Non-Discretionary Bonuses
Agency partners may pay non-discretionary bonuses to temporary employees so that those Agency partners may remain competitive in the hourly worker labor market and/or induce temporary employees to work more steadily, rapidly, or efficiently.
A non-discretionary bonus is one in which the employing agency predetermines the specific criteria that is required to receive the bonus, and employees expect to earn the bonus if they meet the criteria. Bonus payments may be in the form of a lump-sum or an incentive plan in which there are regular payouts when predetermined goals are met or exceeded.
Examples of bonus payment initiatives for temporary employees may include but are not limited to:
- Continued employment in a temporary position for a predetermined amount of time, such as 90 days into a temporary assignment or at the end of a seasonal assignment in which there was competition in the labor market for seasonal workers
- Meeting or exceeding predetermined production goals for quantity, quality, or accuracy of work
- Meeting or exceeding predetermined project milestones
- Working a predetermined number of days without a safety incident
Calculating the Regular Rate of Pay
Non-discretionary bonuses are included in the regular rate of pay, unless they qualify as excludable under another statutory provision, and therefore must be factored into the calculation of overtime and shift differentials. When preparing to make a bonus payment to a temporary, Temporary Solutions works with the employing agency to calculate the revised regular rate of pay and to pay this difference.
Required Documentation
See the list of items that must be documented when establishing a bonus payment initiative for temporary employees.