Oregon state workers garner big bonuses
Thursday, October 8, 2009 11:14 AM PDT
SALEM (AP) — Good ideas or jobs well done resulted in Oregon state workers sharing about $500,000 in bonuses and awards in the past year.
A list of all bonuses and incentives obtained by The Oregonian newspaper under the state’s open record law shows several hundred employees were rewarded between September 2008 and August 2009 for ideas that saved the state money, or as part of incentives to keep key workers.
Many received only T-shirts or coffee mugs. But the payments also included $389,841 shared by 11 investments officers at the state treasurer’s office. Those payments, ranging from $9,860 to $57,006, were part of a compensation program to recruit and retain talent in a highly competitive marketplace.
Among the bonuses for good ideas:
— A woman at the Department of Transportation discovered more than $500,000 in fuel overcharges to the state, earning her a $5,000 bonus.
— An employee at the Department of Human Services received an extra $2,732.80 for developing a spreadsheet that tracks benefits for people transitioning from state cash assistance.
— A Department of Consumer and Business Services worker got $654.75 for suggesting that the Workers’ Compensation Division use the fax instead of certified mail when communicating with insurers. That saved an estimated $8,595 the first year.
Oregon’s Employee Suggestion Awards Program has been around since 1980 and saves about $1 million a year, said Lonn Hoklin, Department of Administrative Services spokesman. However, because of the state’s money problems, officials decided last spring to suspend the program.
Still, there are opportunities to earn something extra. In the past year, 35 custodians for the Military Department, which oversees the Oregon Guard, divided $44,936.73 from the Armory Rental Incentive Program. To make armories more available to the public, the state since 2003 has offered custodians a portion of any business they helped land.
‘‘It’s a little bit of extra work for them because you have to clean and do more upkeep,’’ said department spokesman Capt. Lucas Ritter.
The Transportation Department has its Driving Force Awards, allowing employees to nominate co-workers for going beyond what is expected. In the past year, the agency paid out $27,666.69, most of it in $30 increments.
Officials said the employees either receive ‘‘ODOT paraphernalia’’ — such as a T-shirt or coffee mug with logo — or a $30 gift certificate.
