The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law which establishes standards for minimum wages, maximum hours, overtime pay, and child labor. The University is covered by the provisions of the FLSA, and is responsible for insuring compliance with the Act. It is important to note that being subject to the State Personnel Act has no bearing on an employee's wage and hour status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The State Personnel Commission dictates the policy for administering the FLSA within North Carolina State Government; and without exception, University administrators and supervisors at all levels of management must insure that the requirements of the Federal law are properly followed. No one has authority to promote or to enter into any arrangement or agreement which would deny any University employee his or her rights as provided under FLSA.
Key Employee Definitions for Wage and Hour Purposes
An employee covered by the overtime provisions of the FLSA. This provision applies to any SPA employee paid by the University regardless of whether he or she holds a permanent, temporary or part-time appointment. (Being subject to the State Personnel Act has no bearing on exempt or non-exempt status under the Wage and Hour Policy.)
An employee not covered by the overtime provisions of the FLSA. This provision applies to any SPA employee paid by the University regardless or whether he or she holds a permanent, temporary or part-time appointment. (Being subject to the State Personnel Act has no bearing on exempt or non-exempt status under the FLSA.)
The time span of seven consecutive twenty-four hour periods within which the University calculates overtime hours and corresponding pay for employees subject to the Wage and Hour Policy who work over 40 hours. The workweek begins at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday and ends at midnight on the following Saturday. This must not be confused with the "Work Schedule" defined below.
The period of twenty-four hours which begins at 12:01 a.m. and ends at midnight. The first workday begins at the time the workweek begins (12:01 a.m. Sunday) and the seventh workday ends at the time the workweek ends (midnight on the following Saturday).
The standard work schedule for full-time employees subject to the Personnel Act is forty hours per week and the normal daily work schedule is five days per week, eight hours a day plus a meal period. Other schedules apply to part-time employees and some shift employees.
All time the University requires, suffers, or permits an employee, who is subject to the Wage and Hour Policy, to be at duty, whether on campus, on other University premises, or at any other place. Also it may be referred to as "Hours Worked."
Time worked "over 40" in a workweek by a non-exempt employee.
Work time recorded to the nearest quarter (15 min. = .25, 30 min. = .50 and 45 min. = .75). For example: 8 hours and 10 minutes = 8.25 hours; whereas, 8 hours and 5 minutes = 8 hours.
For a salaried employee, annual salary divided by 2080 (Hours).
One and one-half times an employee's Regular Rate. It applies to employees who are subject to the FLSA and is mandatory for work time over 40 hours in a workweek.
(1) Each new employee must be given detailed information about the variable work schedule, and given the opportunity to select the schedule preferred prior to reporting for work. Work schedules are to be associated with individuals and not with positions, with the exception that there may be positions which must be filled on some predetermined schedule. In these cases, applicants must be informed of this predetermined schedule prior to any offer and acceptance of employment.
(2) The employee and his/her supervisor must agree upon the schedule to be followed, consistent with the needs of the department.
(3) Each supervisor must compile a record of the work schedules for all subordinates.
(4) Department Heads are responsible for providing adequate supervision for each work unit during the hours employees are scheduled to work.
The employee is to receive straight-time pay for a standard 40-hour workweek, with the provision that an additional amount equal to time and one-half the employee's regular hourly rate times the number of hours worked in excess of 40 will be added to the base pay. Such payment must be made in form of monetary compensation or compensable time off. It is the policy of the State of North Carolina, whenever possible, to give compensatory time off in lieu of monetary compensation for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per work week. Compensatory time off shall be scheduled by management, although reasonable effort should be made to accommodate the employee as to such scheduling.
1 2 3 :00 - :05 = :00 = .0 Column #1: Actual time worked beyond :06 - :08 = :06 = .1 40 hours :09 - :14 = :12 = .2 :15 - :20 = :18 = .3 Column #2: Overtime earned (rounded) :21 - :26 = :24 = .4 :27 - :32 = :30 = .5 Column #3: Percent of one hour :33 - :38 = :36 = .6 :39 - :44 = :42 = .7 :45 - :50 = :48 = .8 :51 - :59 = :54 = .9
The granting of time off in lieu of pay for employees who are subject to the FLSA because of overtime worked in excess of 40 hours per week.
Responsibility for Administering the Wage and Hour Policy
(1) Determining the existence of University-Staff employee relationships (in particular, Staff employee vs. Independent Contractor status).
(2) Determining the exempt or non-exempt status of each staff employee.
(3) Equal pay for equal work.
(4) Minimum wage, work time, paid non-work time, overtime, compensatory time off, work schedules, and other wage-hour policy questions.
(5) Child labor standards.
(6) Rehabilitation Act.
Each employee has the right and is encouraged to raise questions, if any, about his Wage and Hour status or suspected changes in it, his pay, hours worked, or any other matter affecting him under this policy. Initially, he should be directed to the departmental representative responsible for handling Personnel-Payroll matters. The latter will answer the question or seek the correct answer from the appropriate department.
