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What you need to know about CU’s 2026 Pay Day Schedule Change

What you need to know about CU’s 2026 Pay Day Schedule Change

T&L payday changes


The University of Colorado’s Pay Day Schedule Change (PDSC) is a key milestone in the broader Time & Labor (T&L) project and will introduce significant updates to payroll processing and HR operations over the next year.

Beginning Sept. 27, 2026, nonexempt (federal overtime-eligible) employees who are currently paid monthly will transition to a biweekly, pay-in-arrears schedule. The first biweekly pay period will run Sept. 27–Oct. 10, and the first biweekly payday will be Oct. 23.

Nonexempt employees will receive communications next week, but we wanted to provide time for you to familiarize yourself with the available resources to assist your teams.

How will employees be affected?

  • Nonexempt employees on a monthly current pay schedule will move to a biweekly, pay-in-arrears schedule in September.
  • 9-month faculty and 1500 series or graduate assistant student employees will remain on a monthly schedule.
  • Exempt (ineligible for federal overtime) employees hired before Sept. 27, 2026, will remain on monthly pay, with an optional biweekly opt-in opportunity in 2027.
  • All staff, 12-month faculty and student new hires starting on or after Sept. 27, 2026 — both exempt and nonexempt — will automatically be placed on a biweekly, pay-in-arrears schedule, regardless of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exemption status.
  • Employees with multiple appointments:
    • Due to the complexity, we are reviewing their FLSA status (exempt or nonexempt) to ensure pay group alignment for employees with multiple appointments is accurate before making a final determination.
    • Employees with multiple appointments and their supervisors will receive individualized updates as soon as the review is completed, well before the Sept. 27 go-live.

Leave processing alignment

Beginning Sept. 27, leave will be processed in the same pay period in which it is taken for both exempt and nonexempt employees. This aligns leave reporting across CU for the first time.

Why the change is happening

Transitioning monthly nonexempt employees to a biweekly, pay-in-arrears cycle will:

  • Improve payroll accuracy and reduce manual corrections.
  • Reduce the lag time between earning federal overtime and being paid earned federal overtime.
  • Improve the timeliness of first paychecks for newly hired employees.
  • Pay in arrears allows leave taken in a pay period to be fully processed before payroll runs, aligning how leave balances are reflected on paystubs.
  • Standardize timekeeping processes across all CU campuses.
  • Better align with industry standards for payroll and FLSA compliance.

These goals reinforce ongoing work in the T&L project, which is replacing MyLeave and other systems with a unified PeopleSoft Time & Labor system. With these key objectives, the four university campuses, CU leadership and Employee Services aligned to implement this change after a thorough analysis that started in early 2024.  

Impact on HR and payroll operations

As more employees move to the biweekly schedule, payroll processing frequency will increase. At the same time, Time & Labor will automate several steps that are currently manual:

  • Reported time will feed directly into Time & Labor and flow automatically into PeopleSoft Payroll.
  • Timesheets, validations and pay rules will be system-generated.
  • MyLeave file uploads and other manual adjustments will be eliminated.
  • Payroll register reviews and post-payroll activities will occur after each biweekly and monthly payroll run.

These updates are expected to reduce manual workload, decrease the need for corrections and create a more stable foundation for future system improvements.

For a visual comparing current HR processes to the simplified Time & Labor future processes, please visit Comparison: Current and Future State HR Processes (authentication required).

Recruiting and onboarding updates

Beginning Jan. 23, 2026, recruiting teams will inform applicants about the fall 2026 transition. Offer letters for affected positions will include information about the required shift from monthly pay to biweekly pay.

Support and resources for HR partners

To support impacted employees, CU will provide:

  • A one-time transition payment to help affected employees adjust to the new schedule and cover the time between their last monthly payday and the first biweekly payday. This payment will be provided only to nonexempt employees hired before Sept. 1, 2026, who transition from monthly pay to biweekly pay.
  • Guidance, resources and communication to help teams prepare for the new schedule.

Questions?

For more information, visit the Pay Day Schedule Change page or the main T&L Project page