Info Circ 99-p-008 - Sharp 7.0 Payroll Policy Changes

Following is a summary of the payroll policy changes that are effective on October 4, 1998 with the implementation of SHARP 7.0. These policy changes and the related procedural changes have been presented to agencies in the SHARP User Training meetings in July, August, and September 1998 and have been incorporated into the SHARP CBT training materials.

DIRECT DEPOSIT

Payroll direct deposits can be made to multiple accounts in multiple financial institutions. Employees may designate up to a maximum of 6 financial institutions with up to 10 accounts in each institution. Employees can also request a combination of direct deposit accounts and still receive a paper check for a portion of their pay.

PAY CALCULATION

State withholding tax will be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Overtime will be calculated using the delivered PeopleSoft calculation that is FLSA compliant and approved by Division of Personnel Services. The overtime calculation is:

(Regular Hours X Hourly Rate) + (Overtime Hours X Hourly Rate) + Premium Pay Total Hours Worked in Work Week	=FSLA
(Overtime Hours X Hourly Rate) + (Overtime Hours X FLSA Rate X .5) = Overtime Earnings

PAYROLL ADJUSTMENTS:

Earnings will be 'advanced' to the employee in situations where an employee does not have sufficient net pay to allow deductions (and the corresponding employer contributions) for group health insurance, flexible spending accounts, legislative KPERS, legislative KPERS buyback, and optional group life insurance. In such cases, an arrears balance is automatically set up by the system. In situations where the employee has a tax garnishment, earnings will not be 'advanced'. The employer deductions will occur on the paycheck; arrears balances will be automatically set up by the system for the employee deductions not taken. The 'advance earnings' will increase the employee's taxable wages but will not be considered compensation for the purpose of benefits (i.e. Retirement, state leave assessment, and worker's compensation). At the time the advance earnings arrearage is collected the employee's taxable wages will be reduced.
Three off-cycle payrolls will be processed for each pay period.
Paycheck adjustments will update employee current year balances regardless of when the original paycheck was issued. Agencies must ensure that all payroll adjustments for the calendar year are processed by the end of the calendar year. Except for adjustments to correct FICA coverage, employees will not be issued a Form W-2C, Statement of Corrected Earnings, when a paycheck issued in a previous calendar year is adjusted or reversed.
Payments for suggestion awards will be included on the employee's next regular paycheck.
Agencies will be responsible for verifying with the State Treasurer's Office that a warrant has not been redeemed and completing the Paycheck Stop Payment Request form prior to processing a paycheck reversal or paycheck reprint.
Only one "adjustment" transaction can be processed per person per off-cycle payroll due to PeopleSoft delivered software functionality. For an employee, only one adjustment, or one reversal, or one supplemental request can be made in one off-cycle payroll.

SHARP FORMS:

All SHARP forms have been revised except the DA-186 Authorization for State Additional Withholding Tax Deduction. Copies of the forms are available in the CBT training materials. Agencies should make copies of the forms as needed. SHARP revised forms are:
DA-179 SHARP Maximum Arrears Payback
DA-180 SHARP Paycheck Reversal/Adjustment
DA-182 SHARP Paycheck Reprint Request
DA-184 SHARP Authorization for Direct Deposit of Employee Pay
DA-187 SHARP Supplemental Paycheck Authorization
DA-217 SHARP Position Data Sheet
DA-218 SHARP Employee Data Sheet
DA-219A SHARP Account Code Maintenance
DA-219B SHARP Position Pool ID Maintenance
DA-219C SHARP Department Budget Earnings/Deductions/Taxes
DA-6P Paycheck Stop Payment Request

Payroll Services will make the necessary modifications to the SHARP system to reflect these policy changes. Regent Institutions are responsible for making the necessary modifications to their payroll systems for these changes.

SAM:JJM

Accounts and Reports