Any employee may, and should be encouraged to, consult the Department of Human Resources concerning pay status. The University will protect and uphold the employee's right.
An employee whose questions or complaints are not settled through informal means should be advised of appeal rights under the University Grievance and Appeal Procedure.
The FLSA is applied in each case without regard to any employee's race, creed, religion, sex, age, national origin or physical disability.
Work time or "hours worked" is all time an employee "is suffered or permitted to work." It is of no consequence where such work takes place, i.e., in the customary work place, at home, or anywhere else.
Work time includes all time spent in physical or mental exertion, (burdensome or not) controlled or required by the University, and pursued primarily for the University and its "business." Work time includes most related preliminary or subsequent activities of the employee's principal duties. Examples include sharpening or cleaning tools, setting up equipment, waiting for instructions, moving about the campus to perform assigned duties, attending departmental meetings, changing clothes on University premises where special uniforms or clothing are required by the University, emergency medical treatment for an on-the-job accident, and other similar work-related activities.
In addition to the activities included above as work time, employees who are subject to the FLSA must be paid for all time spent in activities which are defined as "work time" as follows:
It is a policy of the University that employees be granted a break period at the convenience of their work. The break period should not exceed fifteen (15) minutes at any one time; and when it is granted, it should be near the middle of the first and/or second half of the workday. The break period shall include any time taken in preparation for the break and in going to and from a specific break area. If for any reason the employee does not receive a rest or break period, it does not accrue to be granted at some later time or date. This means that the employee cannot combine two break periods nor can a break period be used to leave work early or to extend the length of a lunch period or vacation leave. The Department Head may suspend the privilege of a break period when abused by the employee but subject to approval by the respective Vice Chancellor.
It is required that employees who work a standard workweek take a meal period each workday. It is not permitted for an employee scheduled to work more than six hours per day to work without a meal period. The meal period should occur near the mid part of the workday and may not be used to shorten the workday. A bona fide meal period is a span of at least 30 consecutive minutes during which an employee is completely relieved of duty. It is not counted as hours worked. A so-called "meal period" of less than 30 consecutive minutes must be considered as hours worked for employees who are non-exempt as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by the Department of Human Resources.
(1) On call time is any time an employee is required to remain at or so near his place of work that he cannot use the time effectively for his own personal purposes.
(2) On call time does not occur if the employee is not required to remain on the University's premises but is asked merely to leave word at his home or with his supervisor as to where and how he might be reached.
(3) On call time, as defined here, is work time.
The following circumstances determine whether or not travel time is work time:
(1) Travel from home to work before reporting time on an assigned workday and return home at the end of the workday is not work time.
(2) Time spent by an employee in travel as part of his normal activities, such as travel from job site to job site during the employee's regular working hours, is work time and must be recorded as such for all employees who are subject to the State Wage and Hour Policy.
(3) Travel time away from home overnight is work time when it cuts across the employee's regular scheduled workdays. The time is not only hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also during the corresponding hours on nonworking days. Therefore, if an employee regularly works from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday, the travel time during these hours is work time on Saturday and Sunday as well as on other days. The regular meal period is not counted as work time. The time spent in travel away from home outside of the regular work schedule (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) by automobile, airplane, train, or bus is not considered work time.
For Example: An employee who is employed to work at East Carolina University leaves for Charlotte on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. and arrives in Charlotte at 7:00 p.m.
(b) The 2 hours traveled between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. are not considered as work time for the purpose of determining total hours worked. However, it shall be considered as compensatory leave earned and may be given as time off (paid non-work hours) at a later date on an hour for hour basis. (PLEASE USE FORM LR-2.)
(1) Time spent adjusting grievances under the University Grievance and Appeal Procedure, during regular hours of work, is work time.
(2) Such time spent outside regular hours of work is work time only if the employee's attendance is required by the University.
Required attendance at training and other meetings, whether during, before, or after the employee's regular work schedule, is work time.
Voluntary attendance at training or other meetings whether during, before, or after the employee's regular work schedule, is not work time (attendance is "voluntary" only where an employee in fact is not led to believe that his or her working conditions or chance or continuing employment would be adversely affected by non-attendance).
Caution: Reimbursement of employee's expenses or permitted use of State vehicle to voluntarily attend a meeting outside of normal work hours would imply duties performed for the benefit of the University; therefore, attendance would be considered work time.
(1) Each department head is responsible for exercising adequate supervision to insure that employees are complying with established work schedules and that unscheduled work is performed only in bona-fide emergencies. The mere establishment or communication of work schedules does not relieve the department head of his responsibility for controlling work time. He must ascertain and insure that all such schedules are followed by the employee.
(2) The department head is responsible for controlling starting and stopping times and all work time, whether within or outside the usual work schedule.
(1) It is the employee's duty to comply with departmental work schedules and to avoid performing work that is "unscheduled" or "non-directed," outside of such schedules, except in bona-fide emergencies.
