Letters to the Editor		email your letters to: gro.f1614707193ep@ro1614707193tacin1614707193ummoc1614707193eht1614707193

Losing telecommuting

To the Editor:

We (at the state Office of Information Technology Services) were told tcing (telecommuting) was not extended and we have to return (to our workstations) in November.

GERALD LILKAS
Albany

Editor’s Note:  If members think they are being unsafely returned to work or if they believe they have a reasonable accommodation request, they may file a grievance or talk with their agency’s or worksite’s human resources staff. The telecommuting agreement is not a 100% blanket protection for every employee who wants to telecommute.  Every state agency has the discretion to create a return-to-work plan and many, such as ITS, have done that.

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Longevity pay missing

To the Editor:

When will my retroactive pay raise arrive?  I missed getting my 10-year longevity pay (performance award). Due to no (new) contract it reverted back to nine-year pay.

FRITZ (Fred) SCHERZ
Verona, NY

Editor’s Note:  Receipt of performance awards depends on years of service and on annual performance evaluations of satisfactory.  It is also contingent on the state’s extension of this benefit during the period of negotiation of a successor agreement to the contract that expired April 1, 2019.  If a member wants to contest a negative evaluation, he or she must do that within 15 days of receiving that evaluation and may want to solicit the help of their PEF field representative.  (See related story in this issue.)

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Would retiree collect retro pay?

To the Editor:

If someone retires now under the old contract and (later) negotiations (resume) and a (new) contract comes into play, will that retiree who has just left be covered under the new contract?

Will it be retroactive for that individual who has been without a contract for the last almost three years?

ALEEN WALKER-GARCIA
Stroudsburg, PA

Editor’s note: 

The 2016-19 PS&T Contract expired April 1, 2019, so PEF members have been without a new contract for about 16 months at this point.

In the past, the state has paid retroactive pay raises to PS&T employees who retired after a contract expired and before a new contract was achieved.  The pay raise could affect the retiree’s final average salary (FAS0 that was used to calculate their pension, and eventually the pension fund would recalculate their pension benefit to reflect the change in their FAS.

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