Classified Staff Workload 2.0

1.0    Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for determining compensable work time for non-exempt, classified staff employees.

2.0    Revision History

3.0    Persons Affected

3.1    All non-exempt employees.

4.0    Policy

The policy of Casper College is to ensure the following.

4.1    The college complies with the Fair Labor Standards Act and other applicable laws and regulations pertaining to work hours.

4.2    The college effectively manages its employees’ work hours.

5.0    Definitions

5.1    Fair Labor Standards Act. Federal legislation that establishes minimum wage, overtime, pay, record-keeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in federal, state, and local governments. Rules regarding overtime and pay vary based on whether the job is classified as exempt or non-exempt.

5.1.1    Exempt. This employment status, with few exceptions, is based on earning a minimum weekly wage set by FLSA, being paid on a salary basis, and performing exempt job duties as defined by FLSA. Employees in exempt jobs are not entitled to overtime pay.

5.1.2    Non-exempt. This employment status, with few exceptions, includes any job that does not meet the criteria set in the FLSA of an exempt job. Employees in non-exempt jobs are entitled to overtime pay and minimum wage regulations.

5.2    Hours Worked. Actual hours an employee spends performing job duties in a workweek. This calculation excludes meal periods or annual, sick, compensatory, holiday, or any other type of leave. (Meal periods for security officers are considered work hours.)

5.3    Workweek. Casper College’s workweek starts Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and ends Saturday at 11:59 p.m.

5.4    Compensable Work Time. All of the time during which a non-exempt employee is required to be at the worksite or on duty to perform work for the benefit of the college. Incidental activities performed before or after an employee’s scheduled work time are noncompensable if the activities are not integral or an indispensable part of the employee’s principal duties. To be integral or indispensable, the activity must be necessary to the principal work performed by the employee and done for the benefit of the college. 

5.5    Non-work Time. Time spent by non-exempt employees at work before or after the employee’s scheduled work time during which the employee does not perform compensable work. Time spent on non-work activities while on overnight travel or voluntary social events or meetings are non-work time. Non-work time is not compensable.

5.6    Training Time. Time spent at work-related trainings, conferences, workshops, etc. (training) that the college pays for and that is not considered voluntary is compensable work time. Training that occurs during the employee’s regular work hours is compensable work time.

Training that meets all four of the following criteria is not compensable work time. The training is:

• outside of the employee’s regular work hours,
• voluntary,
• not directly related to the employee’s job, and
• not a work assignment and the employee did not perform work for the benefit of the college during attendance.

5.7    Travel Time. Time spent traveling is compensable depending on the circumstances.

5.7.1     Commuting Time. Time spent commuting to and from work, even if the employee is directed to report to an alternate worksite, is not compensable work time.

5.7.2    Travel during Regular Work Hours. Time spent traveling while performing a work assignment for the college is compensable work time.

5.7.3    Out of Town Travel: Special One-Day Assignment. Time spent traveling that extends past the employee’s regular work hours but does not include an overnight stay is compensable even if the travel occurs on a common carrier. Commuting time to the airport or bus or rail station, stops for the employee’s convenience, and meal breaks are not compensable.

5.7.4    Overnight Travel. Time spent traveling while on a trip that keeps an employee away from home overnight is compensable if the travel occurs during the employee’s regular work hours (including weekends and holidays). Overnight travel that occurs outside of the employee’s regular work hours is compensable only if at least one of the following applies. The employee is:

• driving,
• not free to relax, or
• performing work on behalf of the college during the travel time.

Time spent traveling as a passenger on an airplane, train, boat, bus, or automobile outside of the employee’s regular work hours is not compensable.

Employees work with their supervisors to take off time for any non-compensable overnight travel hours. This is a one-for-one hour exchange; overtime rules do not apply. The employee must take this time within the same month that the non-compensable overnight travel hours occurred, or as close thereto.

If the employee travels between two or more time zones, the departure time zone will be used to determine if the travel falls within regular work hours.

If an employee is offered the option to take commercial transportation and is instead permitted to drive, the college will calculate time worked based on the time that would have been allowable if the employee had traveled on commercial transportation.

5.8    Emergency Call Back. When an appropriate supervisor makes an unscheduled request for a non-exempt employee to return to work to do unforeseen or emergency work after the employee had left the building or work location at the end of the employee’s regular shift and before the beginning of the next regularly scheduled shift. These employees are required to respond on short notice to a work emergency to avoid significant service disruption to college operations, avoid placing employees or the public in unsafe situations, or to protect or provide emergency services to property, equipment, or people.

Employees called in to begin work prior to the start of their regular schedule and who work continuously, except for breaks, into their regular schedule are not considered on emergency called back.

5.9    Emergency Call Back Pay. Non-exempt employees who respond to an emergency call back, whether onsite or remote, will be paid a minimum of four hours worked regardless if the actual hours worked to address the emergency are less than four hours. Travel time to and from the work site is not time worked and not eligible for pay.

5.10    Working on Holidays. Employees required to work on a holiday recognized by the college receive their regular pay rate for the time worked.  

