New York State Finance Law Section 200 - Payment of salaries.

200. Payment of salaries. 1. The salaries of all officers of the state, and the wages of all employees thereof shall be due from and payable by the state bi-weekly, commencing with the fiscal year of the state beginning April first, nineteen hundred fifty-six.

Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the staggering of payments of salaries and wages on different days of the bi-weekly periods for administrative convenience. This section shall not be construed to apply to the members of the faculties, supervising staffs and other employees of the New York state colleges, schools and experiment stations administered by Cornell university and Alfred university.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section, where the state and an employee organization representing state officers and employees who are in positions which are in collective negotiating units established pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law enter into an agreement providing for an alternative procedure for the payment of salaries to such employees or where the director of employee relations shall authorize an alternative procedure for the payment of salaries to state officers or employees in the executive branch who are in positions which are not in collective negotiating units, such alternative procedure shall be implemented in lieu of the procedure specified in subdivision one of this section.

2-a (a). Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law:

(1). For the payrolls covering officers and employees of the state, except as provided in subparagraph (2) of this pargagraph: commencing with the institutional payroll period commencing December 27, 1990, and the administrative payroll period commencing on January 3, 1991, payment on the payment date of the five payroll periods commencing with such dates shall be for nine-tenths of that amount paid each payroll period until a total of five-tenths of salary for one payroll period that would be paid but for this subdivision has been withheld. Thereafter, starting with the sixth payroll period after December 27, 1990, or January 3, 1991, as appropriate, payment shall be in the same manner as in effect prior to December 27, 1990, or January 3, 1991.

(2) The provisions of subparagraph (1) of this paragraph shall apply to officers and employees of the state subject to paragraph (1) of subdivision b of section five of chapter 353 of the laws of 1982 commencing with the payroll period (and corresponding payment date) immediately following the completion of the procedure for the payment of salaries and wages established by the comptroller pursuant to such paragraph of chapter 353 of the laws of 1982.

(3) Where salary has been withheld pursuant to this subdivision, in lieu of such salary, an officer or employee who retires or otherwise separates from service, or the beneficiary of an employee who dies, shall be entitled to a lump sum payment equal to the salary so withheld at the rate of basic annual salary in effect at the time of death, retirement, or other separation from service for each day or part thereof for which salary was withheld pursuant to this section, but in no case shall such lump sum payment be less than the amount of salary originally withheld.

(b) (1) "Officers and employees of the state" shall mean (i) officers and employees of the executive branch (including the state university and the senior colleges of the city university of New York); (ii) officers and employees of the statutory or contract colleges of the state (but in the case of a statutory or contract college for which state payment is made by reimbursement instead of direct payroll payment, such reimbursement shall be reduced and paid in a manner consistent with the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision); (iii) nonjudicial officers and employees of the unified court system if the chief administrator of the courts so elects; (iv) employees of the senate if the temporary president of the senate so elects; (v) employees of the assembly if the speaker of the assembly so elects; (vi) employees of joint legislative employers if the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly mutually so elect for all such joint legislative employers. Any election made, pursuant to (iii), (iv), (v) or (vi) shall be in writing and filed with the state comptroller not later than seven days from the date of enactment of this act; in the case of an entity described in (iii) through (vi) for which an election is not made, other equivalent demonstrable savings shall be effected for the fiscal year ending March 31, 1991.

(2) "Employees of the senate, assembly or a joint legislative employer" shall be as defined in section 7-d of the legislative law (including sections 7-a and 7-b of such law) or by any other provision of law which classifies employees of an entity to be legislative employees for all purposes; such term shall not include senators or members of the assembly.

(3) "Joint legislative employer" shall mean legislative commissions, committees, task forces, councils or similar bodies whose membership is comprised of both senators and assembly members, or which consists of commissioners, or the majority of whose membership is appointed by one or more of the following: the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate, and/or the minority leader of the assembly. The temporary president of the senate and speaker of the assembly shall be the joint legislative employer of the employees of the legislature referred to in sections 7-a and 7-b of the legislative law.

(c) For officers and employees hired after the effective date of this act, the withholding of five days of salary shall be accomplished in the same manner provided in paragraph (a) of this section provided, however, such withholding shall be taken on the first five payment dates in which such new employees would otherwise have received their salary.

2-b. (a) For nonjudicial officers and employees of the unified court system: commencing with the earliest administratively feasible payroll period (and corresponding payment date) subsequent to the date this subdivision becomes a law, payment on the payment date of the five payroll periods commencing thereon shall be for nine-tenths of that amount paid each payroll period until a total of five-tenths of salary for one payroll period that would be paid but for this provision has been withheld. For nonjudicial officers and employees hired after the date this subdivision becomes a law, the withholding of five days of salary shall be accomplished in the same manner described above, provided, however, such withholding shall be made on the first five payment dates in which such new officers or employees would otherwise have received their salary.

(b) Where salary has been withheld pursuant to this subdivision, in lieu of such salary, an officer or employee who retires or otherwise separates from service, or the beneficiary of an employee who dies, shall be entitled to a lump sum payment equal to the salary so withheld at the rate of basic annual salary in effect at the time of death, retirement, or other separation from service for each day or part thereof for which salary was withheld pursuant to this section, but in no case shall such lump sum payment be less than the amount of salary originally withheld.

3. (a) In any case where a state employee has, as a result of an administrative error by the state, received salary or other compensation payments in excess of that to which he or she was entitled, the state will not attempt to recover such overpayment, except in those cases described in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the state will, where such overpayment is still continuing, immediately reduce such employee's current salary so that the salary paid to such employee prospectively is the salary which the employee is entitled to receive.

(b) Nothing contained in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall prevent the state from recovering, by offset or otherwise, any overpayment made (i) for a period when the employee was neither performing services for the state nor on approved leave or (ii) under circumstances where the comptroller reasonably determines that the employee knew, or that a reasonable employee should have known, that the salary paid to him or her was in excess of that which he or she was entitled to receive.

4. (a) Upon the written request from a state employee, the comptroller may cause, in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision, such employee's net salary, or any portion thereof designated by the employee, to be deposited directly in a bank for any purpose to an account in the name of such employee, on forms provided by the comptroller, and duly filed in accordance with such regulations.

(b) The comptroller is hereby authorized to promulgate reasonable rules and regulations, as may be necessary, to administer the direct deposit of employees' salaries. In regard to the deposit of a portion of an employee's net salary, such regulations may establish a minimum dollar amount and may limit the maximum number of partial deposits allowed.

(c) As used in this subdivision, the term "bank" shall include any financial institution which is a member of the New York automated clearing house or any other financial institution designated by the comptroller.

5. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, by agreement between the state and an employee organization entered into pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, or by an interest arbitration award binding the state and an employee organization pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law, or by the director of budget for state officers and employees in the executive branch who are in positions which are not in collective negotiating units, plans may be established to reduce the basic annual salary, hourly rate or per diem for any employee within the purview of such agreement, interest arbitration award, or the budget director's authority. Any plan or plans established under this section will be implemented when the budget director notifies the director of the governor's office of employee relations and delivers such plan or plans to the comptroller, at which point the comptroller will take the necessary actions to reduce, restore, or repay compensation, provided however, that the comptroller must take such actions wholly within the fiscal year that such plan requires. After the cessation of such plan, the comptroller shall restore such salary, hourly rate or per diem to the amount in effect immediately before the commencement of such plan.


Last modified: February 3, 2019