3.18 / Employee Suggestion Program

Preamble:
House bill No. 2369 was passed into law during the 2003 legislative session.  The bill amends K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 75-37,105 and was intended to facilitate and improve the existing employee suggestion program.  This policy statement is intended to implement the legislative intent and to create an incentive for WSU employees to submit suggestions that result in cost reductions through increased efficiencies or improvements in the operations of WSU. 

Policy Statement:
A WSU employee whose suggestion is approved and implemented shall receive a "monetary employee award" and an "employee suggestion bonus" as permitted by law and as outlined in these policy guidelines.  The following steps outline the WSU Employee Suggestion Program process:

Step 1 
An employee submits a suggestion to the Director of Human Resources using the University's Employee Suggestion Program form.  The Director of Human Resources will provide a copy of the submitted suggestion to the Division Vice President responsible for the unit.

Step 2 
The Vice President for Administration and Finance and the University Review Committee shall determine whether or not the suggestion should be implemented and estimate the cost reduction associated with the suggestion.  The Review Committee will be composed of the Dean or Director of the unit affected by the suggestion, the Director of Human Resources, and a person appointed by the President.  The Division Vice President responsible for the unit must also approve the suggestion.

Step 3 
An employee who makes a suggestion for cost reduction that is adopted by the University will receive a monetary employee award at the time of adoption.  The monetary employee award will be 2.5% of the estimated cost reduction, as certified by the Director of Human Resources and Vice President for Administration and Finance, up to a maximum of $3,500.

Step 4 
Twelve months following implementation, the employee will be paid the employee suggestion bonus component.  The employee suggestion bonus is the difference between the monetary employee award (as described in Step 3) received by the employee and 10% of the actual cost reduction.  The employee must still be employed by the University at the end of the twelve month period to be eligible for the employee suggestion bonus.

Step 5 
The maximum amount an employee may receive under the Employee Suggestion Program is 10% of the actual cost reduction verified at the end of the 12 month evaluation period, including the amount received for the monetary employee award when the suggestion was approved, up to a maximum total amount of $37,500.

Amounts received pursuant to the Employee Suggestion Program (monetary employee award and employee suggestion bonus) are considered regular earnings and will be added to the employee's paycheck.

Implementation:
This policy shall be included in the WSU Policies and Procedures Manual and shared with appropriate constituencies of the University.

The Vice President for Administration and Finance shall have primary responsibility for publication, dissemination and implementation of this University policy.

Effective Date: 
November 21, 2003