5.11    Working during an Official Campus Closure. Employees required to work during an official campus closure will receive their regular pay rate for the time worked. If the closure occurs during the employee’s regular work hours, the employee will work with their supervisor to take the amount of time off they would have received for the campus closure if they had not been required to work. This is a one-for-one hour exchange; overtime rules do not apply. The employee must take this time within the same month that the closure occurred, or as close thereto. Employees called into work during a campus closure, such as facility staff to clear snow and prepare the campus to open the following day, will be compensated under emergency call back pay.

5.12    Overtime Hours. Actual hours worked in excess of 40 hours during the workweek. These hours do not include holidays or any leave taken during the workweek.

5.13    Overtime Pay. Employees earn overtime pay by working overtime hours in a workweek. For employees who work different jobs at the college for which different regular hourly rates are established, overtime pay will be calculated using the regular hourly rate for the job the employee was performing when the overtime occurred. Overtime pay is calculated as follows.

1.5 x Overtime Hours x Employee’s Regular Hourly Rate of Pay = Overtime Pay

5.14    Compensatory Leave. Leave the college may grant in lieu of overtime pay. Supervisors determine if the college will compensate the employee for overtime hours with overtime pay or with compensatory leave. Employees may take compensatory leave in the same manner they take annual leave. Compensatory leave is calculated as follows.

1.5 x Overtime Hours = Hours of Compensatory Leave

Employees may accrue up to 24 hours of compensatory leave. Employees with 24 hours of banked compensatory leave must be compensated with overtime pay rather than compensatory leave for any overtime worked. The college may choose at any time to pay out any compensatory leave bank for any employee or employee group. The college may discontinue the option of compensatory leave at any time.

Should an employee with banked compensatory leave terminate their employment with Casper College for any reason, the banked compensatory leave will be paid out at straight time.

5.15    Flextime. A scheduling arrangement that permits variations in an employee’s start and end times but does not result in the employee working an excess of 40 hours in a workweek.

5.16    Straight time. Normal working hours, paid at an employee’s regular pay rate.

5.17    Shift Differential. Additional compensation paid to non-exempt employees for hours they work between 10:00 p.m. and 6 a.m.

5.18    Compensatory Time Report. Non-exempt employees use this form to record work hours in excess of 40 hours in a given workweek. Employees must fill in the hours worked during the workweek, leave taken, holidays, and the reason for any excess hours. The employee and the employee’s supervisor are required to sign the form.

5.19    Classified Staff. This job classification includes operational support jobs. Classified jobs are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and are non-exempt jobs.

5.20    Meal Period. An unpaid period that may not be interrupted, typically lasting 30 to 60 minutes, where the employee is not required to perform any duties. The college provides meal periods for employees scheduled to work a five or more hour block. (Meal periods for security officers are paid time.)

5.21    Break. A paid period that may be interrupted, typically not longer than 15 minutes, where the employee is not required to perform any duties.

6.0    Responsibilities

6.1    Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that non-exempt employees accurately record their work hours and for scheduling employee work hours.

6.2    The HR director is responsible for ensuring compliance to this policy.

7.0    Procedures

Emergency Call Back

7.1    Supervisors authorize emergency call back when necessary.

7.2    Employees report to work or addresses the situation remotely per their supervisor’s directions. The employee completes the Compensatory Time Report at the end of the workweek to include the employee’s regular work hours, hours designated as emergency call back, and the reason for the emergency call back hours. The employee and the employee’s supervisor sign the form. The supervisor submits the form to HR.

7.3    HR records the emergency call back time worked as part of the employee’s compensation.

Working on a Holiday

7.4    Supervisors schedule employees to work on holidays.

7.5    Supervisors will work with employees who work their regular shift during a holiday to schedule an alternate day off within the same month that the holiday occurred, or as close thereto. If an employee is not able to take an alternative day off prior to the termination of their employment with Casper College, their supervisor will work with HR to compensate the employee at straight time for that day on their final paycheck.  

Employees called to work for an emergency during a holiday will be compensated under emergency call back pay (see 5.9).

Working during an Official Campus Closure

7.6    Supervisors schedule employees to work during an official campus closure.

7.7    Supervisors work with employees to schedule off the amount of time they would have received for the campus closure if they had not been required to work. The time off should occur within the same month that the closure occurred, or as close thereto. Time off for an official campus closure is not compensable time that is banked. If an employee is not able to take the time off prior to the termination of their employment with Casper College, no compensation is due.  

Overtime

7.8    Supervisors authorize overtime.

7.9    The employee completes the Compensatory Time Report at the end of the workweek to include the employee’s regular work hours, excess hours, and the reason for the excess hours. The employee and the employee’s supervisor sign the form. The supervisor submits the form to HR.

7.10    HR records the overtime worked as overtime pay or compensatory leave.

Flextime

7.11    Supervisors schedule flextime.

7.12    Supervisors and employees do not need to report flextime to HR.

Meal Periods and Breaks

7.13    Supervisors schedule meal periods and any breaks. Supervisors and employees do not report meal periods or breaks to HR.