Labor Cost Distribution

Labor Cost Distribution (LCD) is a process in SJSU@Work that distributes payroll expenses on a monthly basis to our university chartfields. The benefit of the LCD process is that employees can receive one paycheck, while allowing their home department to charge these payroll expenses to one or more chartfields.

LCD processing involves team members from University Personnel and FinanceConnect. Generally, it begins on the last working day of the month and takes about three days to complete. Once the process is complete, departments can run LCD reports to verify the expenses posted to the correct chartfields.

LCD Reports

There are several LCD reports available in the SJSU@Work system:

• LCD – By Account Period Earned
• LCD – By Account Period Paid
• LCD – By Job Function Period Earned
• LCD – By Job Function Period Paid
• LCD – Monthly Pay Check Report
• LCD – Position Expenditures
• LCD – Setup Audit
• Active Position List

Please refer to the LCD Reports [pdf] for detailed information about each report and instructions for requesting access.

Types of Position Funding

There are four types of position funding that can help redirect salary expenses. All positions are set up with a Position Pool to specify the default funding source. It is common for departments to also setup Appointment  and/or Position Level funding to temporarily change the funding source for a semester or academic year.

1. Appointment Level
   • Temporary funding linked to employee IDs (Empl IDs).
   • Used for faculty funding splits and short term funding sources.
   • Managed by Temporary Appointment Funding Request.
     
     
2. Position Level
   • Temporary funding linked to position numbers.
   • Used for highly variable chartfield combinations, such as student assistants paid from RSCA and Faculty Start-up funds.
   • Managed by Position Management Requests.
     
     
3. Position Pool Level
   • Permanent funding linked to position numbers using Pool IDs.
   • Used for new positions and changes to position funding.
   • Managed by Position Management Requests.
     
     
4. Department Level
   • Permanent funding linked to Dept IDs.
   • Used for new departments.
   • Managed by FinanceConnect.

What happens when there are multiple funding types set up?

It’s possible for a position or an employee to have multiple funding types set up in the SJSU@Work system. In those cases, we can review the LCD hierarchy to determine which funding arrangement will be used during the monthly paycheck process [1 = highest priority; 4 = lowest priority]:

1. Appointment Level
2. Position Level
3. Position Pool Level
4. Department Level

These funding types are managed in the Department Budget Table (DBT) and will be discussed in the next section - "How do I update funding for future paychecks?"

Use Cases

• Example 1: Faculty Teaching in Multiple Departments

  • Dr. Young is recruited as a tenure-track professor in the Physics & Astronomy Department. Their position number is assigned Pool ID 100 that defaults to:

    • 100%  1067-70000-601100.
      
      

    Dr. Young is approved to teach an introductory course in Interdisciplinary Engineering. The home department will process an appointment level funding split as follows:

    • 80%  1067-70000-601100
    • 20%  1356-70000-601100
      
      

    The Pool ID is still active, but the Appointment Level Funding will override it and redirect funding when the monthly paycheck is processed.

• Example 2: Student Assistant Supporting a RSCA Grant

  • A department is planning to hire a student to assist a faculty with their RSCA project. They create a new position that defaults to a generic Pool ID for RSCA activities:

    • 100%  1118-70031-601303
      
      

    Since the position is intended to support a specific faculty member with a specific grant, they must also set up position level funding which can reference a class code and a program code:

    • 100%  1118-70031-601303-A4198-R06
      
      

    The Pool ID is still active, but the Position Level Funding will override it and redirect funding when the monthly paycheck is processed.

How do I update funding for future paychecks?

You can manage your payroll expenses by tracking which funding types are active in the Department Budget Table (DBT). We recommend running the LCD Setup Audit at the beginning of each academic term and after making any funding changes.

You can also refer to LCD Reports [pdf] for additional information.

Once you determine which type of funding needs to be updated, please choose one of the following:

• Submit a temporary funding request to establish or change an employee's appointment level funding.
• Submit a position management request to update the position's permanent funding/Pool ID.
• Contact FinanceConnect to request the inactivation of an appointment or position level funding.

How do I update funding for previously issued paychecks?

When payroll expenses are charged to the wrong fund or department ID, it is important to process an HR Expense Adjustment to redirect the salary and benefit expenses to the appropriate chartfields. 

However, individual paycheck data can only be corrected one time. Due to the sensitive nature of HR Expense Adjustments, we usually limit this access to one employee in each division or college.

If you expect to have HR Expense Adjustment responsibilities in your job, please submit a finance training request for FIN108. You should also become familiar with running LCD reports [pdf].