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Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Campus Questions
COMPENSATORY (COMP) TIME
TIME KEEPING AND REPORTING
OUT OF TOWN AND OVERNIGHT TRAVEL
COMPENSATORY (COMP) TIME
- QUESTION: Can you tell me if there is a policy that states that it is required to record comp time on a non-exempt employee’s timesheet?
ANSWER: 9/29/06 - On page 16 of the FLSA Technical Assistance from DPA (http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/dhr/comp/docs/flsa.pdf) under record keeping requirements, it says that employers are required to keep records for non-exempt employees including, "total overtime or compensatory time earned, used or compensated in cash for the work week or work period." This is an "or" statement indicating that records must be kept for comp time hours earned, for comp time hours taken, and/or for comp time or overtime paid out in cash. Since the employee's time sheet is the official record of an employee's work hours, comp time earned and taken must be recorded on the employee's time sheet and signed off each pay period by the employee and supervisor. Departments should not be tracking comp time or work hours "on the side". Especially because any work hours, overtime, or comp time tracked "on the side" are not typically reviewed and signed as accurate each pay period by both employee and supervisor. This piece is critical in avoiding future overtime and back-pay lawsuits.
- QUESTION: I'm looking for a policy/documentation about comp
time and the use of it within a specific period of time. I was thinking
state policy was 90 days and CU was 60, but I need to verify how this
works, in writing.
ANSWER: 6/15/06 - The FLSA does
not have a time limit to use comp time earned. Colorado state personnel
rules prior to 7/1/05 required that comp time be taken within 4 months
of when it was earned. Prior to that, state personnel rules had required
that comp time be taken within 60 days. The current rule (3-28A) that
went into effect on 7/1/05 states that comp time must be scheduled as
soon as practical. We recommend that department appointing authorities
determine what kind of guideline makes sense for their individual departments
based on business necessity. Some departments are sticking with the 60
day or 4 month requirement because it makes the most sense for them
with regard to tracking and administration and to ensure that balances
don't get out of hand. Other departments are using fiscal year or
calendar year requirements.
- QUESTION: I need clarification on the form of payment for
overtime. If an employee has not signed a compensatory time agreement,
may that employee choose either comp time or additional salary for overtime
worked or is the form of payment decided by the supervisor or Chair?
ANSWER: 3/16/06 - Cash payment
is the default pay method for overtime. That is the standard way to
compensate for overtime hours worked. The FLSA provides comp time in
lieu of cash payment for public sector employers provided the employee
agrees to accept comp time instead of cash. If the employee has not
signed a comp time agreement, the employee can choose either cash payment
or comp time if the appointing authority is providing comp time as an
option. If comp time is not an option, then cash payment should be used.
If comp time is an option provided, then it is the employee's choice.
The employer (appointing authority or Chair) can not require an employee
to accept comp time in lieu of cash payment unless the employee has
signed an agreement or indicated his/her acceptance as a condition of
employment.
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TIME KEEPING AND REPORTING
- QUESTION: Where do I find information
on how to report work time and leave taken? Is it reported by the
minute?
ANSWER: 5/10/06 - Written information
on how to report time and leave taken is provided in the PBS Procedures
Guide on page 106 under "Recording Classified Staff Vacation and Sick
Leave - Usage, Adjustments, Payout". It says, "Usage is recorded using
the quarter hour calculation to be consistent with recording work and
overtime hours. For example, if an employee is on vacation or sick leave
from 2:00 p.m. until 3:08 p.m. you will round to the closest quarter
hour and report 1.25 hours of usage." The web link for this document
is: http://www.cusys.edu/pbs/payroll/resources/downloads/PBS-Procedures-Guide.pdf.
- QUESTION: Are faculty and exempt staff required to keep a
monthly time sheet?
ANSWER: Faculty and exempt staff
are not required to keep a monthly time sheet to document hours worked.
However, they are required to use some kind of tracking mechanism for
leave usage if that applies. Time/work records can be used to document
and track an employee's hours worked as well as leave usage. PBS has
two recommended forms on their website that departments can use, but
any form can be used to track hours worked and leave taken as long as
it meets FLSA reporting requirements.
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OUT OF TOWN AND OVERNIGHT TRAVEL
- QUESTION: Our department runs a program where we take CU freshmen
into the mountains for a week prior to the start of their CU career.
These trips require the non-exempt staff to work and be on duty all
day and all night. For each day, the staff person is on duty 8 hours
and then an additional 8 hours for the evening hours. The remaining
8 hours in the day are considered sleeping time, so they are not included
as work time. When the employees reach 40 hours in the work week, they
receive time and a half for the hours over 40 in the form of comp time.
For a week long program, this can be a significant number of hours,
so we want to be sure we are handling this situation appropriately.
ANSWER: 5/8/06 - Yes, I think you have been handling this correctly. I am referencing the DPA's "Technical Assistance - FLSA" in answering this question. See page 6, "Travel away from the home community", at http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/dhr/comp/docs/flsa.pdf. It says that in a situation like this, paid time would include the employee's normal workday hours and "any other hours that an employee actually performs work for the state". So, it is correct that you would not pay the employees while they are sleeping, but it is also correct that you would pay them for the hours they are actually working in the evenings or at night. If the employees are spending the evenings in a hotel room where they are free to use their time as they wish like any other personal time, you would not pay them for that. But if they are running events for the students in the evening or doing similar kinds of work, you would count that time as paid time. If they get called out of their room in the middle of the night to handle some student incident or other situation, then you would pay them for the time they are "working" in that capacity, but not for the whole night when they had the freedom to spend their personal time for their own use.
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