06.41 FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT COMPLIANCE

The technology center will comply with all aspects of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Any employee who has questions regarding overtime or believes that the FLSA is not being correctly followed should immediately report this to a district administrator.

The penalties for even inadvertent FLSA violations are severe. Any employee, regardless of position, who violates any aspect of this policy will be subject to disciplinary sanctions up to and including termination.

Employee Classification

Employees will be notified of their FLSA classification as a part of their job description, but any employee who believes that a misclassification has occurred must immediately notify his/her supervisor of the suspected error.

Exempt employees. Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime or comp time for working more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. Exempt employees generally include positions such as superintendents and assistant superintendents, executive directors of instructional development and assistant executive directors of instructional development, certified counselors and psychologists, technology directors, CPAs, and teachers.

Non-exempt employee. Non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime or comp time for working more than forty (40) hours in a workweek. Non-exempt employees generally include positions such as cafeteria workers and dieticians, custodians, maintenance employees, secretarial and clerical assistants, and security personnel.

Noncovered positions. Board members and volunteers are not covered by the FLSA. Due to FLSA regulations, non-exempt employees may only volunteer as a parent/grandparent/etc. in a role typically assigned to volunteers. Additionally, those volunteer services must be unrelated to the employee’s compensated duties.

Multiple Assignments

Non-exempt employees are permitted to work multiple assignments as long as the combination of those assignments does not make it likely that the employee will work more than forty (40) hours per week. Non-exempt employees who work multiple positions at different hourly rates will be paid for authorized overtime at a blended rate.

Employment benefits for non-exempt employees will be granted based on the employee’s primary position unless otherwise provided by law. The primary position is the position in which the employee works the most hours.

Exempt employees will not be employed in multiple positions if such employment would jeopardize the employee’s exempt status. Exempt employees may be assigned an extra duty (activity sponsor, etc.) and receive compensation in accordance with the terms of an extra duty contract.

Time Keeping

Non-exempt employees are required to accurately track work hours in accordance with established district procedures. These employees must “clock in” and “clock out” within seven (7) minutes of their scheduled shifts. Habitual abuse of this policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including suspension, demotion, termination, and/or non- reemployment. Time periods in excess of twenty (20) minutes during which the employee is not actually performing job duties will not be included as “hours worked” if the time can effectively be used for the employee’s own purposes.

Employees must contact their supervisors if they notice an error on their time records. Falsifying time records, including under-reporting hours worked, is strictly prohibited.

Required Pre-Authorization

No employee may work overtime without prior authorization. Supervisors are required to strictly enforce the technology center’s prohibition on working unauthorized overtime.

Paying Overtime and Comp Time

The FLSA extends flexibility to school districts in adopting arrangements that provide compensatory time off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation. Accordingly, the technology center will provide, within reasonable limits, compensatory time off. The calculation used to determine the amount of compensatory time available to a non-exempt employee is one and one-half hours of compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked. Compensatory time received by an eligible employee extinguishes the employee’s entitlement to monetary overtime compensation. Compensatory time off is subject to all of the conditions provided in this policy. The district’s administration shall, at all times, retain the authority to make the decision to permit an employee to accumulate and use compensatory time or to pay the employee for overtime worked; however, the standard of time and one-half for overtime hours worked shall apply in either instance. The technology center’s policy and applicable procedures concerning compensatory time are more fully detailed below.

Prior Approval of Overtime Required

Except in the rare event of a bona fide emergency, overtime will not be allowed to any non-exempt support employee unless prior approval has been given by the employee’s supervisor or his/her designee. Non-exempt support employees working in excess of forty (40) hours per work week without prior written approval may be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including the possibility of dismissal.

Calculation of Compensatory Time

If a non-exempt support employee is properly assigned to work more than forty (40) hours in a work week, the technology center may provide compensatory time (“comp time”) off in lieu of monetary overtime compensation at a rate of not less than one and one-half (1 1/2) hours of compensatory time for each hour of overtime worked. It shall be the responsibility of the employee and the employee’s supervisor to maintain accurate records of all comp time accrued. All overtime recorded to be accrued as comp time must be recorded and submitted to the Business Office on an Overtime Record for Non-Exempt Personnel by the end of the week in which the overtime is worked.

Scheduling Use of Compensatory Time

Any non-exempt employee who has accrued comp time and who requests the use of the comp time shall be permitted to use the comp time within a reasonable period, after making the request, as long as use of the comp time does not unduly disrupt district operations. All requests to use comp time must be in writing. If the request is denied, then the employee and supervisor are to arrange an alternate date for the comp time to be used. If no agreement can be reached, then a meeting will be conducted with the Director of Human Resources to schedule a date for the comp time to be taken. The district, at its sole option, may require an employee to use accrued comp time at certain times.

Maximum Accrual of Time

Employees may accrue up to 240 hours of comp time if they qualify for comp time and the employee followed the proper pre-approval procedures before working comp time. (Because comp time is accumulated at time and one-half, this is 160 hours of actual overtime work.) Employees who work in a public safety activity, emergency response activity, or seasonal activity may accumulate up to 480 hours of comp time (320 actual overtime hours).

When Hours are Not Considered Work Hours

Time periods in excess of twenty (20) minutes during which the employee is not actually performing job duties will not be included as “hours worked” if the time can effectively be used for the employee’s own purpose.

In determining the number of hours worked by an employee within a given week, time spent on vacation, sick leave and holidays will not be counted as time worked. Such time off must be included in straight time pay for nonexempt employees but is not included in computing hours of work for overtime pay or compensatory time.

Payment for Comp Time Upon End of Employment

Any non-exempt support employee whose employment with the district terminates and who has accrued but not used comp time shall be paid at his or her regular hourly or salary rate in effect at the time the employee receives the payment. The technology center reserves the right, at any time, to substitute a cash payment, in whole or in part, for comp time.

Working Schedule for Non-Exempt Employees

The appropriate administrator will establish the schedule for working hours for nonexempt employees. However, the time schedule may be varied to fit various departmental needs. Employees will be expected to take two fifteen-minute breaks and a lunch break each day.

Notice of Policy to Non-Exempt Employees

A copy of this policy will be provided to all of the technology center’s non-exempt employees. This compensatory time off policy shall be considered as a condition of employment for all non-exempt support employees of the district.