Amount/Frequency of Bonuses and Source of Funds

• An employee may receive more than one bonus in a fiscal year. The total amount of the bonuses received for the fiscal year may not exceed $3,000.
• State, federal and other sources of revenue may be used to award bonuses.
• Agencies using federal funds for bonuses must show that the use of these funds is in compliance with federal law.

Approval Authority

• The agency director is the final authority responsible for approving employee bonuses.

Eligibility

• All permanent and probationary employees in Full-Time Equivalent positions are eligible to receive a bonus under these provisions.
• Agency directors are not eligible to receive bonuses.
• Temporary grant and time-limited project employees are eligible to receive bonuses within the Appropriations Act guidelines for employee bonuses. The bonuses must be funded by the grant or time-limited project.

Approval Criteria

Bonuses may be awarded to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of individual employees. Examples of appropriate reasons for awarding bonuses are:

• Contributions to increased organizational productivity.
• Development and/or implementation of improved work processes.
• Exceptional customer service.
• Realized cost savings.
• Other specific contributions to the success of the organization.

Documentation and Reporting Requirements

• Agencies must develop a plan for awarding bonuses to employees and keep the plan on file at the agency.
• Agencies must also make the plan available that explains the criteria for awarding bonuses available to employees.
• Agencies should submit plans to the Division of State Human Resources (DSHR) for information.
• Agencies must document the reason for any bonus payments awarded.
• Agencies must report the following information to DSHR regarding the payment of a bonus to any employee. 
  • Name.
  • Personnel number.
  • Date awarded.
  • Source of funds.
  • Class.
  • Reason for awarding bonus.
  • Amount of bonus.
  • Comments. 

Addition Information

• Sample Employee Referral Bonus Program (.pdf) 
• Bonus Legislation (.pdf)

General Information

• Dual employment occurs when an employee in a Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) position accepts additional temporary, part-time employment with the same or another state agency.
• If an employee works in a dual employment arrangement by two different agencies, he or she may be paid additional compensation to perform the same duties. If an employee works in a dual employment arrangement within the same agency, he or she can receive dual employment compensation if the services constitute independent, additional job duties from those of the employee's primary duties within the agency.
• The agency heads or their designees of both the employing and requesting agencies are responsible for approving dual employment requests.
• Dual employment for agency heads covered by the Agency Head Salary Commission must be approved by the Agency Head Salary Commission and the Executive Budget Office.
• Additional information concerning dual employment can be found in
  • S.C. Code Section 8-11-230 (6)
  • S.C. Code Section 8-11-170
  • State Human Resources Regulations Section 19-713 (.pdf) 

Compensation and FLSA

• The secondary agency determines the rate of pay. An employee must receive payment within 45 days of the date of approval.
• The maximum compensation that an employee is authorized to receive for dual employment in a fiscal year cannot exceed 30 percent of the employee's annualized salary, unless prior approval has been received from the Division of State Human Resources.
• In a dual employment arrangement, an employee's exemption status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) could be affected. Consult with the Department of Labor's regulations on overtime compensation.

Academic Employees

• An academic employee who works outside his or her base period of employment is not considered to be working in a dual employment arrangement, but is instead considered to be on summer employment. Institutions of higher learning should develop policies and procedures for governing summer employment practices.

Definition

Supplemental salary is any compensation, excluding travel reimbursement, from an affiliated public charity, foundation, clinical faculty practice plan or other public source or any supplement from a private source.

Approval Authority

The agency head or designated official within the agency must approve the receipt of supplements. Supplements paid to agency heads must be approved by the appropriate governing body. For additional information, refer to Proviso 93.3 of the Appropriations Act. 

Reporting Requirements

Agencies must report to the Division of State Human Resources by August 31 of each year any supplements received by employees during the preceding fiscal year. Agencies may use the Supplemental Salary Reporting Form (.xls) to report supplements for their employees. Reports of salary supplements must include the employee′s name and the amount, source and condition of the supplement.