(2) This recognizes the department head's ultimate responsibility, which cannot be delegated or passed on to the employee. The department head is responsible for advising all employees of the FLSA.
(1) It is required that this form be completed and maintained for each SPA employee who is subject to the FLSA. This must be done by the department where the employee is permanently assigned. The primary purpose of the form is to record the employee's permanent work schedule as well as overtime hours worked by the employee for the University regardless of when and where it may occur.
(2) It may be necessary because of operational needs to make a permanent change of an employee work schedule; and if so, another page of the Form WH-1 may be prepared with the new work schedule documented in Section I.
(3) If at any time an employee who is subject to the FLSA works in excess of 40 hours per calendar week for the University, this must be documented as overtime in Section II of the Form WH-l. It is the responsibility of the employee's department head to insure that this information is properly recorded in a timely manner. This means that any actual work time performed in excess of 40 hours per calendar week that occurs outside of the permanent work schedule, or within an adjusted or modified work schedule, or for another department/activity known as dual employment must be recorded as overtime in Section II of the Form WH-1.
(1) In addition to the Form WH-1, the department where a non-exempt employee is permanently assigned must maintain daily time records to show all hours worked (both regular hours and overtime) for each workweek.
(2) The Employee Weekly Time Record (Form WH-3) should be completed daily as follows:
(b) Department and Job Classification.
(c) Beginning and Ending dates of the Workweek.
(d) Actual Work Time by Clock Hour - Use appropriate column identified as NSDP for those who do not receive shift differential pay or CSDP for those who do receive shift differential pay. This should show all hours worked including regular time and overtime. If employee is granted compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay, it must be recorded as actual work time.
(e) Meal Period (Column 5) - Actual clock hour when it began and ended.
(f) Actual Number Hours Worked (Column 6) - Record total number of hours worked including regular time and overtime. Do not include the meal period. The workweek total may or may not exceed 40 hours. All hours in excess of 40 in Column 6 for the workweek must be recorded on Form WH-1.
(g) Paid Non-Work Hours (Column 7) - Record number of hours and minutes for reasons coded at the bottom of Form WH-3.
(h) Code (Column 8) - Enter the appropriate code next to the number of paid non-work hours.
(i) Total Daily Paid Hours (Column 9) - Should include all actual work hours and non-work hours for which the employee is to be paid. (The sum of Column 6 and Column 7.)
(j) All employee time records are to be held for a three-year period by the department where the employee is assigned. All records must be maintained in proper order for review by the Department of Human Resources, University Auditor, State Auditors, and U.S. Department of Labor. It is essential that all employee time records agree with University payroll records.
(k) Work time must be recorded exactly the way it is worked, as to date and amount. "Doctoring" or otherwise falsifying time records clearly violates Federal, University, and State policy, and will subject the responsible person(s) to appropriate disciplinary action.
(l) Beyond all the possible legal and policy complications, falsified time records violates the University's need for equity in its pay and benefits practices among employees in any department.
(1) Paid Vacation Time
(2) Paid Civil Leave
(3) Paid "Equal Time Off" for Holiday worked
(4) Actual Non-Work Time for which Emergency "Call-Back Pay" is received
(5) Paid State Holiday
(6) Paid Military Leave
(7) Paid Compensatory Leave when granted on the basis of an hour for each hour worked
(8) Paid Sick Leave
Even though an employee works more than 8 hours on a workday, his or her work schedule may be adjusted so that he or she does not work "over 40" in that workweek.
Example: A heavy workload makes it necessary for an employee to work a total of 12 hours on Monday. The supervisor, in his discretion, offsets these extra hours by scheduling the employee off for 4 hours on Wednesday. The supervisor could have elected to schedule the employee off on Thursday or Friday. In any event, there is no overtime pay when time off is scheduled on an hour-for-hour basis in the same workweek. However, overtime work results and overtime pay is mandatory for all work time "over 40" in that or any other specific workweek.
(1) Work schedule changes that are only essential to the needs of the job are made.
(2) Changes in work schedule should be permanent when possible.
(3) Give reasonable notice to the employee when work schedule changes are anticipated.
(4) Temporary work schedule changes intended to limit work hours within a workweek should be documented daily on Form WH-3, and the change should not be made without the consent of the employee.
Overtime for an employee working in two positions with different rates of pay is paid at the rate for the position in which the overtime occurs.
Example: If an employee is appointed to work 20 hours each workweek (4 hours daily, Monday through Friday) in Department A, at a rate of $5.00 per hour, as an Office Assistant. She also is appointed to work 20 hours each workweek in Department B (4 hours daily, Monday through Friday) at a rate of $3.50 per hour, as a Processing Assistant. During the period that she is required to work half-time for each department, Department B will have her work two (2) additional hours each day Monday through Friday. This will require that Department B must either give compensatory time off within 12 months or insure that the employee is paid at the rate of $5.25 (time and one half) for each hour of overtime worked.
Any overtime pay for all involved workweeks is recalculated and adjusted by the Payroll Department where a subsequent pay change is made retroactive.