Program PPAPTDPN is used in the CICS environment to do some prep work
for building of Time Reporting subsystem PAN notices.  In particular, it
translates function codes into descriptions (e.g., EDAP translates to
'Additional Pay') to be displayed in the PAN, and it collects general employee
data from the PER table, and department codes from the APP and DIS tables.

Once the department codes are known, PPAPTDPN looks them up in the
home department table, and therein lies a potential problem.  If the department
code is not found, a null value is returned from the lookup and there is an
unpleasant DB2 failure.  Santa Cruz had this happen to them in connection
with an EDFT entry.  I reported the fact that PPAPTDPN was not handling null
values properly to Base Payroll, and only one week later (pretty impressive!)
Base Payroll issued a fix in this release:

- The DB2 code in the program is tweaked so DB2 won't have fits when
   this situation occurs.
- And, if it does occur, 'HOME DEPT NAME NOT AVAILABLE' is assigned
   as the department name.

In a sense this is a technical solution for a mostly technical problem, but
it may be useful to spend a moment in this cmppay-l note to talk about the
underlying data situation.  Your initial reaction on hearing of this problem
might be like mine, that it ought not to happen because we have edits
in place to prevent assignment of department codes that don't exist.
We do have those edits, however I can think of two ways an undefined
department code in the EDB could occur:

- When the department code was explicitly assigned, online or in batch,
   it was present in the home department table, but the table entry was
   later deleted.

- A more likely scenario is that it got into the EDB riding the coattails of
   chart of accounts (COA) data.  Remember that distribution department codes
   are derived by the system.  You identify an FAU as the funding source, and
   from that, the associated department code is derived.  For payroll sites
using
   the standard FAU, the department code comes from the VSAM account
   file.  For other sites, it depends on the local COA definitions and
rules, but
   ultimately is an attribute of some part of the FAU.  Davis and Riverside
have
   non-standard FAUs, but department is still an attribute of their account
numbers,
   just in a different place (local DB2 COA tables).

   Appointment department codes are simply a roll-up of the subordinate
   distribution department codes, weighted by percentages.

   Moral of the story?  Be sure that use of new department codes in your COA
   data is coordinated with Payroll because you'll need to add them to your
   home department table.  That coordination may already be happening, but
   timing could be an issue.

R1575 modifies only one program, PPAPTDPN, and has no table updates.
Ok to install?

   bvb