Laserfiche WebLink
Avoiding layoffs. Funds may be used to maintain current compensation levels, with <br />adjustments for inflation, in order to prevent layoffs that would otherwise be necessary. <br />Recipients must be able to substantiate that layoffs were likely in the absence of SLFRF funds <br />and would be substantially due to the public health emergency or its negative economic impacts <br />(e.g., fiscal pressures on state and local budgets) and should document their assessment. <br />Retaining workers. Funds may be used to provide worker retention incentives, which are <br />designed to persuade employees to remain with the employer as compared to other employment <br />options. Recipients must be able to substantiate that the employees were likely to leave <br />employment in the absence of the retention incentive and should document their assessment. For <br />example, a recipient may determine that a retention bonus is necessary based on the presence of <br />an alternative employment offer for an employee. <br />All worker retention incentives must be narrowly tailored to need and should not exceed <br />incentives traditionally offered by the recipient or compensation that alternative employers may <br />offer to compete for the employees. Further, because retention incentives are intended to provide <br />additional incentive to remain with the employer, they must be entirely additive to an employee's <br />regular rate of wages and other remuneration and may not be used to reduce or substitute for an <br />employee's normal earnings. Treasury will presume that retention incentives that are less than 25 <br />percent of the rate of base pay for an individual employee or 10 percent for a group or category <br />of employees are reasonably proportional to the need to retain employees, as long as the other <br />requirements are met. <br />Ancillary administrative costs. Funds may be used to pay for ancillary administrative <br />costs associated with administering SLFRF-funded hiring and retention programs detailed above, <br />including costs to publish job postings, review applications, and onboard and train new hires. For <br />184 <br />