Massachusetts compensated absences

Shawn Musgrave filed this request with the Office of the Comptroller of Massachusetts.
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Shawn Musgrave

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:

A listing of each individual Massachusetts employee by name, title, department and total amount of compensated absences recorded as liability

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

From: Office of the Comptroller

I am the appropriate person to submit public request to. I have received your request and it has been put into the que.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Caroline Henriques
Public Information Requests
Office of the Comptroller
One Ashburton Place - 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-973-2618
Fax: 617-727-2163
Email: Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us
<mailto:Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us>

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Henriques, Caroline (OSC)

It is in the que.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Shawn Musgrave

Hello,

This request has been pending for several weeks. Can you provide an estimated date of completion?

Best,
Shawn

From: Henriques, Caroline (OSC)

Given the time period and the records sought, this request is complex and extensive. We will respond back if we need any clarifications to your inquiry or if there are any costs associated with producing the records sought.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Caroline Henriques
Public Information Requests
Office of the Comptroller
One Ashburton Place - 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone:  617-973-2618
Fax: 617-727-2163
Email: Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us
<mailto:Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us>

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Sept. 19, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: Henriques, Caroline (OSC)

Mr. Musgrave, in response to your request attached is a summary of the Fiscal Year 2013 GAAP Accumulated Leave Valuation Report.

Vacation Balance

Vacation Short Term

Vacation Long Term

Sick Leave

Sick Short Term

Sick Long Term

At Fiscal Year End

Accrued Liability

Accrued Liability

Balance

Accrued Liability

Accrued Liability

Total Hours

Total Dollars

short term hours

short term dollars

long term hours

long term dollars

Total Hours

Total Dollars

short term hours

short term dollars

long term hours

long term dollars

Dept

Hours

Dollars

Hours

Dollars

Hours

Dollars

Hours

Dollars

Hours

Dollars

Hours

Dollars

As described in the annual GAAP instructions issued from CTR, this report is used to calculate the accrued compensated absence liabilities reported in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and does not include individual employee data. Any detail is part of the department personnel records. The columns are calculated as follows.

VACATION LIABILITY:
The Vacation Balance at Fiscal Year End provides the total hours and calculated total dollars of each department’s employees. For FY2013 this data is as of July 12, 2013, the end of the split year payroll.
Employees accrue vacation on a monthly basis; at the end of a given year an employee’s liability is broken down into a short term portion and a long term portion.
The Vacation Short Term Accrued Liability equals the employees’ annual vacation entitlement plus 50% of any excess amount accumulated. The example is this. If an employee earns 3 weeks a year, and has a total of five weeks on the books, then the short term portion would be 4 weeks. The 3 weeks of current entitlement plus 50% of the additional 2 weeks in excess of his current year allocation. The Vacation Long Term Accrued Liability is the difference, or one week.

SICK ACCRUAL:
The Sick Leave Balance provides the total hours and calculated total dollars of the departments’ employees. For FY2013 this data is as of July 12, 2013, the end of the split year payroll.
Sick time is also accrued monthly. The recognition of the related liability for the Commonwealth is calculated based on the balance of hours times the rate. The recognition and allocation between the short and long term liability is allocated based on age, and time of service.
In simple terms the calculation of Sick Short Term Accrued Liability is equal to 20% of the liability of employees over 60 years old and with over 10 years of experience.
The long term portion is equal to 20% of the liability for those employees with over 10 years of experience that are under age 60.

This methodology was developed based on the fact that employees vest upon ten years of service and would then accrue 20% amount of sick time dollars. The likelihood of payout within a year is judged to be isolated to the employee likely to retire within a year; that is judged historically to be employees over 60 years old.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Caroline Henriques

Public Information Requests

Office of the Comptroller

One Ashburton Place - 9th Floor

Boston, MA 02108

Phone: 617-973-2618

Fax: 617-727-2163

Email: Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us<mailto:Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us>

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