Human Resources Policies

POLICY: Hours of Work / Overtime
Policy Number: HR-62
Effective Date: July 2002
Revisions: June 2002, July 2000
Responsible Officer: Associate Dean, Planning and Operations


PURPOSE:
This policy was established to advise employees that the College of Medicine complies with and compensates employees according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

I. POLICY:
The College of Medicine complies with and compensates employees according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

II. ELIGIBILITY:
This policy applies to all College of Medicine non-faculty employees.

III. DEFINITIONS:
Hours of Work is defined by the FLSA to include all time spent during the workweek in any type of work-related activities, whether controlled or required by management and pursued primarily for the College of Medicine. Workday is defined as a day that commences at 12:00 a.m. and concludes at
11:59 p.m. Workweek is defined as a period of seven consecutive twenty-four hour periods commencing Saturday at 12:00 a.m. and concluding at 11:59 p.m. the following Friday. Pay Period is defined as bi-weekly for non-exempt staff and monthly for exempt staff. Overtime Hours is defined as hours worked in excess of forty hours in a sevenday workweek.

Exempt as defined by the FLSA is a bona fide executive, administrative or professional position and is not subject to the overtime provision. Non-Exempt as defined by the FLSA is a position that does not meet the requirement necessary to qualify for exemption and is subject to overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Act.

IV. PROCEDURES:
A. Approval of Overtime
1. Overtime must be assigned in advance by the appropriate supervisor/manager.
2. Overtime that is worked, but not assigned in advance, must still be paid in accordance with the FLSA. However, employees working unassigned overtime may be subject to corrective action up to and including termination.
3. It is the supervisor/manager's responsibility to ensure that work is not performed when it has not been assigned. This applies even when work is performed away from the work site, at home, or on a voluntary basis.
4. The supervisor/manager has the right to require employees to work a reasonable amount of overtime based on business needs. The supervisor/manager will attempt to provide affected employees with as much notice time as possible and assign overtime work as fairly and consistently as possible given the nature of the work to be performed and employee capacities.
5. Refusal to work scheduled overtime may result in corrective action up to and including termination of employment.

B. Payment of Overtime
1. Non-exempt employees shall be paid overtime for actual hours worked, in excess of forty hours per week in the pay period in which it is worked. Non-exempt employees may not receive "comp time off" in lieu of payment of overtime.
2. Overtime pay shall be calculated at the rate of one times the employee's regular rate of pay for hours worked up to forty hours then, one and one half times the employee's regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of forty hours each workweek.
3. Non-productive time off such as vacation, holiday and sick days will not be counted as actual time worked for purposes of calculating overtime.
4. An unpaid meal period of at least one half hour shall be provided during each non-exempt employee's work shift of eight hours or more. A meal period is unpaid so long as the employee is relieved of all duties and is free to leave her/his work area. The meal period is not to be included in
hours worked for calculation of overtime pay.
5. The employee is responsible for accurately and honestly recording hours worked on a time record and in accordance with departmental policies. A violation of this policy will subject the employee to corrective action up to and including termination.
6. Supervisory personnel will review and approve time records at the conclusion of each pay period.
7. When a non-exempt employee works more than one non-exempt job for the College of Medicine, overtime pay will be calculated based on the combined hours worked. The department responsible for overtime payment shall be the department for which the employee worked hours over and above her/his scheduled hours.
8. A non-exempt employee's attendance at meetings, workshops, training programs and similar activities will not be counted as work time under the FLSA if all of the following conditions are met:
a. Attendance is outside the employee's regular work hours.
b. Attendance is voluntary.
c. The program is not directly related to the employee's job.
d. The employee does not perform any productive work during that time.

9. An employee's voluntary attendance in a course of formal educational instruction after regularly scheduled work hours is not considered hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime.

10. If a non-exempt employee travels on College of Medicine-related business, the time spent in travel may be counted as hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime in accordance with the FLSA. A supervisor/manager should consult with the Department of Human Resources to review these situations to ensure proper payment of overtime for travel in compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws.

11. Exempt employees are hired under the condition that they are required to work as much time as necessary in order to fulfill the requirements of the position without additional compensation, even if they are required to work beyond their normal work hours. Any deviations of pay for exempt
employees must be reviewed and approved by the senior human resources officer.

Additional Information: Inquiries regarding this policy can be directed to the Human Resources Department.