Tuition reimbursements for employees
Q: Should tuition reimbursements or educational assistance paid to employees be part of compensation?
A: Tuition reimbursements and educational assistance are excluded from an employee’s gross income as long as the reimbursements or assistance are less than $5,250 per employee during a calendar year. The excludable amount is not subject to income tax withholding or other employment taxes. Tuition reimbursements and educational assistance are excluded form an employees gross income as long as certain requirements are met:
1. The employer must have a written plan;
2. The reimbursements may be for undergraduate or graduate level courses;
3. There is a dollar limitation of $5,250 per calendar year;
4. The tuition is not required to be job-related assistance; and
5. The policy must not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees.
Paying for Courses for Teachers:
Q: Is a school district in violation of the State’s constitution’s “gift of public monies” clause if it pays for courses taken by teachers?
A: According to AG Opinion I180-219, a school district may pay for courses taken by its teachers because those courses upgrade the educational programs of the district.
OK to pay Facilities Manager from building renewal funds:
Q: Can a district's Facilities Manager be paid from building renewal funds?
A: Yes, but only for the portion of time that the position spends on qualifying building renewal related projects.
Charging unused leave pay to the federal program for a federal program employee:
Q: An employee who worked and was paid from a federal program resigns with unused leave. If a government's policy is to pay the employee for the unused leave upon termination, can the cost be charged to the federal program?
A: According to officials at the federal Office of Management and Budget, the payout of unused leave upon termination cannot be charged as a direct cost of the federal program. However if the program has had indirect costs charged to it (i.e., an indirect cost rate was applied), then the unused leave payment may be made from the indirect cost funds.
Pay for a normal work day if workers sent home:
Q: Due to the lack of electricity, the cafeteria of a school was closed early and the employees sent home. Can the workers be paid for the normal work day since they were sent home by no fault of their own?
A: Hourly employees must be paid for the hours actually worked.
Violation of the "gift of public monies" clause?
Q: Is it a violation of the "gift of public monies" clause if a school district purchases awards and other items to recognize employee achievement?
A: The Attorney General concluded in a March 1997 opinion (I197-003) that an employee awards program recognizing achievement, length of service, or retirement provides a benefit to the public by encouraging efficiency and morale. Further, the value of this benefit would not be far exceeded by the expenditure of public funds, provided that the awards are of nominal value. Therefore a district can institute an employee recognition program and expend a nominal amount of public funds on plaques, pen and pencil sets, and other such mementos, without violating the "gift of monies" clause (Article IX, Section 7) of the Arizona Constitution.
Paying terminated employee his/her last pay check:
Q: When must a terminated employee be paid his/her last pay check?
A: State, not federal, law regulates when you must pay employees upon their termination. In Arizona, for an involuntary termination, the employee must be paid the earlier of 3 working days or the next regular payday. However, A.R.S.15-502 allows school districts 10 days from the date of discharge to provide payment to terminated employees. For a voluntary termination, the employee can be paid on the next regular payday.
Signing bonus for teachers:
Q: Due to teacher shortages, can a district offer a teacher a "signing bonus"?
A: In the opinion of an Arizona county attorney, governing boards have great discretion in the establishment of employee benefits that are in the best interest of the district. Such a payment is not a prohibited gift of public funds as long as it is provided for in Governing Board policy and is available to all. Things to avoid are payment to some, but not all teachers; offers of additional amounts not approved by the Board, and increases after contracts are signed.
