Payroll Direct Deposit
Research Foundation offers payroll direct deposit to employees meeting eligibility requirements shown below. As the aim is to make direct deposit available to the greatest number of employees possible, RFMH requires strict compliance with a number of procedures.
Please read the guidelines below
for definitions, eligibility requirements and procedures. If you would like
to enroll, complete a Direct Deposit of
Salary Enrollment Form (DDSEF) and return it to the Research Foundation
payroll office. Any questions can also be directed to the payroll office at
extension 5721.
Direct Deposit
An eligible employee can have the entire net amount of his or her paycheck deposited electronically into the employee's bank account.
An employee cannot choose to have
a portion of his/her net biweekly pay deposited electronically and receive the
balance via a paycheck.
Bank Information
The bank receiving the funds must be a member of the New York Automated Clearing House (NYACH). Check with your bank to see if it is a NYACH member.
The net pay may be deposited into
only one account at one designated financial institution at a time. (See below
for procedures regarding change).
Eligibility
Employees who are eligible to participate include salaried employees working at least fifty percent of full-time effort with six months or more of continuous service, and hourly employees, without regard to percent of time or length of service.
Temporary employees are not eligible
to participate.
Enrollment
Employees electing to participate in the direct deposit program must complete a Direct Deposit of Salary Enrollment form. This form is to be used for enrollment in, changes to, and voluntary withdrawal from the program.
This form contains an employee certification
that grants Research Foundation full authorization to retrieve monies from the
employee's bank account, or withhold from the employee's subsequent deposit,
the full amount of any incorrect direct deposit.
Approval Procedure
Enrollment must be approved by the Project Director(s) of the account(s) from which employee is paid.
If the employee is paid by more than
one account and the accounts are within the same department, the signature of
the department head (or designee) will be required.
Pre-notification Test
A NYACH required pre-notification test will be run during the next payroll after an employee returns a completed DDSEF to the payroll office. This test is to ensure that bank routing information is accurate: it is only a test, a direct deposit transmission will not be executed and the employee will receive a regular paycheck.
If the pre-notification is successful, direct deposit will begin the following pay period.
If the pre-notification test is not
successful, the Foundation will be contacted by its bank to identify the error
and to notify the employee. Once the error is corrected, the pre-notification
test will be repeated during the next payroll period. The employee will continue
to receive a paycheck until the pre-notification test is successfully executed.
Payroll Statements
Each employee participating in the direct deposit program will receive a statement of salary and deductions, including all information currently available on the Research Foundation paycheck stub. These will be distributed to employees on the same day and from the same location as regular paychecks.
It is expected that most employees will pick up their statements as soon as possible, but must do so no later than the following Thursday.
Employees who currently have their paychecks mailed to them will have a choice of either continuing to have their paychecks mailed, or participating in the direct deposit program.
DIRECT DEPOSIT STATEMENTS WILL NOT BE MAILED.
For those who currently have their paychecks picked up in a group, one person must be designated to be responsible for having the individual employees sign a list verifying receipt of their statements. The list must be returned to the payroll office by the following Thursday. Research Foundation will provide you with the list of those in your delivery drop.
If an employee will not be present, and therefore will be unable to pick up his/her statement, a copy of an approved request for time off duty or a note from his/her supervisor must be submitted to the payroll office prior to departure in order to remain enrolled in the direct deposit program.
FAILURE TO PICK UP OR SIGN FOR THE
STATEMENT WILL RESULT IN THE AUTOMATIC REMOVAL OF THE EMPLOYEE FROM THE DIRECT
DEPOSIT PROGRAM. PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ONCE REMOVED FROM THE DIRECT DEPOSIT
PROGRAM, THE EMPLOYEE WILL HAVE TO SUCCESSFULLY GO THROUGH ANOTHER PRE-NOTIFICATION
TEST.
Changes in Financial Institution Data
An employee may change banking information
by completing a DDSEF with the new bank information and marking the "CHANGE"
box on the form. This action will cancel direct deposit to the former institution
and will be treated as a new enrollment, requiring a pre-notification test with
the new financial institution. Paychecks will be produced during this interim
period.
Termination of Participation
An employee may elect to discontinue participation in the program at any time. To do so, he/she must complete a new DDSEF form marking the "CANCEL" box.
The Research Foundation reserves the right to discontinue an employee's participation for any of the following reasons:
Termination of Employment
Direct deposit will be cancelled automatically during the payroll period in which the employee is terminated. In that period, a regular paycheck will be issued. An employee's final paycheck will not be deposited electronically.
All post-employment payments, such as vacation pay, or retroactive hourly payments, will be made via a paycheck.
If a terminated employee is reappointed
and elects to participate in the direct deposit program, he/she will be treated
as a new employee and will be subject to the same guidelines listed above REGARDLESS
OF THE DURATION OF THE TERMINATION.
If you have any questions or need
further information, please call the payroll office at extension 5721.