What's Changing according to the Department of Government Operations (DGO):

HR/Payroll: Employees can update their own personal information

• Old System: Employees requested updates by phone or email, and the HR or State Payroll staff entered the data in the system.

• New System (Vantage): Employees will be able to make changes to their own personal information (address, attributes, etc.) and initiate the approval process.

HR/Payroll: Vantage mobile app will improve accessibility

• Old System: Limited functionality on mobile devices.

• New System (Vantage): The Vantage mobile app will allow employees to enter time and managers to approve timesheets on their mobile devices, along with performing other basic functions. This is initially only available on a state managed device.

Payroll: Time entry format based on minutes (not %)

• Old System: Time worked less than 1 hr has been entered on timesheets based on a percentage of 100.

  • • Example 1: entered 1.50 for one and a half hours

    • Example 2: entered 1.75 for one hour and 45 minutes

• New System (Vantage): Time worked less than 1 hr will be entered on timesheets based on actual minutes.

  • • Example 1: enter 1.30 (or 1.3) for one and a half hours

    • Example 2: enter 1.45 for one hour and 45 minutes

• Note that employees' leave balances will follow this same format. This means that all current leave balances will be migrated into Vantage with partial hours displayed in minutes instead of hundredths. For example, if an employee previously had 8.50 hours of annual leave, it will now appear in Vantage as 8.30.

Payroll: Leave hours will be paid out as they are earned (no excess leave banking)

• Old System: Employees could accumulate (bank) up to 80 hours of excess leave when they worked more than 40 hours in a week for FLSA non-exempt employees and over 80 hours in a pay period for FLSA exempt employees during a week with a paid state holiday. Once the 80-hour limit was reached, the excess hours were paid out.

• New System (Vantage): Beginning December 6, 2025, excess leave will be paid out with an employee's wages for the pay period in which it is earned. This means employees will no longer be able to accumulate (bank) excess leave hours.

Payroll: Leave time coded based on comp buckets

• Old System: Comp buckets were not a feature of the old system.

• New System (Vantage): Employees will need to code their leave time using the following code:

  • • CT = comp hours up to 80 (most employees)

(The C code for your comp bucket will be visible in Vantage where you view your leave balances, next to the leave description.)

Payroll: Rounding differences on paychecks

• Old System: N/A

• New System (Vantage): Vantage calculates rounding slightly differently than our old system. Because of this, employees may notice a small difference in their net pay. Discrepancies of plus or minus $1.00 may occur and should not be reported to HR or State Finance.

Payroll: Leave adjustments made in real time

• Old System: Leave adjustments required a time evaluation, which slowed down the process.

• New System (Vantage): Coordinators will be able to make leave adjustments in real time (no time evaluation will be needed).

Payroll: Supplemental payroll timing

• Old System: Currently off cycles are paid Friday, Monday, and Tuesday after payday.

• New System (Vantage): Supplemental payroll will be paid every other Friday for off cycles, missed time, payouts, etc. via direct deposit.

Payroll: Final Pay for Separations/Retirement

• New System (Vantage): To ensure accuracy, final compensation is now a two-step process:

Final Paycheck: Covers hours worked; issued on your regular payday.

Leave Payout: Issued as a supplement payment the following week. (e.g., If your final check is Friday, Dec. 19th, your leave payout will follow on Friday, December 26th.)

Payroll: Pay Statement and Deduction Updates

• New System (Vantage):

  • Retirement & Benefit Sequence (401k/457)

  • Order of Operations: Medical, dental, and vision premiums will now be deducted before your 401k/457 contributions.

    • Note: While your chosen contribution percentage remains the same, the actual dollar amount may shift slightly due to this updated calculation order.

  • Number of Allowable Bank Accounts: Employees may have a maximum of ten bank accounts, which includes their primary account.

  • Comp Leave Pay Downs: Employees who are non-exempt and have reached the maximum balance in their comp leave bank (e.g. 80 hours) will see any resulting paydowns listed as "FLSOT" on their pay statement. 

  • Pay Statement Labels: You will notice more descriptive labels. Some examples include:

    • GTLI: Formerly "Miscellaneous", Group Term Life Insurance will now be labeled "GTLI Imputed Income".

    • Comp Payouts: These will be labeled as "Work Hours" on your statement. Rest assured, the payout is for comp time balance; only the label has changed for system processing.

    • Note: for a crosswalk between SAP and Vantage pay statements, please refer to this quick reference guide.