Platinum Pass Renewal and New Distribution Procedures

In this article, “old pass” refers to the platinum pass that is valid from 10/24/12 thru 10/23/16; “new pass” refers to the platinum pass effective 10/1/16 thru 9/30/20.  Please review the following to understand the platinum pass renewal process and timing:

Platinum Pass Renewal:

  • During the month of September, GAO Central Payroll will be busy preparing the mass renewal for new platinum passes effective 10/1/16.  Due to this, no old or new platinum passes will be issued in the month of SeptemberPlease plan accordingly.

Agency Pickup:

  • New passes are scheduled to be available for Agency pickup during the week of 9/19/16.
  • New passes can only be picked up by authorized agency personnel. 
  • Agencies will be provided a detail pass listing at the time of pickup.
  • Agencies should then begin distributing new passes to their employees.

Employee Pickup from Agency:

  • Employees shall appear in person and show their State issued ID to obtain their new platinum pass. 
  • The Agency shall verify that the pass number on the affixed label matches the serial number on the back of the pass, disregarding the beginning “5–“.  If they do not match, the Agency Liaison should contact GAO Central Payroll at [email protected].
  • The employee must then complete the Platinum Pass Agreement Form before they take possession of the new pass. 
  • The Agreement Form shall be retained in the employee’s personnel file as evidence of agreement with the terms and conditions of the Platinum Pass Program. 

Old Passes:

  • Employees that have old passes can continue using them until 9/30/16.
  • GAO Central Payroll will automatically deactivate the old pass on 10/1/16 as part of the renewal process, even though on the back, the pass indicates it is good until 10/23/16. 
  • Employees that separate State service shall turn in any assigned passes to their Agency so they can be destroyed. 
  • Any final billing or cancelations for passes that are lost, stolen or damaged before 9/30/16, need to be requested through [email protected].
  • During September, do not perform any actions in HRIS.  If a pass needs to be canceled, email [email protected] with the employee and pass details. 
  • Agencies and/or Employees should destroy their old pass on 10/1/16.  There is no need to return old passes to the GAO.

New Passes:

  • Any employee who had activity on their old platinum pass since January 1, 2015 will automatically be included in the renewal.
  • New passes become effective on 10/1/16.  Please remind employees that they cannot use their new pass before 10/1/16.
  • Any passes not picked up by employees by November 1, 2016 should be returned to the GAO.

New Distribution Procedures:

  • The mass renewal will be the last platinum pass distribution through the Agencies. 
  • Beginning October 1, 2016, any State employee that was not included in the mass renewal (a new hire, or an employee with no platinum pass activity since January 2015) can apply for a new pass by submitting a platinum pass application (Form GAO-624) to their agency directly.  HRIS power users assigned the Transit Card Processor Role will then be able to assign the employee a new platinum pass directly via HRIS.  The agency would not need to forward the application to the GAO.  Agencies would retain the form in their files.  GAO Central Payroll would then review the new transactions entered and, on the next business day, mail the pass directly to the employee’s address of record in HRIS.  Distributing passes in this fashion will help reduce employee wait time statewide from 7 business days to 4 business days while also reducing agency distribution costs. 

 

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Author
Stu Wilbur
Date