Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Health System will give its employees bonuses in October after the hospital boosted its earnings last year to the highest level in the hospital's 126-year history, according to a Chattanooga Times Free Press report.
Here are eight things to know about the bonuses.
1. Pending final approval by Erlanger trustees Sept. 24, Erlanger will give $400 to each of the more than 3,300 non-managers employees.
2. The bonuses for non-managerial employees total $1.4 million, and they are the first companywide bonus checks given all Erlanger employees in 11 years, according to the report. Employees are expected to be paid Oct. 2.
3. Erlanger trustees decided to hand out the bonuses after the hospital more than tripled its earnings in 2015 to a record high $37.3 million, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. That record high reversed more than $36 million the hospital previously lost from 2008 to 2013.
4. Of the bonuses, Erlanger CEO Kevin Spiegel said, "This is a way for management to acknowledge all of the employees — both full-time and part-time — that really added to Erlanger's to unprecedented success," according to the report.
5. In addition to the bonuses, a 3 percent raise for all employees is slated to begin in January, the Chattanooga Times Free Press notes.
6. Erlanger executives will not share in the $400 bonuses to employees, according to the report. However, they will receive $2.1 million in bonus payments shared among 124 executives. If this were divided evenly, each executive would receive nearly $17,000 in bonus payments.
7. No details were given about how the $2.1 million bonus payments will be divided among the executives. However, of the executive bonuses, Mr. Spiegel will receive a $244,966 bonus, bringing his total compensation in fiscal year 2015 to $981,000, according to the report. Last year, he received a total of $914,669.
8. Last year Erlanger paid $1.7 million in management bonuses, which drew fire from state lawmakers. According to the report, the lawmakers complained that Erlanger was too quick to reward its executives and rewarded them without enough public discussion and review. Erlanger trustees eventually had to revote on the bonus payments to executives at a second public meeting to address concerns over how the payments were approved by trustees.
More articles on workforce and labor management:
The Leapfrog Group launches fellowship for quality, safety
Complaint spurs second union election at Danbury, New Milford hospitals
UMass Memorial strives for better relationship with unions