D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 6, r. 6-B1143
For 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.
This section applies to all employees except as provided in §§ 1143.4 and 1143.39.
An additional income allowance, a hiring bonus, or both, under this section may be paid when all of the following conditions have been met:
For 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.
An 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.
When 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:
An agency head may also request his or her personnel authority to discontinue or revise an approved additional income allowance or hiring bonus.
The 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.
The 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.
A 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:
The 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.
The 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.
In 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.
The 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.
The personnel authority shall advise the agency whether a request for an additional income allowance or a hiring bonus is approved, disapproved, or requires modification.
When 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.
The 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.
An 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.
Each service agreement executed for an additional income allowance as required under § 1143.3(c) shall provide for all of the following:
An employee shall receive the additional income allowance authorized under this section until the earliest of any of the following:
If 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:
The refund of an additional income allowance required pursuant to § 1143.21:
An additional income allowance shall not be considered basic pay for any purpose.
An additional income allowance shall be paid in the same manner and at the same time intervals as basic pay is paid.
An additional income allowance shall be subject to federal, District of Columbia, and State income taxes.
An additional income allowance shall be subject to court ordered garnishments depending upon the specific provisions of the court order.
An 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.
The 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).
A 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.
When 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.
An 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.
Each service agreement executed for a hiring bonus as required under § 1143.3(c) shall provide for both of the following:
If 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:
The 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.
A 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.
A hiring bonus shall be paid on a date to be determined by the agency head.
A hiring bonus shall be subject to federal, District of Columbia, and State income taxes.
A hiring bonus shall be subject to court ordered garnishments depending upon the specific provisions of the court order.
A 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.
Failure by an agency to offer a hiring bonus to an applicant or employee shall not be grievable or appealable.
The personnel authority shall develop and publish appropriate procedures to implement the provisions of this section.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 6, r. 6-B1143