Section 6-B1143. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION INCENTIVES - ADDITIONAL INCOME ALLOWANCE AND HIRING BONUS

 

1143.1For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings ascribed:

 

Additional income allowance - an authorized amount or rate of additional compensation paid to an employee who occupies a position determined by the personnel authority to have a significant recruitment and retention problem.

 

Hiring bonus - a one-time supplemental payment provided to an individual newly hired by an agency to a position determined by the personnel authority to have a significant recruitment and retention problem.

 

1143.2This section applies to all employees except as provided in §§ 1143.4 and 1143.39.

 

1143.3An additional income allowance, a hiring bonus, or both, under this section may be paid when all of the following conditions have been met:

 

(a)The personnel authority, in accordance with the provisions of this section, determines that an agency is experiencing difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified applicants or employees for a specific position or category of positions;

 

(b)The employee occupies an indefinite, permanent or term position with a full-time or part-time tour of duty; and

 

(c)A service agreement for a period of no less than one (1) year, but no more than two (2) years, is executed between an agency and an applicant or employee in accordance with the provisions of §§ 1143.19 and 1143.32.

 

1143.4For the purpose of § 1143.3(b), employment on less than a half-time basis and intermittent employment shall be excluded from the provisions of this section.

 

1143.5An agency may not enter into any service agreement until the agency’s request for authorization to pay an additional income allowance or hiring bonus is submitted to and approved by the personnel authority in accordance with this section.

 

1143.6When an agency head feels that an additional income allowance, a hiring bonus, or both, may be warranted, he or she may request authorization from the personnel authority for such allowance or bonus, and the request shall include all of the following:

 

(a)The position(s) or categories of positions for which there is a significant recruitment or retention problem;

 

(b)A justification supporting the determination that a recruitment or retention problem exists for each position or category of positions; and

 

(c)The amount of an allowance, a bonus, or both recommended for each position or category of positions.

 

1143.7An agency head may also request his or her personnel authority to discontinue or revise an approved additional income allowance or hiring bonus.

 

1143.8The personnel authority shall determine the categories of positions authorized to receive an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus based on any factors determined relevant, such as the location, grade, level of difficulty, and working conditions.

 

1143.9The agency head may establish as separate categories any additional subdivisions of the categories of positions, authorized under § 1143.8, based on any factors the agency head determines relevant.  These may include such factors as the location, grade or level, and specialization of the positions, and the level of qualifications sought by the agency for positions in the category.

 

1143.10A significant recruitment and retention problem shall be deemed to exist for any position(s) or category of positions if the personnel authority determines that all of the following conditions are met with respect to those positions:

 

(a)The agency is unable to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of qualified employees for the position(s) or category of position(s) as documented by such things as the number of vacant positions, the length of time positions have been vacant, and the number of employees who have resigned, including the number resigning for higher paying positions;

 

(b)The qualification requirements being used as a basis for considering candidates for such vacant positions do not exceed the qualifications that are actually necessary for successful performance of the work of those positions;

 

(c)The agency has made efforts to recruit qualified candidates for such positions, as documented by the number of vacancies the agency tried to fill compared to the number of hires and offers made, and to retain the employees presently employed in such positions by offering relevant non-pay solutions such as establishing training programs or improving working conditions; and

 

(d)A sufficient number of qualified candidates is not available to fill the existing vacancies for such positions at a rate of pay the agency is able to offer in the absence of an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus.

 

1143.11The provisions of § 1143.10 notwithstanding, a personnel authority may authorize an additional income allowance to retain an employee(s) whose services, based upon a written determination, are of a special need essential to an agency’s mission.

 

1143.12The amount of an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus payable under this section shall be the minimum amount necessary to address the recruitment and retention problem identified by application of § 1143.10 or 1143.11.

 

1143.13In determining the amount of an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus payable under § 1143.12, the personnel authority may compare positions within and outside the District government with respect to the relative earnings, responsibilities, expenses, workload, working conditions, conditions of employment, and personnel benefits.

 

1143.14The amount of an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus authorized by § 1143.12 for each position or category of positions shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the maximum rate payable for the grade held by the employee.

 

1143.15The personnel authority shall advise the agency whether a request for an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus is approved, disapproved, or requires modification.

 

1143.16When an additional income allowance is approved, the agency head shall have sole discretion as to whether to offer the allowance to any or all employees in any position(s) covered pursuant to that approval, and may initiate such an offer at any time to an employee or employees in those positions, except that payment of an additional income allowance to an employee may not begin during a period of employment covered under a service agreement required for payment of a hiring bonus.

 

1143.17The agency head shall notify each employee being offered an additional income allowance of the offer and of his or her obligation to enter into a service agreement as a condition for accepting the allowance.

 

1143.18An employee who is employed on a regularly scheduled part-time basis of half-time or more, and who is granted an additional income allowance under this section, shall be entitled to the additional income allowance, prorated according to the proportion of his or her work schedule to full-time employment.

