System Information

Issue
If your department submitted requests for one-time additional pay using a payroll one-time payment template between September 5 and October 2 or selected a chartstring override on an HBS timesheet for pay periods ending September 5 and September 19, salary expenses were charged to the employee’s position-level funding rather than the chartstring provided on the override.  You can confirm this by running the MyReports Distribution of Payroll Expense Report. 

Root Cause
The UCPath Center identified a defect with the application of funding distribution overrides during payroll processing.  As a result, funding overrides sent on pay transactions were not applied, and salary and benefit expenses defaulted to position-level funding.

Resolution
The UCPath Center corrected the override defect on Monday, October 5, and is in the process of correcting all impacted transactions via a mass update.

UPDATE: February 9, 2021
The UCPath Center initiated processing for a mass cost transfer on January 27, 2021. The UCPath Center encountered an error that caused the loading of transactions to the General Ledger to fail. The revised target resolution date is February 13. Prior to the start of processing the UCPath Center alerted UCSF that they will not include October activity, consisting primarily of QDP payments, in this round of processing.  We are expecting the mass cost transfer will include the transfer of September activity.

UPDATE: February 22, 2021
The salary cost transfer lines are now posted for this correction; two unique SCT IDs were used for the transfers: FAUSFCMP200905B2X95128 and FAUSFCMP200919B3X919128.  Still pending are the transfers for September and October off-cycles.

Mitigation Plan
We recommend that departments wait for the UCPath Center to complete the mass correction process.  However, as a timeline has not been finalized, departments may proceed with salary cost transfers to make the corrections they are comfortable making or need updated most urgently.

If you have questions or need assistance determining whether a transaction that posted is impacted by this defect, contact the Controller's Office Solution Center  .

Issue
In the scenario below, Y-OTC rows are not being generated in UCPath during the entry of salary cost transfer transactions.  This results in the over-the-cap dollars being added back to the capped funding source which could result in over-allocation of earnings amounts and percent of pay.

Scenario:

• In general, we are seeing this issue when the original paycheck contains VAC earnings codes.
• Initiator moves effort to a capped funding source using the Direct Retro Salary Cap MCOP Funding Worksheet.
• When Initiator clicks on the Preview page, the system only creates the N-OTC line and NO corresponding Y-OTC line is calculated or created.
• The Earnings amount in the N-OTC line includes both the ‘up to the cap’ and ‘over the cap’ earnings amounts.

Root Cause
This issue is under investigation by the UCPath Center.

Mitigation Plan
To identify if you are experiencing this issue during data entry of a salary cost transfer, please confirm on the Preview page that each capped funding source with a N-OTC distribution line has a corresponding Y-OTC distribution line or lines (for example, confirm that a distribution line with the Budget Ref value of N-OTC001 has a corresponding distribution line or lines with the value of Y-OTC001). If there is no corresponding Y-OTC line, do not submit your transaction.

Please report any occurrence of this issue to the Controller’s Office Solution Center.

Issue
Funding Entry Initiators and Salary Cost Transfer Initiators receive an error when creating funding distribution lines using Funds 4300 and 4301 in the following cases:

Case 1. When setting up Z-payments to fund flat dollar amounts, users receive the error message: Z payments can only be distributed to compensation plan funds.

Root Cause
UCPath has been configured with an error message that will prevent Funding Entry Initiators and Salary Cost Transfer Initiators from entering funding distributions for Z payments using a sponsored Fund or Project. The configuration is in compliance with UCOP Policy AM-P196-37: Payroll: Health Sciences Compensation. See Section VII of the policy, Charges to Extramural Funds.

Resolution
The error configuration is working as designed. Read more about this announcement on the Controller's Office website.

Case 2. When setting up over the cap (OTC-Y) funding, users receive the error message: Over The Cap cannot be distributed to capped federal or federal flow through funds.

Root Cause
UCPath restricts the use of sponsored projects as a funding source for over-the-cap salary.  In order for a cost to be directly charged to a project, it must be identified as benefiting the project that is paying for that cost. Over-the-cap salary cannot be charged to any other contract or grant fund because it is not benefiting any other sponsored project but the project where the salary cap is imposed. It will not pass the “benefit test” referenced in the UCOP Contract and Grant Manual for 6-500 Allowability of Costs or 6-532 Allocable Costs.

