Buffalo State processes four New York State payrolls that are administered by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC):
Budgeted positions funded from Personal Service Regular (PSR) and Temporary Service (TS) positions can be paid on the regular State payroll. All appointments to student payrolls and the GA payroll must be funded from temporary service funds (TS).
Student employees appointed to either the student assistant (SA) or college work study program (CWSP) payrolls are paid on an hourly basis through the timely submission of bi-weekly timesheets. Pay periods for all payrolls begin on Thursday and end on Wednesday. However, the payroll cycles are alternating, the administrative and GA payroll are paid one week and the two student payrolls (SA and CWSP) are paid the next week.
While the GA and student payrolls have restricted payment modes of bi-weekly and hourly, respectively, employees appointed to the Administrative (regular State) payroll may be paid on one of several payment modes depending upon the nature of their appointments and their funding source. The payment modes include hourly, bi-weekly, fee, annual, calendar, and college year full.
When will I receive my first paycheck?
New York State employees are paid on a bi-weekly lag basis, which means that payment is made either two or three weeks after the completion of the pay period.
If you are on the administrative payroll (e.g., faculty professionals, graduate assistants), your first check or direct deposit advice will be issued at the end of the 2nd pay period after you begin working. For most employees, it is approximately 4 weeks after you begin work. You may or may not receive a full paycheck for the first pay period, depending upon when your first day of work occurred in the pay cycle, and if your bargaining unit includes a provision for salary withholding.
If you are on the student assistant or work study payroll, your first check or direct deposit advice will be issued 1 week after the end of your second pay period worked. For most employees, it is approximately 5 weeks after you begin work. Since these payrolls have an hourly pay basis, your check or advice should reflect all hours worked in the first pay period.
All payment dates are dependent upon payroll deadlines. If appointment paperwork is received after the payroll deadline, a significant delay in payment may occur.
(Chapter 78 of the Laws of 1982 authorized the State of New York to implement the two-week lag pursuant to agreements with the unions representing State employees.)
Additional Five-Day Lag (aka Salary Withholding Program)
In 1990, legislation was signed that included a feature calling for a "salary withholding and lump sum payment program". An additional five-day lag is assessed to CSEA, PEF, Management Confidential classified and professional employees hired before 7/1/2024. The five-day lag is implemented by withholding the equivalent of one day's pay in each of the appointee's first five pay periods. The payroll office keeps records of the amount owed to employees for the five-day lag and employees who were hired before 7/1/2024 receive payment for this lag upon separation from service at their salary rate at that time.
The salary withholding and lump-sum payment program was discontinued in 2024. Employees hired on or after 7/1/2024 will not incur the five-day payroll deduction.
What is Direct Deposit?
Direct deposit is a fast, convenient, and reliable way to receive your pay. On payday, funds are electronically transferred to your selected account(s). Choose up to a maximum of eight different accounts at one or multiple financial institutions and indicate the percentage and/or fixed amounts to deposit into each account. To set up direct deposit for the first time or make changes to existing direct deposit, complete the Direct Deposit Form.
How do I get a replacement copy of my W-2 or change my tax withholdings?
Log in to NYS Payroll Online. This service also allows employees to view and print pay statements and opt out of receiving paper pay statements.
Funding Positions on the Regular State Payroll
State business rules require that only Personal Service Regular (PSR) positions on an approved Schedule of Positions (SOP) can be paid on an annual salary basis. All positions charged to Temporary Service (TS) must be paid either hourly, bi-weekly, or on a fee basis.
Pay Modes - Temporary Service (TS)
Temporary Service funds are provided in state budgets to provide for substitutes, part-time appointees, and other temporary support appointments for short term projects or staffing needs. The pay basis modes for temporary service appointments include:
Pay Modes - Personal Service Regular (PSR)
The pay basis modes for annual salaried appointments in positions budgeted in PSR include:
* To calculate an hourly rate from an annual salary, divide the annual salary by 2088 - i.e., $45,000 / 2088 = $21.55/hour. To calculate a biweekly rate from an annual salary, see next section below.
* To calculate a new annual salary where there is a change in obligation/pay mode, divide the current salary by the number of months of the current obligation, then multiply the quotient by the number of months of the new obligation.
Why is there a discrepancy between my gross annual earnings and my annual base salary?
Since a fiscal year cannot be divided equally into bi-weekly periods, computation of the bi-weekly wage is made by dividing the annual salary by the number of calendar days in the fiscal year (365 or in the case of a leap year, 366) and multiplying this result by fourteen, the number of calendar days in a bi-weekly period. To reduce this process to one step, the fractions 14/365 and 14/366 are converted to multiplication factors: .038356 (non-leap year) and .038251 (leap year).
Normally, there are 26 pay periods during a calendar year. Due to the idiosyncrasies in the calendar and the State's payroll cycle, State employees occasionally receive 27 paychecks in a calendar year, instead of 26. When this occurs, the employee's gross annual earnings will be higher than the annual salary.
Employment verification requests?
To obtain State employment information from 1998 to present, contact the Payroll Office at 878-4124.
To obtain State employment information prior to 1998, contact the Office of the State Comptroller.
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