 

1143.19Each service agreement executed for an additional income allowance as required under § 1143.3(c) shall provide for all of the following:

 

(a)The specified period of service in return for the allowance;

 

(b)The amount of the allowance;

 

(c)The terms under which the agreement may be terminated; and

 

(d)The requirement to refund the allowance as provided in § 1143.21.

 

1143.20An employee shall receive the additional income allowance authorized under this section until the earliest of any of the following:

 

(a)His or her position is determined to no longer be one to which the provisions of § 1143.8 or 1143.11 apply;

 

(b)He or she no longer occupies the position for which the allowance was authorized; or

 

(c)The service agreement expires.

 

1143.21If an employee separates from a position covered by an additional income allowance during the period when a service agreement is in effect, the employee shall be required to refund to the District government the amount of the additional income allowance he or she has actually received under the agreement, except as provided in § 1143.22, under any of the following conditions:

 

(a)Removal or reduction in grade for cause;

 

(b)Resignation, except:

 

(1)A resignation for inability to return to duty due to injury or illness; or

 

(2)A resignation following receipt of a notice of reduction in force announcing the effective date of the employee’s release;

 

(c)Retirement, other than:

 

(1)Retirement for disability; or

 

(2)Retirement following receipt of a notice of reduction in force announcing the effective date of the employee’s release;

 

(d)Change to a lower grade at the employee’s request;

 

(e)Separation for failure to comply with residency requirements; or

 

(f)Separation during probationary period.

 

1143.22The refund of an additional income allowance required pursuant to § 1143.21:

 

(a)Shall not exceed the amount paid to the employee for a period of twenty-six (26) weeks; and

 

(b)May be waived in whole or part under the provisions of Chapter 29 of these regulations.

 

1143.23An additional income allowance shall not be considered basic pay for any purpose.

 

1143.24An additional income allowance shall be paid in the same manner and at the same time intervals as basic pay is paid.

 

1143.25An additional income allowance shall be subject to federal, District of Columbia, and State income taxes.

 

1143.26An additional income allowance shall be subject to court ordered garnishments depending upon the specific provisions of the court order.

 

1143.27An agency head, at his or her convenience and upon providing a notice to the employee of at least fifteen (15) calendar days, may terminate an additional income allowance and the employee’s service agreement pertaining thereto.

 

1143.28The agency head, at his or her sole discretion, and at his or her convenience, may offer an employee the opportunity to renew an additional income allowance for which a service agreement has expired or is about to expire, subject to the execution by the employee of a new service agreement pursuant to § 1143.3(c).

 

1143.29A termination of an additional income allowance pursuant to § 1143.27 or failure by an agency head to offer an additional income allowance to an employee shall not be grievable or appealable.

 

1143.30When a hiring bonus has been approved by the personnel authority, the agency head shall have sole discretion as to whether to offer the allowance to any or all individuals hired after the effective date of that approval to fill positions covered pursuant to the approval.

 

1143.31An employee who is hired to fill a position on a regularly scheduled part-time basis of half-time or more, and who is granted a hiring bonus under this section, shall be entitled to the hiring bonus, prorated according to the proportion of his or her work schedule to full-time employment.

 

1143.32Each service agreement executed for a hiring bonus as required under § 1143.3(c) shall provide for both of the following:

 

(a)The amount of the bonus payment; and

 

(b)The requirement to refund the bonus as provided in § 1143.33.

 

1143.33If an employee separates from a position for which he or she received a hiring bonus during the period when a service agreement is in effect, he or she shall be required to refund the hiring bonus to the District government if the separation was due to any of the following:

 

(a)Removal or reduction in grade for cause;

 

(b)Resignation, except:

 

(1)A resignation for inability to return to duty due to injury or illness; or

 

(2)A resignation following receipt of a notice of reduction in force announcing the effective date of the employee’s release.

 

(c)Retirement, other than:

 

(1)Retirement for disability; or

 

(2)Retirement following receipt of a notice of reduction in force announcing the effective date of the employee’s release.

 

(d)Change to a lower grade at the employee’s request;

 

(e)Separation for failure to comply with residency requirements; or

 

(f)Separation during probationary period.

 

1143.34The refund of a hiring bonus as required pursuant to § 1143.33 may be waived in whole or in part under the provisions of Chapter 29 of these regulations.

 

1143.35A hiring bonus shall be in addition to basic pay and shall not constitute an increase to an employee's basic pay or rate of basic pay, nor shall it be construed to constitute any portion of an employee's rate of basic pay.

 

1143.36A hiring bonus shall be paid on a date to be determined by the agency head.

 

1143.37A hiring bonus shall be subject to federal, District of Columbia, and State income taxes.

 

1143.38A hiring bonus shall be subject to court ordered garnishments depending upon the specific provisions of the court order.

 

1143.39A former employee of the District government who separated within three (3) years of the current appointment date shall not be eligible to receive a hiring bonus under this section.

 

1143.40Failure by an agency to offer a hiring bonus to an applicant or employee shall not be grievable or appealable.

 

1143.41The personnel authority shall develop and publish appropriate procedures to implement the provisions of this section.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 52 DCR 934 (February 4, 2005).