TELECOMMUTING PILOT PROGRAM
CSEA and OCA met on Monday to begin discussions on a telecommuting pilot program which is intended for Technology titles at this time. The conversation was productive, and we agreed to move this topic to the Statewide Labor Management (SLM) forum so that it can progress along in the most efficient manner. Our next SLM meeting is scheduled for mid-June. In the meantime, both CSEA and OCA will be working on proposals as both parties are eager to have a policy in place as soon as possible. It is important to note that the parties can monitor the success rate of the Pilot program more effectively in the SLM forum, which will aid in the dialogue to expand to other titles in the future. CSEA is the leading union in the Judiciary, and the only union that represents Technology titles in the Judiciary, which also puts us at an advantage for further expansion of the program.
We appreciate your patience as we finalize a pilot program that will be beneficial for both employees and the UCS.
NYS STATE BUDGET
The Governor and the Legislature enacted the $237 billion 2024-25 New York State budget on April 20, 2024. The budget included significant progress on many of the priorities CSEA Political Action advocated for in its ongoing FIX TIER SIX campaign. Thanks to the unrelenting advocacy of CSEA members and the support of Governor Hochul and the New York State Senate and Assembly, we continue to make meaningful gains to support state services and the state workers who provide those services. CSEA’s top priority was reforming the Tier 5 and Tier 6 pension plans and we were successful this budget cycle on two fronts. We appreciate Gov. Hochul and the Legislature agreeing to reduce the final average salary calculation from 5 years to 3 years. This change, along with the reduction in vesting time from 10 years to 5 years that was passed in 2022, will help the state attract and retain the workers it needs, in order to deliver services and reduce the more than $1 billion it currently spends annually on overtime. Lawmakers and the governor also extended the exclusion of overtime earnings when calculating Tier 6 members’ contributions to the pension plan until March 31, 2026. As we work to increase staffing and address inequities in Tier 6, the continuation of this provision protects CSEA members from increased contribution costs caused by working voluntary or mandatory overtime to meet the state’s ongoing staffing needs.
Additionally, thanks to Union advocacy through our “FIX TIER SIX,” the Governor and the Legislature have passed budget legislation to end the arcane and counterproductive lag payroll system and
salary deferral program for new hires beginning later this year. New employees hired on or after July 1, 2024, will no longer be subject to the salary deferral program, while new employees hired after July 1, 2025, will no longer be subject to the lag payroll system. This has been a long sought after change that we believe will remove significant and unnecessary barriers to attracting and retaining new staff.
COURT CLERK REALLOCATION
Thanks in large part to CSEA Political Action lobbying Albany for additional funds, the enacted Judiciary budget resulted in an increase of $8 million over the original proposal. As a result OCA is able to continue a comprehensive review of the Unified Court System’s Classification Plan for Nonjudicial Employees. We advise you of these modifications and the implementation of some of those changes. These changes will continue to improve the title structure in the courts and will assist with recruitment and retention of these key court operational employees. Employees that will be reallocated pursuant to these changes will receive written notice directly from the Division of Human Resources. This reallocation will have no impact on any employee’s current Jurisdictional Class or appointment status. nor does it change any existing eligibility they may have to receive a Longevity Increment or Longevity Payment. Please note that the overall UCS Classification Plan, including reallocation and reclassifications of titles. and changes to the Title Standards to align with the current job duties more closely for nonjudicial employees is a continuous process.
Incumbent employees in the Court Clerk Series are being reallocated as follows:
Current Title Reallocated Title Effective Date
Court Clerk (JG-18) Court Clerk (JG-20) May 23,2024
Surrogate Court Clerk (JG- 18) Surrogate Court Clerk (JG-20) May 23.2024
Senior Court Clerk (JG-21 ) Senior Court Clerk (JG-22) August 1, 2024
Senior Court Clerk HSAP (JG-21) Senior Court Clerk HSAP (JG-22) August 1, 2024
Sr Surrogate Court Clerk (JG-21 ) Senior Surrogate Court Clerk (JG-22) August 1, 2024
Associate Court Clerk (JG-23) Associate Court Clerk (JG-24) August 1, 2024
Associate Surrogate Court Clerk (JG-23) Associate Surrogate Court Clerk (JG-24) August 1, 2024
COMP TIME GRIEVANCE UPDATE:
Pursuant to the settlement agreement reached with OCA, the first list of members credited with comp time has been submitted to payroll and has been processed. If you have not already noticed an adjustment to your accruals in KRONOS, your submission is still pending verification through your respective district office. Just to clarify, the first list includes members whose time has already been confirmed and if there were any questions, they have been resolved. For remaining members not on the first list to be credited, as OCA starts to receive communications from the courts about the kronos codes for certain time periods in question, a second list will then be authorized.
IRVING FLAUMENBAUM SCHOLARSHIP
The deadline to submit applications for our union’s statewide college scholarships has been extended to May 16! Graduating high school seniors who are eligible dependents of CSEA active members are eligible to apply for and receive a scholarship. CSEA awards 18 $1,000 scholarships under the Irving Flaumenbaum Memorial Scholarship program, three in each region. Pearl Insurance and MetLife each sponsor a one-time $2,500 award.
PLEASE NOTE: Old applications could disqualify potential candidates. Please do not use applications from previous years – applications were recently revised.
Download the 2024 Scholarship Application here.
MICHAEL D. CARRAWAY SCHOLARSHIP
It is with great pleasure CSEA Judiciary Local 334 announces the 2024 Lt. Michael D. Carraway Memorial Scholarship Program. Graduating seniors who are a child or legal dependent of a court employee represented by CSEA Judiciary Local 334 and will be attending an accredited institution of higher education are eligible to apply. Applications due by May 3rd, 2024.
*These scholarships are another member-only benefit for belonging to New York’s Leading Union.*
MEMBER APPRECIATION DAY
Trucks in the park @ Otsinengo park Sunday, May 19th from 11 – 2. This will be a multilocal event and will include CSEA locals 804, 449, 441, 648, 334 & 866. See the attached flyer for details. If you are interested contact ian@csealocal334.com for tickets.
BE IN THE KNOW – GET ACTIVE
Receivers of these notices should be diligent about distributing amongst their co-workers, posting on Union boards where available and in general sharing the news of their Union. However, it is incumbent upon all of us to be our own best advocate. You can educate yourself and “stay in the know” by following the link to our website at the top of this notice as well as downloading the CSEA app (follow the links below) in order to have all of your information at your fingertips.
In order to guarantee members receive correspondence from their Union the local also strongly encourages members to contact CSEA member solutions and update their mailing addresses as well as their email and phone contacts. CSEA members can do so by calling 1-800-342-4146 or by logging on here https://cseany.org/contact-us.