Compensation Initiatives & Updates
Initiatives
Updates
Guidance and Process by Employee Group
Overtime & FLSA
The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations set forth the criteria and requirements for determining if a position, based on its specific job duties and level of responsibility, qualifies for exemption from overtime and/or minimum wage requirements. For positions which are designated as non-exempt, i.e. overtime eligible, the FLSA requires that these overtime eligible employees receive one and one-half times their regular hourly rate, in the form of pay or compensatory time, for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a work week. Eligible employees cannot waive their rights to overtime under the FLSA, nor can they agree to volunteer to perform similar duties for which they are normally paid. Positions designated as exempt under the FLSA are not eligible for overtime compensation. Employees exempt under the FLSA are paid for performing a job regardless of the number of hours worked; therefore, they do not receive additional compensation for working more than 40 hours in a work week.
This designation under the FLSA is different from the determination (based on Colorado law) of whether a position is governed by the Colorado state personnel system (classified) or exempt from the state personnel system (university staff). These are two separate exemption designations based on two different sets of regulations. The overtime status of exempt or non-exempt for both classified and university staff is determined by Human Resources for each position at the time the position description is reviewed and approved. This may be when a position is created, updated, or reallocated. This determination is made on a position-by-position basis and depends upon the work assigned to the position, not the job title or personnel group. The overtime designation decision is documented on the final approved position description in the Position Management Portal which is also archived to OnBase in HR Records. Additionally, an employee’s overtime status is communicated on the letter of offer or addendum to the letter of offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Non-exempt under the FLSA means the position is ELIGIBLE and must be compensated for overtime. Non-exempt (overtime eligible) jobs typically include hourly paid jobs and also include salaried jobs where the pay rate is below $844 per week or where the primary duties of the job do not meet the FLSA’s job level requirements.
The designation under the FLSA as overtime exempt or non-exempt is not specific to any one employment category across the board. Classified staff, university staff, and research faculty can all be either overtime exempt or non-exempt depending on the individual position’s job duties, pay frequency and pay level.
- Does the primary duty of the position involve teaching, the practice of medicine, or the practice of law? If yes, the position is exempt from overtime.
- Does the primary duty of the position involve professional IT work paid at least $27.63 per hour? If yes, the position is exempt from overtime.
- For jobs not outlined in #1, is the position paid on a salaried basis? If not, the position is non-exempt and eligible for overtime.
- If the position is salaried, is the salary level at least $844 per week. If not, the position is non-exempt and eligible for overtime. Note that this minimum salary level is not pro-rated by the percentage of time of the appointment. The employee must be making at least $844 each week (on or after 7/1/2024) to be exempt from overtime for that week, regardless of percent of time.
- If the position is paid a salary of at least $844 per week, do the primary duties and responsibilities of the position meet the criteria outlined by the FLSA for the executive, professional, administrative, computer or creative exemptions? If not, the position is non-exempt and eligible for overtime. If yes, the position is exempt from overtime.
Yes, both overtime exempt and overtime eligible employees can use My Leave for time tracking and leave reporting. Overtime EXEMPT employees use My Leave to track only leave time taken, not hours worked. Overtime ELIGIBLE employees will use My Leave to track hours worked each day and weekly overtime earned in addition to reporting leave taken.
In My Leave, the OT eligible employee is able to indicate when they are using comp time just like they can when they use leave such as vacation or sick. Unfortunately the system doesn’t keep a running balance of comp time earned, but it is possible when reviewing an employee’s timesheet to go back and calculate how much was earned and how much was used.
An offline Comp Time Tracking Excel spreadsheet can be helpful for keeping a running tally and is encouraged until My Leave has more functionality.
Home-to-work travel. Traveling from home before the regular workday begins and returning home at the end of the workday is ordinary home-to-work travel, and is not considered work time, even when a company vehicle is used. If an employee is required to work at home first and then travel to an office, the travel time is considered work time.
Special one-day assignment in another city. An employee who normally works at a fixed location, but travels to a different city for a work-related assignment and then returns home the same day, is considered working while traveling. The department may deduct the time that the employee would normally spend commuting to the regular work site.
Travel that is all in the day’s work. Time spent traveling by an employee as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time. Home to the first job site is not work time.
Travel away from the home community. Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is work time when it cuts across the employee’s normal workday. The paid time includes not only the hours worked on regular working days during normal working hours but also travel time during corresponding hours on non-working days, and any other hours that an employee actually performs work. The time spent by an employee who travels outside regular working hours as a passenger on public transportation, such as an airplane, train, etc., may be considered work time at the department’s discretion.
Tools & Forms
Staff
Position Management Portal
Acces the Position Management Portal - Staff Position Descriptions
Resources
Position Management Portal Training Videos
Additional Resources
- Additional Pay Form
- Early Certification Template
- Hiring Retirees
- Honorarium
- On-Call Pay Designation Request Form
- Shift Differential Designation Request Form
- Scope of Work Form
- Total Compensation Calculator - CU System Guidance
Overtime & FLSA
- FLSA Exemption Diagram
- Comp Time Tracker
- Dual Employment Overtime Agreement
- Overtime & Comp Time Policy Template
- Sample Comp Time Agreement
- Work Record Template
- Workweek Redefinition Form
Classified to University Staff Conversions
- Exemptions of Professionals from the State Personnel System FAQ
- Classified vs. University Staff Comparison Chart
- Classified Titles Eligible to Convert From Classified to Univeristy Staff
Research Faculty
- Benefits Eligibility Matrix
- Position Checklist Interactive PDF requires DocuSign routing
- Pay Increase Request Form
- Search Waiver Request Template
- Research Faculty Job Code Set-Up