(a) Suggestions must be submitted in writing to the agency responsible for making the changes recommended in the suggestion(s). Suggesters will be responsible for submitting the suggestion to the appropriate agency for review when the idea affects only one agency, or to the Department when multiple agency review is required. All suggestions must be submitted on an Employee Suggestion form (STD 645 Rev 9-89).

(b) Suggestions must be signed. However, the suggester's name may, as designated by the employee on the Employee Suggestion form (STD 645 Rev 9-89), remain confidential during the evaluation process. The identity will be revealed when the idea has been adopted, as the suggester's job responsibility must be assessed in relation to the suggestion before an award can be made.

(c) Suggestions that do not meet eligibility requirements shall be disallowed. If there is controversy regarding eligibility of a suggestion, it shall be referred to the director or designee for review of the decision that disallowed the suggestion.

(d) The agency's Merit Award Administrator, or Merit Award Program staff if the suggestion affects multiple agencies, shall receive, record and acknowledge receipt of suggestions in writing to the suggester within 10 working days of receiving the suggestion, and shall notify suggesters of any undue delay in the consideration of their suggestions. Each new suggestion will be assigned a number for reference during the evaluation process, and such number shall be included in the acknowledgement to the suggester.

(e) Suggestions shall be referred for evaluation within 10 working days of receipt of the suggestion. The suggester shall be provided with a status report on the progress of the evaluation at least once every quarter until a final decision is made.

(f) The findings and recommendations of the evaluating agency shall indicate whether a suggestion has been adopted; the date on which it was placed in effect, or estimated date of implementation; any actual or estimated reduction, elimination, or avoidance of expenditures or improvement in operations made possible by the suggestion; the availability of funds for payment of proposed awards of $1,000 and over; or the reasons, in detail, why the suggestion could not be adopted.

(g) The Merit Award Administrator, or the Department if the suggestion affects multiple agencies, shall review the evaluating agency's findings and recommendations and may obtain additional information or take such other action as needed for prompt, thorough, and impartial consideration of each suggestion.

(h) For each suggestion eligible for an award, the Merit Award Administrator, after taking into consideration staff recommendations, and the objectives of the Merit Award Program, shall formulate an official recommendation to the agency's director describing the merits of the suggestion, and the amount of the recommended award, in accordance with these regulations. The Department shall review suggestions evaluated and adopted by multiple agencies, or awards exceeding $5,000, and shall formulate an official cash award recommendation to the Merit Award Board.

(i) The agency director of the employing agency shall, upon approval of a suggestion, authorize a cash award, in accordance with these regulations.

(j) The Department shall, upon approval of a suggestion by the Board, authorize a cash award, in accordance with these regulations.

(k) The Merit Award Administrator, or the Department if the suggestion affects multiple agencies, shall notify the suggester of the action taken as soon as a suggestion has received final consideration.

(l) Final reports on all suggestions shall be processed as follows:

(m) The Merit Award Administrator shall provide a report on the number of suggestions received, denied and/or adopted, including total amount of awards and savings, to the Merit Award Program staff on a yearly basis.

(n) The Merit Award Program staff shall be responsible for conducting periodic audits of the Merit Award Program within each agency to ensure that:

(o) The Board may establish such additional standards for submission of suggestions, as it deems proper.