UW-River Falls

UW-River Falls Process
Discretionary Compensation Adjustments/Payments
(DCA/DCP)

Effective Dates
DCA/DCP requests will be accepted by the Human Resource Office on April 1 and October 1 of each year. If approved, a DCA will be effective on the first day of the first pay period following either April 1 or October 1. Lump sum payments (DCP) are effective on the date the payment is made.

Outside Job Offer
When an employee has received a formal job offer from another employer, the supervisor's request should include a copy of the job offer, the supervisor's recommendation for a counter-offer, and any other information supporting the DCA/DCP request. If possible, the supervisor's or Director's comments should include a recap of all previous merit increases, of any kind, the employee has received in the past 3-5 years. This type of request can happen out of cycle.

DCA/DCP Process

It is the intent that supervisors initiate the process. Employees may self-nominate to their immediate supervisor, but the supervisor needs to determine whether they support the request. If they do not, the process stops.

Immediate supervisor completes the Justification for Discretionary Compensation Adjustment (DCA) Awards form, signs and dates the form, and sends it with appropriate supporting documentation (see below) to their Director.
Director signs off and sends the request on to the Vice Chancellor with comments, approval, etc.
The Vice Chancellor will review and make the final recommendation to Human Resources. A committee within Human Resources, after reviewing submitted materials, market data, and equity impact at UWRF, will make the final decision. Appeals can be directed to the Chancellor.
DCA's become effective the first day of the first pay period following April 1 or October 1 (assuming approval by Human Resources).
Distribution: original to employee's personnel file, copy to employee with congratulatory letter from HR Director, copy to UW System for quarterly DCA report, copy maintained in DCA records file in HR.

DCA/DCP Forms

Justification for Discretionary Compensation Adjustment (DCA) Awards

Required Documentation/Justification
To request a DCA/DCP, the supervisor and employee will compile the materials listed below and forward them with the appropriate form through the organization to the Vice Chancellor:

Document	Responsible Party
A department or division organization chart	Supervisor
Copies of annual performance evaluations for the past 2 years	Supervisor
Current position description (no more than one years old)	Supervisor
Examples of work supporting the request	Supervisor and Employee
History of other special salary adjustments already awarded to employee	Supervisor and Employee
Market evidence providing rationale for Supervisor and Employee request: Salary Studies Professional Organization Data College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) Data Campus Comparisons	Supervisor and Employee

Some suggestions of sites to find labor market data:

1) http://worknet.wisconsin.gov/worknet/default.aspx This website replaced the former Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development state labor market information. It is a gateway for Wisconsin labor market information and contains information for all counties, municipalities and regions in the State of Wisconsin . .Use of the “Data Analyst” should prove helpful. Information is typically from two years past.

2) www.bls.gov (Us Department of Labor – Bureau of Labor Statistics) This is a vast site full of information on practically everything relating to employment in the United States . Examples are: average wages by job category, region, state, city, county; consumer spending patterns; earnings including benefits+salary+profit sharing+travel expenses, etc.; employment trends; collective bargaining and more. Some data is current. State and regional data can be older.

3) http://salary.Monster.com (Monster.com – free internet reference site) Popular commercial site. Has the most up-to-date salary information by city, state, region or employment category. Job categories, however, may not always match up well to civil service classifications and rural areas must use regional data.

UW-River Falls Process Discretionary Compensation Adjustments/Payments (DCA/DCP)

DCA/DCP Process

Some suggestions of sites to find labor market data:

UW-River Falls Process
Discretionary Compensation Adjustments/Payments
(DCA/DCP)