units; Earnings Code OC2
On the Timesheet Page: Units; Time Reporting Code XOCDH
On the Additional Pay Page: Units; Earnings Code OC3

 

J. In Charge Pay Amount
On the Timesheet Page: Time Reporting Code XINCA
On the Additional Pay Page: Amount Earnings Code, INC

XI. GENERAL

Questions may be directed as follows:

 

Contract Issues: Agency Human Resources Officers;

 

Memorandum Interpretation: Office of the State Comptroller, Administrative Services,
860-702-3440;

 

Payroll Procedures: Office of the State Comptroller, Active and Pension Payroll Services Division, 860-702-3447;

 

Tuition Reimbursement: Office of the State Comptroller, Administrative Services, 860-702-3334.

KEVIN LEMBO
STATE COMPTROLLER

KL:RE

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