Resolution
Salary Cost Transfer Initiators currently receive this error. However, UCPath does not return the error during funding entry. This issue is pending further investigation by UCPath.If you feel that a private sponsored fund does allow for the charging of over-the-cap salary from a federally sponsored award, please submit support from the award that specifically confirms the allowability of these costs to CGA Compliance to [email protected].

Issue
UCRP-S Supplemental Interest is not fully being credited back to the "transfer from" chartstring in limited cases when a salary cost transfer (direct retro) is processed:

• The transfer crosses fiscal years and the UCRP-S rate has changed. The credit is being calculated based on the current rate rather than the rate in place at the time of the original transaction.
• The employee has terminated or has had a change in their retirement eligibility status. UCRP-S assessment logic uses the employee's current UC retirement plan eligibility. 

About UCRP Supplemental Interest
UCRP Supplement Interest is an assessment for the STIP Note and External Financing that covers debt service on advances made to UCRP. The assessment is charged only to non-federal fund sources, and is assessed separately from the Composite Benefits Rate on accounts:

• 50538 - UCRP sup assess interes-staff
• 50638 - UCRP sup assess interes-NFA
• 50738 - UCRP sup assess interes-FA

Root Cause
This systemwide issue has been reported to the UCPath Center.

Resolution
The UCPath Center has implemented a fix for all prospective transactions. A resolution to address historical transactions is in progress.

Issue
The UCPath system is calculating on-cycle vacation leave assessment (VLA) using the incorrect salary amount. 

Root Cause
Rather than assessing only on the salary amount being recorded for each individual pay distribution line, UCPath is including other salary lines in the calculation.

Resolution
The UCPath Center is working to address this issue. More information on the timing for a resolution will be communicated as it becomes available.

Issue
Salary Cost Transfer users are unable to complete transactions when using the Direct Retro Salary Cap/MCOP Funding Worksheet for paychecks containing retro pay earnings codes. These earnings codes typically begin with "9" (e.g., 9SR,9RG,9SP) and reflect pay adjustments for prior pay periods that are included in the paycheck.

Users receive the following error message:

Effort % by earnings code for ‘New Data’ exceeds 100%. Use DR Distribution Worksheet to correct the Effort %.

Root Cause
The system is incorrectly calculating effort percent on the retro pay earnings codes in the total effort calculation, causing the effort percent in the Old Data and New Data sections to exceed 100%.

This issue has been reported to the UCPath Center and is under investigation.

Issue:
Funding Entry Initiators may receive the following error when entering a new effective-dated row:

Position entered is not eligible for budget definition with the specified Begin date [DATE].

Root Cause:
The effective date for a new funding transaction must align with a corresponding effective budget definition record for the position.  Budget definition records are maintained for positions in UCPath by the Office of Budget & Resource Management. This error generally occurs when there is not a current budget definition record for the position.

Mitigation Plan:
If you encounter this error message, contact the Controller's Office Solution Center  . Please include a screenshot of the error message and the Position ID number. This issue will be resolved manually for each incident until a permanent resolution is implemented.

Resolution:
This issue is expected to be resolved the week of September 28. Users who have reported this issue will be notified via their ServiceNow ticket when their particular incident has been resolved.

Issue
44 unique departments (428 positions) are currently setup on the main funding entry page with a default chartstring that includes a Dept ID not at posting level. As a result, any payroll expenses recorded to these default chartstrings will not pass edit and will go to suspense rather than being easily visible in enterprise reports for departments to correct. 

Root Cause
In PPS, Home Department could be established at a non-posting level causing the issue with resulting default chartstrings established for these Dept IDs at go-live. The correct posting level Dept ID could not be determined during conversion. 

Mitigation Plan
Following the posting of suspended payroll to the suspense account, the Payroll Office will reach out to identify a posting level Dept ID to use to move payroll suspended on Project “2222222” and a non-posting Dept ID. To keep the General Ledger and Distribution of Payroll Expense (DPE) in sync, departments must move salary and benefits in suspense using a salary cost transfer. Outlined in the August 2020 Controller's Office Newsletter are the steps required to move payroll   that posts to the suspense account.  

Long-term Resolution
Central Payroll is working with the UCPath Center to update the department configuration for the default chartstring to require Dept ID at posting level. Update anticipated for Summer 2020. Funding Entry Initiators can also correct Dept IDs in the Department funding record in UCPath.