PEF files
grievance; says pay should start April ’99More retroactive pay coming, but is it enough?
By SHERRY HALBROOK
The ink is barely dry on the 1999-2003 PS&T contract, but the state and PEF are already quarreling over what it means.
The dispute centers on when changes in Articles 31 and 38 should take effect.
Revisions to Article 31 increase the pay rate for employees while on standby on-call status from 15 percent to 20 percent of their regular daily-pay rate.
The change to Article 38 extends the overtime meal allowance to overtime-eligible employees for the first time.
Recently, state officials announced they intend to implement the enhancement to Standby On-Call Pay retroactive to April 1, 2000 (payable March 30, 2000 for the administrative payroll and April 6, 2000 for the institutional payroll).
They also said they would implement the Overtime Meal Allowance enhancement retroactively to August 10, 2000 for the administrative payroll and August 17, 2000 for the institutional payroll.
But PEF contends the enhancements should be retroactive to April 2, 1999, the starting date of the new contract. Neither Article 31 nor Article 38 contains a specific effective date.
“In the absence of specifically negotiated dates, it would be consistent with settled principles of contract interpretation to implement these benefit enhancements retroactively to April 2, 1999 — the effective date of the 1999-2003 Agreement,” said PEF General Counsel William Seamon.
PEF has filed a statewide class-action grievance challenging the state's position on this issue.
Meanwhile, the state is preparing to pay these benefit enhancements prospectively and retroactively to April 2000 for Standby On-Call Pay and to August 2000 for Overtime Meal Allowances. Employees eligible for those retroactive payments should receive them by early November. However, prospective implementation will take a little longer in agencies that lack online capability.
If you have questions about the implementation of these benefits, contact your payroll office. If your questions or concerns are still unresolved, contact your PEF field representative.
Lost-time pay coming
Foul wind finally blows fair pay
It’s taken a year, but hourly employees at the state Labor Department on Long Island are finally being paid for lost time on Sept. 16, 1999 when DOL offices were shut down early because of Hurricane Floyd.
While salaried employees were not penalized for the lost time, the hourly employees were and that did not seem fair to George Caloumenou, council leader of PEF Division 200A at DOL.
“These hourly employees are the ones who need this pay the most. It just wasn’t right to leave them out,” said Caloumenou, who went to bat for them and wouldn’t give up.
Now, after some discussions between PEF and state officials, the matter has been resolved and the union’s members, as well as those of other bargaining units, are being paid for the time.
“I feel good about this,” Caloumenou said. “Because we raised this, and the state saw the fairness issue and is doing the right thing.”
— Sherry Halbrook