Support Staff Policies & Procedures

Support Staff Overtime and Time Tracking Policy

Policy

Applies to all support staff classified as non-exempt (overtime eligible) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including1:

Policy

Overtime. Overtime is defined under the FLSA as hours worked in excess of 40 during a single workweek and must be paid at a time-and-one-half rate. Paid leave time2 is not considered time worked and cannot be counted toward the 40 hour per workweek overtime calculation. Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) may contain overtime, compensatory time or other benefits which may exceed those under this policy and the FLSA. Thus, the CBAs should be carefully reviewed by supervisors and Employee Relations should be consulted with any questions (see also FAQs for Supervisors). At MSU, overtime must be approved in advance by the employee’s supervisor. Employees working overtime without prior approval are subject to discipline up to and including discharge. 

Flexible time. At the supervisor’s discretion, an employee’s work schedule may be adjusted or flexed within a workweek (subject to restrictions in applicable CBAs). However, this does not eliminate the requirement to pay overtime for all hours worked over 40.

Compensatory time off.  To be mutually arranged between the employee(s) and the unit administrator (see Support Staff Compensatory Time Policy for recordkeeping and other requirements).

Part-time. Part-time employees will report all time worked, just as full-time employees will. Part-time employees will earn overtime only after 40 hours worked in a week. Part-time employees will receive straight time pay for all time worked under 40 hours in a week, even if hours worked are in addition to the employee’s normal schedule. 

Procedure

Time tracking.  All employees covered by this policy must accurately track and record their hours worked each day, as well as leave taken. Supervisors will let covered employees know which mechanism they are expected to use to do this (time cards, electronic time keeping systems, time sheets). Time will be tracked to the nearest tenth of an hour. The approved MSU time sheets for support staff, along with instructions, can be found here . Time recorded using the MSU approved time sheets should be approved by supervisors on a weekly basis.  All other time tracking mechanisms used by units to track time should, at a minimum: (1) require that the employee record the number of hours worked each day; (2) provide for an employee and supervisory sign-off weekly; (3) ensure that the records are retained for three years at the unit level. 

Time reporting in EBS. For hourly employees, supervisors or unit time administrators must input all time worked and absences into the HR/Payroll System through the EBS portal by the time due for payroll processing. For salaried employees and CTU employees, supervisors or unit time administrators must input additional hours worked beyond their scheduled work hours as well as absences into the HR/Payroll System through the EBS portal by the time due for payroll processing. 

Supervisor Responsibilities:

  1. Be familiar with the University’s policies which govern overtime, hours worked and time reporting. Information and resources you will need are contained on the website. Ensure you understand your employees’ status as exempt or non-exempt.  Contact Human Resources with any questions.
  2. Be familiar with the terms of the applicable CBA related to overtime, hours worked and time reporting.
  3. Remind employees they are responsible for knowing the time tracking procedures contained in this policy and of the importance of adhering to all policies and procedures.
  4. Ensure you provide employees with a time tracking mechanism (time card, electronic time-keeping system, time sheet) that meets the minimum criteria set in this policy.
  5. Review and approve time on a weekly basis. Correct any erroneous or missed entries on a timely basis. 
  6. If you discover that overtime was reported, but not preapproved, you should address it as a policy violation which may mean discipline. However, you must still pay the time as time worked, regardless of whether preapproval was granted.
  7. If you know, or have reason to believe, that an employee worked more than the hours they reported (whether overtime or not), you should address it as a policy violation which may mean discipline. However, you must still pay the time as time worked, regardless of what they reported. 
  8. Provide as much advance notice to the employee(s) of the need to work overtime as is practicable.
  9. Retain records of time sheets and other records created per this policy for at least three years.

Employee Responsibilities:

  1. Ensure that your time is tracked properly and that your time is recorded completely and accurately on a weekly basis. If you work less or more than you indicate on your required time-tracking mechanism (time card, time sheet, electronic time tracking form, etc.), you are in violation of this policy. If you believe you are being coerced, persuaded or otherwise encouraged to record inaccurate hours, you should report this to Human Resources immediately: SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434. If you would rather do so anonymously, you may report this to the MSU misconduct hotline. 
  2. Adhere to all University policies, procedures and departmental rules related to time and attendance. 
  3. Report promptly any discrepancies or inaccuracies in time worked, compensatory or overtime earned or in pay to your supervisor.

Supervisor/Unit Time Administrator Responsibilities: 

Enter and/or approve time in the HR/Payroll System through the EBS portal by the time due for payroll processing. If an employee is hourly, CTU or APA/APSA levels 10 and 11, and works overtime, entering the hours in EBS will trigger the overtime payment in the next paycheck.  All other (salaried) employees who are eligible to be paid overtime in accordance with this policy must be paid overtime using a Special Payment Authorization as a lump-sum payment (this should be occurring infrequently, if at all; direct any questions to Human Resources).  

Payroll Office: Overtime is automatically issued with the employee’s next paycheck.

NEED ASSISTANCE?

Questions related to this policy generally, or time tracking specifically, contact MSU Human Resources at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.

Questions related to time reporting through the EBS portal, contact MSU Payroll at CTLR.Payroll@ctlr.msu.edu or 517-355-5010.


[1] Note that any support staff employee earning less than $43,888/year will be non-exempt, even if they are part-time.  This is true regardless of whether their employee type is on this list.  In the unlikely event that a support staff employee earns less than $43,888/year and works over 40 hours in a workweek, the employee should track time and the supervisor should ensure overtime payment for each hour worked over 40.  If part-time employees are working over 40 hours per week, with any regularity, units should consider changing their FTE percentage and salary to accurately reflect the work.  
[2] The exception to this is that holidays are considered time worked for the purposes of calculating overtime.  However, if an employee has an unexcused absence on either her/his regularly scheduled working day immediately preceding or her/his regular scheduled working day immediately following the holiday, the holiday hours will not be considered time worked for the purposes of overtime.  Overtime premiums cannot be pyramided, compounded or paid twice for the same time worked.  

Back to Support Staff Policies and Procedures

©